The "official" Beast Academy review thread

[crazyforlatin]

We received ours today and have started 3A already. It begins with geometry (e.g. angles, triangles). The comic book style is not as chaotic as others I've seen (that DH loves to read). The font in the balloon could be larger, but it'll do even for a 6-year old. Each character has a different colored balloon so it's not confusing even for a girl who has never read a comic book. I did read the textbook aloud to DD.

 

DD just told a family friend that she doesn't know how the authors managed to make math fun. The first few exercises remind me of MEP more than SM and the authors present them as a game, so for the angle section, it's basically a maze and the child has to make only acute turns or obtuse turns. The textbook is fast-paced, so that only the basics are given very quickly, but since we covered geometry in MM4B and used a protractor, DD is familiar with geometric terms. The starred questions are challenging and fun enough so that someone using MM4B or SM 3B (is that where geometry is introduced?) could add these challenging problems as fun supplements. The workbook provides about 2 examples per topic.

[Chrysalis Academy]

The textbook is fast-paced, so that only the basics are given very quickly, but since we covered geometry in MM4B and used a protractor, DD is familiar with geometric terms. The starred questions are challenging and fun enough so that someone using MM4B or SM 3B (is that where geometry is introduced?) could add these challenging problems as fun supplements. The workbook provides about 2 examples per topic.

 

This is a great idea, and may be how we end up using it . . . with the MM4B geometry chapter. And/or fun after-main-math games & challenges, kind of how we have been doing LOF. It will be interesting to see whether DD likes it as much as she likes Fred.

 

I think this will be a problem-solving, critical thinking, pre-logic type supplement for us, where we will read the book, play the games, and do a lot of the "challenging" problems, but we will definitely keep plugging away in MM4B every day for our main math. I'm eager to get to AoPS pre-algebra!! :D

[MrsBanjoClown]

In some ways one could argue PM 3 was more "advanced" in presenting some topics than BA, in other ways the depth of BA makes Singapore look light. The head-space is just different.

 

Bill

 

So do you think using SM 3 and BA 3 in the same year they would complement each other?

[Spy Car]

So do you think using SM 3 and BA 3 in the same year they would complement each other?

 

That's what I'm thinking.

 

Bill

[Leav97]

So do you think using SM 3 and BA 3 in the same year they would complement each other?

 

We're planning on using MM 3 and BA 3 together. I've been told MM and SM are similar. The way and depth of BA should enhance MM and visa versa.

[MissKNG]

So do you think using SM 3 and BA 3 in the same year they would complement each other?

 

I hope so because that's how we plan on using it. My big girl recently started 3a and we are getting Beast Friday so I'm thinking of working in Beast for a bit then decide which program to use as our spine.

[FairProspects]

Ack, our first day with BA was terrible!!

 

Dyslexic ds, who sees in 3D in his head, was rotating and flipping images and said he could see angles everywhere. He had the toughest time finding only one solution in 2D. I'm positive he knows the difference between acute, obtuse, and right angles, but I had not anticipated how this 3D thing would play out with the exercises. It sent him into sensory/visual meltdown, which took a long time to re-set.

 

We are keeping MM as our spine for now, and we will use BA slowly as a challenge math. I'm hoping once we get past the initial geometry, the 3D imagery will become less of an issue, but just a heads up for those using it with dyslexics with strong material reasoning.

[onaclairadeluna]

I'm hoping once we get past the initial geometry, the 3D imagery will become less of an issue, but just a heads up for those using it with dyslexics with strong material reasoning.

 

...or any dyslexics, I would think. My DS would have had a very hard time with BA. Though he probably would have loved it too, when he was in the right mood ...as long as I let him play with "fun math", he still doesn't see spacial stuff as fun, unless he can abstract it and reason it out ("I" strengths).

 

DD is a little dyslexic too but she isn't challenged by it in the way that DS is. BA is a way better fit for her as it plays to her strengths. I think I would have still done it with DS if it were available at the time, though I might be doing it concurrently with AOPS prealgebra or even Intro to P and C.

[FairProspects]

...or any dyslexics, I would think.

 

Yeah, ds actually said "Mom, thinking in 3D really doesn't help here!" and he seemed surprised. He is normally very good spatially, but I think he could just see too many solutions in 3D to pick just one on pencil and paper. He wanted to build it and point them out.

[anabelneri]

Yeah, ds actually said "Mom, thinking in 3D really doesn't help here!" and he seemed surprised. He is normally very good spatially, but I think he could just see too many solutions in 3D to pick just one on pencil and paper. He wanted to build it and point them out.

 

It's unrelated to the topic at hand, but this recent part of the conversation reminded me of this article. :001_smile:

[Wordfairy]

Hmm...this seems to play to my girl's strengths and wee will be doing SM 3b after our short break. I showed her a sample and she got so excited...this is the little girl that started the homeschool year hating math and now she's excited! I'll give her the pretest and see where we end up.

[kdownie]

Hi. I'm purposefully resurrecting an old thread to see how everyone liked the first full school year of Beast Academy 3 being available, for those who started it last year and finished this past school year.

 

Any thoughts after using the program for a year?

[UrbanSue]

Giving another little bump as I would love to hear from those of you who have been through the first four books as well. We are about to finish 3A with my oldest who will continue with BA as his main program next year. My math-accelerated dd will be starting 3A in August and I'm not sure what--if any at this point--other math to do with her. I am a huge BA fan so far and can't wait to order the next two (or three--if 4A is out soon) levels.

[fourisenough]

Adored it! Just finished 3D with DD3 - age 8. She thought it was so much fun that friends were invited in to do some of the games/activities. It was a perfect compliment to our other math for the year: Math Mammoth 3A, 3B, 4A, and CWP 3. There was certainly a lot of overlap and all wouldn't be strictly necessary, but because she enjoyed each for different reasons, we kept on (and I'm in no hurry to accelerate her any further, so decided to go rather wide and deep with 3rd grade math). We'll do the same next year, but will have to spread the BA out due to the publication schedule.

[FairProspects]

I think we are about to drop it (maybe for good), but we have some unusual 2E issues. I want to love the idea, but a discovery method that adds challenge by using crazy hard computations is not the right way to go for a kid whose biggest weakness is computation. So much of his brain is eaten up processing the large computation or numbers that there is no RAM left for discovering the important initial concept.

 

Some chapters have been great and very useful, such as the variables chapter and the initial geometry chapter, but it is written for fast processors and kids who are good at computation and is just the wrong approach to arithmetic for us. I'm debating getting 4A just for the exponents chapter and covering the other concepts with another program, but I haven't decided if I can justify the expense yet.

[sweetpea3829]

I think we are about to drop it (maybe for good), but we have some unusual 2E issues. I want to love the idea, but a discovery method that adds challenge by using crazy hard computations is not the right way to go for a kid whose biggest weakness is computation. So much of his brain is eaten up processing the large computation or numbers that there is no RAM left for discovering the important initial concept.

 

Some chapters have been great and very useful, such as the variables chapter and the initial geometry chapter, but it is written for fast processors and kids who are good at computation and is just the wrong approach to arithmetic for us. I'm debating getting 4A just for the exponents chapter and covering the other concepts with another program, but I haven't decided if I can justify the expense yet.

 

Would you mind explaining what you mean by this?  

[deerforest]

Just saw that last post with the bump, and I disagree with it based on our experience. DD is a slow computation gal, and she absolutely thrived in BA. She despises pages of repetitive math problems and BA isn't like that at all. It's full of variety and puzzles and was fabulous for my girl who has a strong conceptual handle on math but who is definitely a slow processor.

[Momof3]

So...have any MM users switched to BA as their main math curriculum? Or do you just use it to supplement? I've read a lot about the similarities and (mostly) differences between SM and BA...but not a whole lot of comparison of MM and BA.

 

Is BA3A that much more challenging than MM3A? For those of you using BA to supplement MM, do you find it helpful? In what way(s)? 

 

Looking for a math program to supplement MM in the future (currently using MM2A with ds) - just to see if he's really catching things. LoF doesn't look like the right thing. Not enough order - too much skipping around. Is BA mastery or spiral? I've seen mentioned that it goes deeper than SM. I've not used SM... Is BA deeper than MM?

 

Thanks for any help you can give! :) Sorry if this is a big disjointed. It's late...I'm tired. Going to put the baby (3 wks) to bed & then try to catch a few hours b4 he wakes me up again. ;)

[sunnyday]

The tables of contents, and some pretty extensive samples from both the guide and practice books, are available at the Beast Academy site. That might start giving you a feel for how the program differs from MM. http://beastacademy.com/store/

[CrunchyGirl]

We would but the levels aren't being released quickly enough.

[maize]

My 8 year old is using BA as his primary math program. We are a MM family but he never liked MM and likes BA. I plan to keep supplementing with MM as needed, I think he will need extra computational practice.

[Momof3]

Thanks, sunnyday! I looked at the sample pages. BA definitely looks mind-stretching! But still hard to tell... I've only done MM1A/B - and BA3A is much tougher than that! :) Don't know how it compares to MM3A... Any help from those that have done both BA3 and MM3?

[fourisenough]

I've done both MM3 (1A-5A, in total) and BA 3A-4A. The easy problems in BA are about the same difficulty level as MM, but the hard problems are SO much harder than anything in MM. My child did BA a year behind MM (just based on where we were when the books were published), so little of it was new to her, but it REALLY stretched her at times. The geometry section is particularly out-of-the box and light-years more difficult than the same in MM. I think the two programs go well together.

[OneStepAtATime]

Thanks, sunnyday! I looked at the sample pages. BA definitely looks mind-stretching! But still hard to tell... I've only done MM1A/B - and BA3A is much tougher than that! :) Don't know how it compares to MM3A... Any help from those that have done both BA3 and MM3?

Well, we have bounced around a bit, but DS has done MM3, not all the way through though.  He is now doing Math in Focus and really enjoying that much more than MM, FWIW.  

 

I will say that Beast is so different that I don't know if you can compare BA and MM that well.  Why not try BA3A as a supplement and see how it goes?  Both of my kids have really enjoyed BA, even though DD is 13 and has a hard time with computation.  And they have definitely learned a lot from the different presentation.  LOVE BA!  :)  We tend to do this as a family, though, not independently.  More fun that way and I get to learn, too.

[sunnyday]

Thanks, sunnyday! I looked at the sample pages. BA definitely looks mind-stretching! But still hard to tell... I've only done MM1A/B - and BA3A is much tougher than that! :) Don't know how it compares to MM3A... Any help from those that have done both BA3 and MM3?

 

It's just so completely different. You can't compare "toughness" IMO. (Looking at the online samples of both since I have only BA through 3B) MM seems to me to be about covering the scope and sequence in an easily digested way with excellent instruction, lots of low-order problems to cement recall, some review. BA is about using the scope and sequence to launch an exploration of mathematical thinking with engaging discussion and unusual approaches to problem solving. It has a few low-order problems but a good number of higher-order problems that engage the student in applying knowledge to new situations.

 

By the end of MM3, it looks like the student will have mastered the times tables to 12. By the end of BA3B (halfway through the 3rd grade program), the student will have mastered strategies for approaching problems like 9x79x9 efficiently by recognizing the patterns in the underlying numbers. Do you see the difference?

[Chrysalis Academy]

It's just so completely different. You can't compare "toughness" IMO. (Looking at the online samples of both since I have only BA through 3B) MM seems to me to be about covering the scope and sequence in an easily digested way with excellent instruction, lots of low-order problems to cement recall, some review. BA is about using the scope and sequence to launch an exploration of mathematical thinking with engaging discussion and unusual approaches to problem solving. It has a few low-order problems but a good number of higher-order problems that engage the student in applying knowledge to new situations.

 

By the end of MM3, it looks like the student will have mastered the times tables to 12. By the end of BA3B (halfway through the 3rd grade program), the student will have mastered strategies for approaching problems like 9x79x9 efficiently by recognizing the patterns in the underlying numbers. Do you see the difference?

 

This.  This is exactly why I'm planning to make the shift from MM as our main math to BA as our main math, with MM to supplement the topics BA doesn't cover (time, money) and for tests, reviews, etc.  I'm hoping this will work for my dd.  If it doesn't, and we need to stick with MM as a spine, I still plan to supplement with BA to try and shift her to this way of thinking about math.  MM is a great program, but it teaches arithmetic to children.  BA teaches people to think mathematically.

[sweetpea3829]

Beast just arrived yesterday!  My son and daughter immediately hijacked 3B and 3A, lol.  From flipping through real quick, it looks fantastic.  I do wonder...is there enough spiral review with this?  Or is that something I'm going to need to supplement?

[CrunchyGirl]

Beast just arrived yesterday!  My son and daughter immediately hijacked 3B and 3A, lol.  From flipping through real quick, it looks fantastic.  I do wonder...is there enough spiral review with this?  Or is that something I'm going to need to supplement?

 

It's very much a mastery based curriculum. There is almost no review of previous concepts besides of course that math concepts naturally build on previously mastered math concepts. My general understanding is that it's meant for kids who do not need regular review. That being said, you could certainly supplement with another curriculum to get in more review.

[sweetpea3829]

It's very much a mastery based curriculum. There is almost no review of previous concepts besides of course that math concepts naturally build on previously mastered math concepts. My general understanding is that it's meant for kids who do not need regular review. That being said, you could certainly supplement with another curriculum to get in more review.

 

 

Thanks!  Right now, I'm planning on using Beast to bridge the gap between whenever my son finishes his grade level curriculum, and the start of the next school year.  

 

So he's finishing up Singapore 2B right now, and we'll use Beast until September.  So the spiral review isn't too concerning to me, as I know he'll get the review overall (even though Singapore is technically mastery, the way we use it, I use some of the extra singapore resources as review work).  

 

I was mostly just curious if they do end up having any kind of review in Beast.  

[friscomom]

New member here ! Would you all recommend getting the guide along with the workbooks ?

[CrunchyGirl]

Absolutely. You need both.

[stripe]

By the end of MM3, it looks like the student will have mastered the times tables to 12. By the end of BA3B (halfway through the 3rd grade program), the student will have mastered strategies for approaching problems like 9x79x9 efficiently by recognizing the patterns in the underlying numbers. Do you see the difference?

A few months after covering this, we encountered such a problem, and my child only remembered that there was some formula he felt he was supposed to have memorized. It was kind of disappointing. We had spent a lot of time on it, too! I had better success with understanding through MEP, where it felt like there were fewer "tricks" for that sort of oddball calculation (how 79x81 relates to 80x80) and more strategies for regular calculations. I get that the pattern is neat, and is, in fact, how I remembered 6x8 as a child, but I didn't find it to be what I was looking for.

[Cheryl in CA]

I think we are about to drop it (maybe for good), but we have some unusual 2E issues. I want to love the idea, but a discovery method that adds challenge by using crazy hard computations is not the right way to go for a kid whose biggest weakness is computation. So much of his brain is eaten up processing the large computation or numbers that there is no RAM left for discovering the important initial concept.

 

Some chapters have been great and very useful, such as the variables chapter and the initial geometry chapter, but it is written for fast processors and kids who are good at computation and is just the wrong approach to arithmetic for us. I'm debating getting 4A just for the exponents chapter and covering the other concepts with another program, but I haven't decided if I can justify the expense yet.

 

What does 2E mean?

[sweetpea3829]

What does 2E mean?

 

2E means twice exceptional.  These are kiddos that are gifted in some way but also have a concurrent area of exceptional difficulty.  

[Cheryl in CA]

2E means twice exceptional.  These are kiddos that are gifted in some way but also have a concurrent area of exceptional difficulty.  

 

Thanks!  I was wracking my brain, and all I could think was 2nd Edition but knew that couldn't be right, LOL.

[hellen]

My son is almost finished with Beast 3D. He's doing Singapore 4 concurrently. I feel like he hasn't learned much from Beast Academy. The variables chapter was neat and he thought it was pretty easy but he forgot it all within weeks. Pretty much the only thing he learned was the angle names.

 

He just finished estimation which is his weakest area in math and I don't think he became any better at estimating. I don't know where the disconnect is. He loves the guides and reads them multiple times. He can copy whatever is being taught but he can't apply it. Like somebody said earlier, it's like learning tricks. I can't describe it well. For some reason it's not working for him. I do still like the program and we'll continue to use it but maybe in a different way. Perhaps skipping around will be better so there is more review.

[Roadrunner]

Our experience has been drastically different. We have worked through all of BA that has been published. My older kid will never look at a math problem again without looking for patters and devising clever ways to solve what's given. I think BA has been fundamental in altering the way he "looks/processes" math. We did find it necessary to review couple of things though, especially statistics chapter. 

[sweetpea3829]

Our experience has been drastically different. We have worked through all of BA that has been published. My older kid will never look at a math problem again without looking for patters and devising clever ways to solve what's given. I think BA has been fundamental in altering the way he "looks/processes" math. We did find it necessary to review couple of things though, especially statistics chapter. 

 

This has been our experience so far.  The "tricks" that Beast presents aren't really meant to apply only to those specific types of problems, rather, the student is supposed to learn HOW to think about math so that they can then transfer that knowledge to other types of problems.

 

For example...DS just finishing the perfect squares chapter.  Of course, the trick learned was how to find the answer to a number squared when it is close to the answer of another squared number that we easily know.  For example, find the answer to 79^2.  Well 79^2 is the same thing as 80^2-(79+80).  When I taught this to DS, we talked about the algorithm quite a bit, but I really focused on the physical model, demonstrating WHY the algorithm works.  

 

After he became comfortable with it, I gave him 78^2 and asked him to use what he knew from the physical model of 79^2 to figure out the answer.  

 

It took him a moment or two, but working together, he was able to demonstrate that 78^2 is the same thing as 80^2-(80+79+79+78).

 

Overall, we have been quite pleased with the way Beast has stretched DS and helped him to think more flexibly about math concepts.  Its really helping him (both of us, actually) to "think outside the box".  

[Guest hippiechickie]

Does anyone know if Beast would work well as a supplemental curriculum to Math U See? The format really appeals to me and I think my son would love it.

[sweetpea3829]

Does anyone know if Beast would work well as a supplemental curriculum to Math U See? The format really appeals to me and I think my son would love it.

 

I use MUS with DD8 who has dyscalculia and my opinion of it is that it is pretty remedial.  DD could not handle the kind of mental computation and thought processes that Beast requires/encourages.  

 

That said...I think Beast would be a good fit for ANY math student that has decent math skills and wants to go a bit more indepth.

 

If you're asking if MUS would be a good preparation for Beast...my answer to that would have to be no.  Unless you've completed quite a few of the MUS books.  

[Guest hippiechickie]

I use MUS with DD8 who has dyscalculia and my opinion of it is that it is pretty remedial.  DD could not handle the kind of mental computation and thought processes that Beast requires/encourages.  

 

That said...I think Beast would be a good fit for ANY math student that has decent math skills and wants to go a bit more indepth.

 

If you're asking if MUS would be a good preparation for Beast...my answer to that would have to be no.  Unless you've completed quite a few of the MUS books.  

 

What I like about MUS, and my son also likes, is that we can move forward quickly when he grasps a concept. There isn't a lot of repetition. I know for some that works well, but for him it drives him mad. I was thinking beast might stretch him in a way that he isn't being stretched, because he truly loves math. Maybe I am not using the right program for him to begin with. Thanks for your comments!

[sweetpea3829]

What I like about MUS, and my son also likes, is that we can move forward quickly when he grasps a concept. There isn't a lot of repetition. I know for some that works well, but for him it drives him mad. I was thinking beast might stretch him in a way that he isn't being stretched, because he truly loves math. Maybe I am not using the right program for him to begin with. Thanks for your comments!

 

Honestly, if your DS really enjoys math and is doing well with it, I would probably try him with Singapore.  Singapore doesn't HAVE to be repetitious, but its not as incremental as MUS has been (through Alpha and Beta levels...I can't speak for the higher levels).  

 

My overall opinion of MUS is pretty low, but for the fact that its really the only curriculum that has helped my daughter.  With MUS, she can at least perform the computations.  She still has ZERO conceptual understanding, but at least she can perform the computations using the blocks.  .