All About Primary School Math Enrichment

[Emelyn]

jedamum:

digress abit, one question...

4 x 6 is it defined as:
\"4 groups of 6 items each\" or \"4 items times 6 times\" :?:

It means 4 groups of 6 items.

[jedamum]

Emelyn:

jedamum:

digress abit, one question...

4 x 6 is it defined as:
\"4 groups of 6 items each\" or \"4 items times 6 times\" :?:

It means 4 groups of 6 items.

thanks! that's what i thought so too...
my husband and my boy's montessori enrichment teacher said it is 4 items times 6 times.

[Emelyn]

jedamum:

Emelyn:

[quote=\"jedamum\"]digress abit, one question...

4 x 6 is it defined as:
\"4 groups of 6 items each\" or \"4 items times 6 times\" :?:

It means 4 groups of 6 items.

thanks! that's what i thought so too...
my husband and my boy's montessori enrichment teacher said it is 4 items times 6 times.[/quote]Oh dear. Think you better change enrichment class.
In P1, if the question says \"4 groups of 6\" and your child write 6 x 4, it will be marked wrong !

[jedamum]

Emelyn:

Oh dear. Think you better change enrichment class.
In P1, if the question says \"4 groups of 6\" and your child write 6 x 4, it will be marked wrong !

Thanks for clarifying. Had already discontinued the math enrichment.

I thought I saw that somewhere too, so I have been teaching my boy that 4x6 is 4 groups of 6.
Then on the montessori worksheet, there is 4 separate rows of connecting blocks. In each row there is 5 blocks. My boy wrote 4x5 and the teacher marked wrong....she said is 5x4 (5 blocks x 4 times/rows). When i query her on my intepretation, she said that 5x4 is the montessori way.

My husband intepreted the same, but said check textbook to see which is the MOE way. :lol:

[BlissMom]

Am so amazed reading the threads on multiplications :shock: I think they call it the conceptual approach appreciation And once our kids get the concept right, learning becomes so much easier. What is 4 x 5? really quite meaningless without contextualising it and if a child is not explained the 'concept', it's just memorising the multiplication time table - like what we did when we were young!


Surprised that it came from Montessori... got to be careful, there are many pre-schools/enrichment centres that 'claim' to be structured on Montessori but really, some don't practice or for that matter thot it's only based on the apparatus. Got to be careful where u go to.

I used to send my kids to Modern Montessori - the good bit about them, they applied the pluses of Montessori BUT to ensure our kids are prepared, they incorporated the local requirements in preparation for kids to P1. They used to conduct classes for parents who want to learn more about Montessori in order to better appreciate and reinforce the learning at home as well. Check it out. Then (10 years ago), i made a mistake and took their Diploma instead :oops: without realising they had a short courses for parents. For engaging parents, it's a good way to start...if they still have courses for parents. Also, i hoped they still maintain the quality....


On the question about starting enrichment classes at K1, my opinion only - why do we want to start them so young when learning at that age is really alot of interaction with the environment, observations and interactivity. Also, don't our kids already are registered with the nursery and kindergarten? What are these for if not learning to prepare for Primary 1? All these enrichments, I think we got to manage ...

[jedamum]

P1 Math Q:

Tom has 12 balls. He divides them equally among his 3 friends. How many balls will each friend get?

[hquek]

Thanks for all your views and comments.


I am looking at CMA or Enopi/MPM. I understand that their focus (at least between CMA and the others) are quite different.

Any pointers on which would be a better starter (ie CMA/the others) and why?

Appreciate your views.

[jajnj]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


Hi,

I have been trying to source for 'the best' Maths programme for my kid who is going P1 next yr but I am actually getting more & more confused.

MPM, Sakamoto, Enopi, Numberlinks, CMA etc... Will any kind soul pls share your feedback?

If u are staying in North-East area, which Maths school do u send your kid to?

Thnks

[jedamum]

BlissMom:

On the question about starting enrichment classes at K1, Also, don't our kids already are registered with the nursery and kindergarten? What are these for if not learning to prepare for Primary 1?

my boy's school only prepare them socially for P1 (ie able to interact in a big class setting, listening to instructions, doing seatwork, following rules), and is pretty weak academically. that's why i feel that some form of enrichment is necessary if i can't coach them myself.

[jedamum]

hquek:

Thanks for all your views and comments.


I am looking at CMA or Enopi/MPM. I understand that their focus (at least between CMA and the others) are quite different.

Any pointers on which would be a better starter (ie CMA/the others) and why?

Appreciate your views.

hquek,
i have not tried all, but here are my observations.
CMA is abacus based. not much help in solving logical math questions or problem sums, although your kid will do well in mental calculations, and the 4 operations (addition, subtraction, division, multiplication).
enopi and MPM is similar. worksheet based with manipulatives and kid progressing based on own pace. their worksheets do have logical questions. you can drop by their website and see if there are sample papers. i think for enopi, they have sample papers.