[charlottesmum04]

ok so i have a slightly evened out family DS is intellectually impaired, DD1 is G & T while DD2 is average IQ but.... she is showing a real love of learning particularly when it comes to maths. DH is studying to be a maths and science high school teacher so technically we have the skills to help extend her but i am wanting advice on whats reasonable for us to expect the school to help us with extending her.

We are working on the maths workbooks that they use at school and have got her 2 grades above current ( but i am wary doing this because its the books they are going to be using so she will then just be doing the same work) her teacher this year has been fantastic providing extra worksheets and advanced work for her. Just wondering if a) thats reasonable to expect next year and b) some suggestions as to how we can continue helping her at home. The school doesnt have a good rep for formally fast forwarding students.

[feliz6]

You don't mention what age your child is,? I'd be looking to do problem solving type activities at home. E.g. Australia won 4 medals at the Olympics what are the- or maybe what are 6 -possible combinations e.g. 4 gold, 3 gold 1 silver, 3 gold 1 bronze etcetc. Another e.g. might be a picture of a simplified dart board. John threw three darts and scored 90. what numbers did the darts hit? Maybe 30, 30, 30. or 60, 15, 15 etc.
I used to own a great little flip book with these types of activities but can't remember what it was called. Hopefully someoneeelse will have an idea where such activities can be found.

[2bundles]

I agree with pp. I wouldn't be doing workbooks.

Extension is not merely doing the next year level work. Just use real life opportunities to teach new concepts. Don't even worry about what year they will be taught, you will get a feel for whether she is ready. You don't say how old she is, but for example, DS in yr 4 is doing fractions and multiplication, so we throw him multiplication problems outside 10x10. We have showed him how to use common denominators to calculate fractions etc.

Maths is such a great subject to extend, because the understanding is so much more important than the learning.

[mintjoolips]

What about a musical instrument, music and maths are related. My DD has loved learning violin. I also think the best learning at home is done by reading widely.

[barrington]

Honestly, I would ditch the workbooks.

At home, just try and use Maths in real life situations. Help with measuring items for baking, will we fit this couch through the door if we move it, how many days until her birthday (and then convert to weeks etc), learn sudoku.

[BadCat]

Rather than getting her ahead of year level where she will then be bored in coming years because she's not learning anything at school, seek out lateral extension. Find things that expand on the knowledge she has rather than teaching new things.

If she is in senior primary I can recommend getting hold of a Maths Olympiad book and work through questions from it. The junior division uses stuff they should have learned at school and asks them to use it to solve quite difficult problems.

In my experience schools are rarely keen on accelerating students but will often help students to extend laterally.

[leisamd]

I second the music lessons.

Also, I'd do more work on maths depth, rather than speeding through grades. Things like the Life of Fred series - http://lifeoffredmath.com/lof-elementary.php , problem solving/logic books like this one - Primary Grade Challenge Math or Lollipop logic

Then there's other 'living' maths books like the one's written by Greg Tang, Marilyn Burns or Cindy Neuschwander

One thing I love is to use manipulatives like cuisenaire rods - here's some videos for ideas http://www.educationunboxed.com/

Things like tangrams, abacus, pattern blocks...

Honestly, there is so much you can do to enrich a maths education rather than just speeding through the books...

[leisamd]

Oh, I forgot to add - what about Khan Academy, lots of free interesting math videos - http://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic

[baddmammajamma]

I would also ditch the workbooks!

The Life of Fred series is awesome -- very "outside the box" presentation, fun, and great for engaging maths minds. Ditto the Khan Academy.

Check with your local G&T association to see if there are any maths-based camps or workshops over summer, where your daughter can hang out with other budding mathetics.

[countrymel]

Stop doing the work books - you are just setting your child up for boredom and frustration in the future at school.

As pp's have mentioned there are lots of great resources out there - my nephew loves those 'Fred' books.

But practical maths as part of your daily activities are the best thing to include.

Recipes, measuring... "I am going to make a double batch of biscuits can you help me times everything by two?" or "How many sausages do we need? I want two, daddy wants three, your brother wants 2 etc.."

And I also second the musical instrument - an interesting aside when my friend was at uni (medicine) there were enough people in their year group who had studied at a high enough grade in music that they formed an orchestra!