[Review] Pattern Thinkers Box 2 by Neuromath Singapore

Whooo hooo! Pattern Thinkers Box 2 was finally completed! Box 2 was focused on Consecutive numbers with the lessons covering on Logic, Patterns, Application and Algorithm. Besides learning how to count and recognizing numerals, Spatial Reasoning is one important component in Math. 

Spatial Reasoning is the ability to see how the objects looked like when they are rotated and how the objects looked like from different angles. To be able to visualize spatial transformation, I personally feel that this is an important skill to have for a child to solve calculation problems mentally. Lesson 1 was where spatial reasoning was taught involving the Spatial Rotation Tool.

Subsequently, we went on to Lesson 2. At the beginning, Vera was challenged. Her ability to retain information was quite weak to start with, I foresee that she was going to have difficulty remembering the steps. Finding the sum of consecutive numbers from 1 to 5 sounded easy and Vera handled it well. However, as we continued with lesson 2, the numbers got slightly bigger and she started to 'panic'. 

As per usual practice, I submitted the assignment to the Academics Team and received feedback to 

hand-holding Vera lesser as Box 3 onwards will require the child to exercise ownership of their own learning and parents' involvement should be minimal. 

Thankful for this feedback because at times I felt that I overdid it unknowingly as my mind was already deeply engraved with her learning issues, as most of the time she needed help. This feedback made me put a stop to advancing to Lesson 3 and I chose to restart from Lesson 1. Re-learning from the start does help one to look at things differently and to understand better as well. 

I had a hiatus of 2 weeks with no thanks to her low immunity, Vera rewatched and picked up lessons 1 & 2 much easier and with more confidence this time. Moving on to Lesson 3, she understood well and was able to present the workings using the computational board for much bigger numbers. 

We concluded Box 2 yesterday with Lesson 4 on finding the sum of consecutive numbers from 1 to 100, she did it on her own! To be honest, I did not know how to solve such questions too until I sat in and watched the video with her! I finally understood how to do it at my age! If only Pattern Thinkers was available back then! Indeed "A good tool improves the way you work. A great tool improves the way you think!" I told Vera that she needs not be fearful of big numbers once she learns how to apply what she has learnt systematically. 

My heart was swelling with pride when I saw how Vera exuded her confidence and solved the problem on her own without any fear of those big numbers.   

And we blasted off by folding our very own origami rocket. This provided me with another teachable moment for her. The moment she saw the origami papers, she went "huh...it is going to be so difficult."

Now you see it, how it got etched in her mind. She could not forget how challenging the origami star was from Box 1. 

This was the moment, I took the chance to encourage her not to feel defeated from the past experience.  Not all questions are the same and we should take on every challenge with an open mind and try to solve it. Come on, let's do it together! 

At the end, I had with me a happy girl! That gleeful smile spread across her face as we folded our very own origami rockets successfully, following one step at a time! 

My takeaways from Pattern Thinkers Box 2, LEARN, UNLEARN and RELEARN. It is perfectly alright! Every child grows and learns at a different pace. Pattern Thinkers has that element to allow your child to do so at their pace! No stress for the child, rewatch the videos as many times as they want until the child internalizes what has been taught and the patterns. 

Encourage the child, and diminish their fears with lots of assurance. A positive learning mindset is essential and providing them with a great tool is as important for successful learning. 

The next webinar for BREAK LEARNING PATTERNS will be held on 19 November 2022 (Saturday), 2pm. Before you leave the town for your holidays, do join us! It is complimentary for all my blog readers, click here to register! 

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Previous posts:

Pattern Thinkers Box 1

Pattern Thinkers Box 2