Is your child with Down Syndrome struggling with addition and subtraction? If so, try focusing on the essential math skills needed before beginning addition. Here are ten hands-on ways to develop number sense and prepare your child for addition and subtraction.
Continue reading “Ten Essential Math Skills that Prepare Children with Down Syndrome for Addition” →
Here is a set of winter-themed addition cards focusing only in the +1 and +2 facts, designed for children with Down Syndrome and other special needs. Children with T21 need to spend a lot of time using concrete objects and pictures to support their understanding and practice of addition.
In keeping with an incremental approach to learning, I recommend helping your child master the +1 and +2 facts within ten before moving on to +3 and +4 facts. Hence, these picture addition cards.
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For those of you who are using Simply Addition Level 1 to help your child master addition facts within ten, here is a set of FREE Math Games. After all, playing games is the fun way to practice math skills.
This set contains a variety of games that align with most of the lessons in Simply Addition Level 1.
Take a look:
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If you would like to help your child learn the addition facts within ten, here is a FREE resource I hope you will find helpful. I have tried several math curricula for my son with Down Syndrome, but when it came to independence, accuracy, and fluency in working out the addition facts within ten, he did not make any real progress until we introduced the rekenrek. And so I found myself making worksheets and eventually this workbook for him and the kids in our coop, and for any child who needs extra help with addition.
Continue reading “Simply Addition Level 1 – A FREE Math Workbook for Kids with (or without) Down Syndrome” →
Here’s a FREE set of winter-themed number line addition worksheets. These focus on the +1, +2, +3 and doubles facts within ten. They’re designed for children with Down Syndrome and other special needs.
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Here are some FREE autumn-themed picture addition worksheets! These provide practice with +0, +1, +2, and doubles facts within ten. These are perfect for kids who need lots of visuals to help them understand the concept of addition. I also designed them with bold numbers and pictures so kids with decreased visual acuity can use them.
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Let’s talk curriculum, shall we? It’s one of my favorite topics! Many children with Down Syndrome need curriculum tailored to their learning profile. So, I’ve spent a lot of time searching, adapting, and creating curriculum for my son who has T21.
Today I’m sharing with you my favorite resources to help children with Down Syndrome master kindergarten-level skills and concepts.
Continue reading “A Kindergarten Curriculum for Children with Down Syndrome” →
Last fall Junior started kindergarten, so I’ve been doing a lot of reading about how best to teach a child with Down Syndrome. There isn’t a whole lot of information and advice available on how to homeschool children with Down Syndrome (compared to the overwhelming plethora of blogs, books, videos, and conferences on homeschooling in general). However, there are some very helpful educational resources for parents of children with Down Syndrome. Today I’m sharing my favorite ones:
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Fifteen or so years ago, I began homeschooling my oldest child, and I’ve been homeschooling ever since. I’ve homeschooled five of my kids from preschool through sixth to eight grade. Even though my children differ widely in temperament, I eventually settled on a piece-meal curricula that worked well for everyone with some minor variations and changes over the years.
And then Junior came along. Junior, with his extra special chromosome, his zest for life and learning, and his gritty stubborn streak. Very early on, I realized that teaching him would be a whole new adventure. So I was not surprised when I came across the following:
Research has shown that young people with Down syndrome not only take longer to learn new skills but also learn differently in some key areas. Additionally, they benefit from some teaching strategies that are different to those typically used in education. Down Syndrome: Guidelines for Inclusive Education, International Down Syndrome Society and Down Syndrome Education International, Dec. 2021
As I read and researched about teaching children with T21, I began to keep a rolling list of best teaching strategies and practices. These have been incredibly helpful for homeschooling Junior and teaching three more little boys with T21 who come to my home for a Down Syndrome co-op.
Today I’m sharing these strategies with you and how we can use them at home.
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Last spring, I read more research by Sue Buckley, Joanna Nye, and colleagues about educating young children with Down Syndrome; this time it was about teaching math. They ran a study in the early 2000s assessing the effectiveness of the Numicon System in helping young children with T21 develop basic number skills.
Their findings were promising:
The key benefits of using Numicon for children with Down syndrome in the classroom are:
Teaching Number Skills to children with Down Syndrome using the Numicon Foundation Kit
• The materials and methods clearly support the development of early number concepts, and in particular the ability to calculate – for some children, using Numicon enabled them to develop these skills for the first time
• It enables teaching staff to ‘see’ what the child is thinking, which is important for identifying both successes and confusions in the child’s understanding
• It can be used to support everyday number skills such as time and money
• It is especially beneficial to children who use a visual and/or multi-sensory approach to learning
• Children are motivated to engage with the materials as they are so attractive, and they develop confidence in maths work as they can succeed with the materials
• The clear structure of the teaching system is useful for teaching staff looking for a way to differentiate the numeracy curriculum.
The benefit of using the Numicon approach was seen most clearly at the stage when the children were learning to manipulate numbers – to add, subtract and multiply.
Of course, I had to go purchase the kit and play math with Junior. And being very pleased with Junior’s progress, I shared the 50-page study with my sister. As many of you know, she also has a young son with special needs. Quickly she emailed me back: TLTR. (Too Long to Read) Can you write up a dummies version?
Of course I can. So this post is for my sister and all other super busy moms who want to know how to teach basic number skills to young kids with or without T21.
Continue reading “Numicon-Based Math Activities for Preschoolers with (or without) Down Syndrome” →