Thinking About Repeating a Year of Math?

Thinking of Repeating a Year in Math? (Source)

When I talk with other Homeschooling Moms about math, I hear one thing over and over again. It goes
something like this: "We're finishing grade x in math, but my kid isn't getting it. She's gotten okay grades all year, but she works super slow, and doesn't remember what we learned two months ago. I don't think we should go to the next grade. I think we're going to have to repeat this one before we can proceed!"

Sound familiar? 

A while back, my daughter was in a similar situation. She COULD do certain math questions, but slowly and painfully. Math was becoming unpleasant. 

There had been a time when she had enjoyed practicing math by playing Prodigy, but now she had tested into a level that was discouraging - so she had quit the playing the game.

Then, a fellow Mom (who is REALLY good at math! Thanks Alli Pait! : ) gave me a great tip that turned things around. 

She told me, "You know - you can override the grade levels in Prodigy, right?"

I did NOT know!

Well, I went home and did it. I went ahead and paid for the premium membership that rewarded her a little extra for her work, and set my daughter back not just one year, but several years in Prodigy.

Every day, I assigned her to play  "easy" math games on Prodigy, doing 30 to 45 questions a day - but at the same time, we kept working at her regular level with regular lessons. She enjoyed it! The game was fun when it was so quick and easy to get lots of right answers. It made brushing up on the few tricky spots easy.

Next thing I knew, she was enjoying speeding through the levels in Prodigy, getting a great review, and gaining the much touted automaticity - and confidence - that is needed to go on to more difficult math skills. She was getting the running start she needed to fly!

But, at the same time, we didn't have to "fail" any books or grades - we could go right ahead with on-level concepts. 

If you have a kid who is getting bogged down in math, give it a try. 

(And, no - this is not a paid endorsement. Just a product I really like!) 

You can sign up for Prodigy here.

Here's how to override grade levels.

 

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