You know, I never realized how hard it would be to find the perfect math for my child. Better yet, how differently each one of my kids would learn it. I have been struggling with Little Monkey this year. When we got offered the chance to review TouchMath , I jumped on it.
Little Monkey is currently using TouchMath’s 2nd Grade Math. We have been using it for a little over a month, and enjoy it. Here are the reasons why Little Monkey was struggling before hand. She unlike most children I have ever seen, refuses to use her hands when trying to count. Not that I encourage this, but when starting out I feel this helps a little. Needless to say we were getting frustrated trying to get our number facts down.
What is TouchMath:
TouchMath was developed over 30 years ago. It is a multisensory math program. Children learn the number and the touch point. This really helps children with auditory, visual, and tactile based learning. This video shows you how the counting processes is taught.
You can even get a DVD training video that will walk you through step by step to help teach. You can find that here.
Now, I’m sure your wondering what comes with this program. For each unit download you receive all of what is listed above. They break each year into 4 units, which are then broken down into modules. Here are the units in the second grade program.
- Adding and Subtracting Within 50
- Adding and Subtracting Within 100
- Adding and Subtracting Within 1,000
- Time, Money, Measurement, Data, and Geometry
How we used it:
First off Little Monkey was so excited when the box arrived with our manipulatives. As I was opening the box, she was right over my shoulder looking to see what was in there. We received the FlipCards, and the Touch Numerals. There was no holding her off, so we opened up the Touch Numerals right away. I explained to her how they work, showed the touch points for each number, and how you count. She went right to work, trying to remember them.
The next day, we started in on the program. She completed half of the first module in the first day. She didn’t want to stop! I was stunned, I didn’t have to fight her at all.
The program suggests using it everyday. The amount of time each day depends on your child. They say to spend 2-2 1/2 times your child’s age. So for Little Monkey it would be around 16-20 minutes per day.
So, we spent around 20 minutes 4 days a week on this program. (We take Fridays off for fun school) This worked perfectly for us, because Little Monkey has a better attention span than most. She really would have spent more time on this if I let her. On days that she wanted to spend more time on it, we would spend time with the Touch Numerals, and FlipCards.
What I liked about it:
I’m not good at math by any stretch of the imagination! Of course, that doesn’t mean that I can’t do simple addition. As they go up though, I become worse and worse of a helper.
I really like that the program is laid out nicely for you. Here is what you will find in each module:
- Listing of all activity sheet topics and module contents
- Overview with vocabulary and resources
- Page-by-page instructions with answer keys
- Content review with posttest instructions
- Module closure instructions
- Progress monitoring record
So I would print each lesson out at the beginning of the week, and go over it. I would get any resources, or things that we needed to help with our lesson before we started. I liked to look it over before presenting it to her. Then I was ready on the day of the lesson. I had all the things I needed in front of me. The work is pretty much all done for you, which I love. With my busy life, that makes it easier for me. I also loved the progress record, so I could see where she struggled. I have all of this in a binder for her, and then in my teachers binder I have the progress record, and answer sheets.
Prices:
2nd Grade Downloads – $59.95 per unit
Buy all 4 units at once – $199.95
Flip Cards – $19.00 per box
Touch Numerals – $99.00
Last thoughts:
I really think this is a great program. It is well laid out. It really helps those that are tactile learners, or even just a child that might be struggling a bit. We are only a few weeks in, so I’m not 100% sure, but I really think this is what Little Monkey needed to get over the hump. She seems to be responding well. She hasn’t complained and seems to really love this program, and always eager to do it. The cost is a bit more than we would normal pay for a program. However, I do think it is worth the money if nothing else works. Also, the cost can come down a bit, if you for go the manipulative. They are nice, and do reinforce the learning, but are not absolutely necessary. Overall I am very happy with this product!
Contact Info:
You can purchase there products at – www.touchmath.com
Find them on Facebook here.
Find them on Twitter here.
They can be reached at 1-800-888-9191
You can see what other TOS Crew members are saying.
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