My son is fighting me over math again. It all started with Saxon, four years ago. He hated Saxon. He fought it tooth and nail, if need be, but more often by sit-down strikes. Math became, over the next two years, a real battleground.
Well, he's growing up. He doesn't fight quite the same way any more. And we've tried several different math curricula, in an effort to bridget the gap. Now he's fighting me again. This time, however, it's very different--he's actually fighting to get the book from me, because he wants to do more!!
I suspect you think I'm exaggerating. I'm not. Any. This morning he finished Life of Fred Book 5, "Edgewood". When I told him math class was done, he literally tried to grab the next book out of my hands, because he wanted to keep going!
What made the difference? The method. I happen to think Fred is a little odd, quite scattered, and very "out of the box" for a math method. But for my son, that's exactly what he needs. The typical "kill and drill" simply doesn't work for him (unless it's Khan Academy, where he can rack up hundreds of points for doing online drills).
My point? That sometimes the method needs to match the child. If it doesn't, the resulting agony may defeat the purpose of the activity entirely!
How does this relate to practice? Well, there really are a hundred ways to "skin a cat," and if one way isn't working, it's worth trying to find another. Say we need to drill a shift. For me, it's easy. Identify the shift, play it slowly until it's accurate and clean, lather, rinse, repeat at faster speeds.
For my son? That works once in a fortnight or so. For him, we need other ways, like varying the tone each time he repeats it, counting beads (or pennies or mini-marshmallows) for each time done right (and I get one for each time not accurate!), imagining a beloved teacher or famous musician listening, or better yet, pretending to be that famous musician!
How do I know what to do? Trial and error, and reading tips from other teachers and parents who have been there. Mostly, though, being willing to let go of the tried and true, even in the midst of battle, and reach for something that just might turn the tide of war in our favor!
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