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So Disappointed with Singapore Essentials K


hands-on-mama
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I bought Book A of this series and it is waaaayyyy to easy for my daughter. We will work through these pages as extras, but now i'm wondering whether I should order Book B for her or move straight to 1A.

 

She is halfway through MUS Primer. I just wanted to try out Singapore to see which we wanted to go with for sure. DD also just needed a change of pace. She was getting tired of the monotony. Where do I go from here. I don't want a pricey program. I might would try Math Mammoth though if the first level is appropriate for her.

 

Please help! Lol!

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If you're thinking of MM, there are TONS of sample pages that you get for signing up.

 

Actually, whatever program you're considering, print out as many pages as you can find (Christian Book often has quite a few sample pages) and try them out with your kid.

 

Forgive me for asking, though... if you're using MUS and she's learning and thriving, why consider switching?

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Well, my main reason is that she doesn't like coloring all the blocks in MUS. I may just do that part for her. Sje really just seemed to be getting bored, so i thought we would try what HOD recommends (we are doing LHFHG after MFW K. I may find though that we need to stick with MUS.

 

Real answer, i'm a curriculum junkie and can't help muself. ;p

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Essentials A is a Pre-K book, while B is the Kindy book. I would try B before you give up on SM. If she knows how to recognize, count, and write numbers 1-20 and can do simple addition and subtraction easily, she may be ready to jump into 1A. Check out MM 1A sample to get an idea of where she needs to be. Also, 1A in either program is going to require a lot more writing from her.

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I would try Essentials B - with my own DD I did some of Horizons K til she was writing numerals to 20 and then did Singapore 1a along with Horizons K and that worked very well. If you want a cheap program you could also try MEP - either reception which is only 60 lessons or straight into MEP 1 - again the writing could be an issue.

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Well, my main reason is that she doesn't like coloring all the blocks in MUS. I may just do that part for her. Sje really just seemed to be getting bored, so i thought we would try what HOD recommends (we are doing LHFHG after MFW K. I may find though that we need to stick with MUS.

 

Real answer, i'm a curriculum junkie and can't help muself. ;p

 

Give her a bingo dotter for the MUS.

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We went through A quickly too. B was fairly easy but once we got to 1A things slowed down and in retrospect B was a good preparation for 1A. Otherwise we would have moved much more slowly through 1A, leading to frustration. For pre-K, we also did a lot with Rightstart, and some Miquon. Singapore ended up being a great fit but I wouldn't have bet on it based on our Essentials experience.

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Well, my main reason is that she doesn't like coloring all the blocks in MUS. I may just do that part for her. Sje really just seemed to be getting bored, so i thought we would try what HOD recommends (we are doing LHFHG after MFW K. I may find though that we need to stick with MUS.

 

Real answer, i'm a curriculum junkie and can't help muself. ;p

Oh my....you sound like me!!!

 

My Ker is doing MUS Primer, SM 1A, LHFHG and MFW 1st. I have problems! :D

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If she's strong in math, you may need 1A. My K'er is doing 1B now and loving it. (I've also used 4A-5B with my older son, and we love those levels)

 

We did EM K at age 4.5, and I think we spent about a month going through book A. We spent a LOT longer on book B. It ramps up quick, even getting into missing addend problems (only like 2 per page, so totally doable for a K'er). I had to break out the C-rods for sure. But after doing book B, 1A was a very easy transition. The big boogey man in 1A is unit 6, where it does adding and subtracting across tens, using the mental math techniques. That's the topic that trips up some kids, even when working at grade level. But that doesn't mean your kid will get tripped up. Mine didn't. We did slow it down some in that part, just because there wasn't much practice (some things had ONE exercise and that was it!), but once we got to measurements in the next unit, we were doubling up lessons. We're still doubling up lessons now in 1B because some of it has been pretty easy. DS can't wait to get to multiplication. :D

 

One thing I liked about EM book A, even though it was easy, was that it got the kids explaining WHY they chose something. There are often multiple possible answers! It certainly gave me insight into this child's brain... On the one with 3 aliens and a boy, they were supposed to pick which one didn't fit in the group. My son chose one of the aliens. Why? Because he had spots and the others didn't. :lol: I loved seeing why he chose different things. :)

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If she's strong in math, you may need 1A. My K'er is doing 1B now and loving it. (I've also used 4A-5B with my older son, and we love those levels)

 

We did EM K at age 4.5, and I think we spent about a month going through book A. We spent a LOT longer on book B. It ramps up quick, even getting into missing addend problems (only like 2 per page, so totally doable for a K'er). I had to break out the C-rods for sure. But after doing book B, 1A was a very easy transition. The big boogey man in 1A is unit 6, where it does adding and subtracting across tens, using the mental math techniques. That's the topic that trips up some kids, even when working at grade level. But that doesn't mean your kid will get tripped up. Mine didn't. We did slow it down some in that part, just because there wasn't much practice (some things had ONE exercise and that was it!), but once we got to measurements in the next unit, we were doubling up lessons. We're still doubling up lessons now in 1B because some of it has been pretty easy. DS can't wait to get to multiplication. :D

 

One thing I liked about EM book A, even though it was easy, was that it got the kids explaining WHY they chose something. There are often multiple possible answers! It certainly gave me insight into this child's brain... On the one with 3 aliens and a boy, they were supposed to pick which one didn't fit in the group. My son chose one of the aliens. Why? Because he had spots and the others didn't. :lol: I loved seeing why he chose different things. :)

 

Thanks for this! I think we're going to blow through A quickly and then go through B before fall. Then, in the fall we will MUS Alpha and Singapore 1A. I know it sounds crazy, but i like teaching more than one way to look at things.

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Essentials A is a Pre-K book, while B is the Kindy book. I would try B before you give up on SM. If she knows how to recognize, count, and write numbers 1-20 and can do simple addition and subtraction easily, she may be ready to jump into 1A. Check out MM 1A sample to get an idea of where she needs to be. Also, 1A in either program is going to require a lot more writing from her.

 

I would have ordered 1A but read at Rainbow Resource that 1A was pre-k and 1B is for K. We are using 1B for my k'er and she is doindg well. We are covering simple addition and subtraction problems right now. It seems to reinforce the math skills covered through mfw k hands on math.

 

I am planning to do 1A for my ds next year when he is 4 years old.

 

1A would be too easy for a k'er.

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I would have ordered 1A but read at Rainbow Resource that 1A was pre-k and 1B is for K. We are using 1B for my k'er and she is doindg well. We are covering simple addition and subtraction problems right now. It seems to reinforce the math skills covered through mfw k hands on math.

 

I am planning to do 1A for my ds next year when he is 4 years old.

 

1A would be too easy for a k'er.

 

 

 

It sounds like you're talking about Earlybird 1A/B. Most in this thread have been talking about Primary Math 1A/1B - ie, the first grade level of the program. You are correct that Earlybird 1A is more PreK level.

 

My son did Essential Math K A and B at age 4.5, then started PM 1A (first grade level) at age 5.5. He's in 1B now and has a solid foundation. I've been very happy with the program.

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