Anyone tried Singapore Math and not like it?

[Luvingmy4boys]

I see many rave reviews about Singapore Math but I'm pretty sure there has to be those who have tried it and not cared for it.

 

I'd really appreciate learning why you didn't like Singapore Math. I am currently using CLE Math 1 and plan to use it but wanted to supplement with Singapore 1A and 1B to add a little more of the mental concepts. It is a rather pricey math program and I'm trying to find out everything I can about it. I also think I'm starting to see 2 separate learning styles as far as math goes for my two boys which is another reason I'm looking to try Singapore.

[alisoncooks]

Well, we started with Singapore 1 but have switched to CLE 1. :)

I didn't NOT like SM ;) -- on the contrary, I really liked it!

That said, we got to the end of 1A, and DD couldn't handle the mental math with larger numbers, so we took a break to do some CLE.

I do plan on coming back to 1B after a few light units. Or at the end of CLE1, I'm not sure when...

They seem like they'd complement each other well...I'm just not sure how to do it yet.

[Karen in CO]

My older dd hated it. We dropped it somewhere in 2, but continued to do the CWPs (challenging word problems) for a few years. She has an intuitive understand of math concepts and thinks of math in a very different way. She hated that the textbook and workbook told her how to figure out the problems. She had such a strong reaction against it that I refused to try it with younger dd. The CWPs are different. I have a full set of them for younger to use.

[Luvingmy4boys]

I absolutely love CLE and it's gentle approach to learning while still being rigorous. I've been using it since Kindergarten. My boys have learned well and stress free which is my goal in getting them to love learning.

 

I just started CLE Math 1 and was planning on getting 1A just for review and learning number bonds, etc. I personally think that spiral learning is good at a young age to make the concepts stick and that is where I think CLE will shine. I was thinking of doing Singapore 2-3 days a week and using CLE to practice the math facts and memorization. Now, that being said, I just read in Cathy Duffy's review of CLE Math that starting at the end of second grade and up until about 8th grade that mental math exercises are taught.

 

"Mental math exercises are included beginning at the end of second grade and continuing throughout all levels through eighth grade." With that info, I'm wondering if maybe it's best to wait it out and not "push" learning and have them get frustrated.

[alisha]

We just finished Earlybird A & B (Kindergarten). My son did fine in it, but I didn't like it for a few reasons. 1. You have to go from textbook worksheets to Activity pages and it gets confusing going from book to book. 2. Now, I find out that when starting 1 and higher, you also need the Instructors Guide to teach you the methods and add additional stuff. That's another book to go between! 3. I didn't like all the games they give you to play. You have to pre-prep them and they're very similar to ones you can just play normally like chutes and ladders or war. Either that or really stupid games like turn over the card and say count how many things are on it (I can't really remember, I just made that one up). 4. There were a lot of pages that were just point to this or that, and count this or that. For instance, point to the numbers while counting along the path, or how many horses are there (3). Really, a Kindergartner who you're teaching to add and subtract needs to go back and count to 3? So, I guess that's 5: a little too easy in parts, though other parts were fine, so it might just be a kid to kid thing.

 

I did like the colorfulness, the amount of problems each page were fine and the pictures were decent.

 

I'm going to try Math Mammoth next year as it's supposed to be Singapore based, but only need 1 book, and no teachers guide, and the games are suggested at the beginning of the chapter to make/get yourself if desired. We'll see how it goes.

[SunnyDays]

My DS is similar to what Karen described. He's very good at math, and gets concepts intuitively. His thought process just didn't match up with the way Singapore taught, so it was frustrating for both of us. Plus, SM is more of a scripted lesson curriculum, and we don't prefer that type of program. Finally, we didn't like juggling so many books.

 

He's doing very well with Math Mammoth, which has a lot in common with SM, but is different enough that it "clicks" well for him.

[Lucy the Valiant]

I personally hate Singapore, but it "clicks" w/3 of my kiddos, so I have re-learned how to do elementary math and am playing along.

 

I'm a Saxon girl by personality, but alas, I'm homeschooling THEM, not ME. (Said light-heartedly - I don't know how to put in the funny smileys! )

[IceFairy]

We tried 1A. The reason we quit was on me....It wasn't how I learned math and could not get into teaching it.

[twoxcell]

We just finished Earlybird A & B (Kindergarten). My son did fine in it, but I didn't like it for a few reasons. 1. You have to go from textbook worksheets to Activity pages and it gets confusing going from book to book. 2. Now, I find out that when starting 1 and higher, you also need the Instructors Guide to teach you the methods and add additional stuff. That's another book to go between! 3. I didn't like all the games they give you to play. You have to pre-prep them and they're very similar to ones you can just play normally like chutes and ladders or war. Either that or really stupid games like turn over the card and say count how many things are on it (I can't really remember, I just made that one up). 4. There were a lot of pages that were just point to this or that, and count this or that. For instance, point to the numbers while counting along the path, or how many horses are there (3). Really, a Kindergartner who you're teaching to add and subtract needs to go back and count to 3? So, I guess that's 5: a little too easy in parts, though other parts were fine, so it might just be a kid to kid thing.

 

 

I would not judge the Singapore Primary math series by Singapore Earlybird K. They are quite different. ;)

[Guest]

We tried 1A. The reason we quit was on me....It wasn't how I learned math and could not get into teaching it.

 

 

Same here. I think Hunter is the one here that says the best curriculum is the one that you can/will teach. Lucky for me, my son is a mini-me and he didn't like it either. My daughter is a little different, but she just wants to get any work done, so she doesn't really care at this point. We have used Singapore Earlybird K (book 'B') for both kids. We do enjoy that colorful book. :)

[tagglelim]

I would not judge the Singapore Primary math series by Singapore Earlybird K. They are quite different. ;)

 

 

:iagree: I tried Singapore Earlybird K years ago and despised it. It turned me away from Singapore completely....until now. I was finally convinced to jump into the Singapore PM series (helpfully advised by folks here!) and I very, very much wish I had never left. I had to backtrack with my 3rd grader and started the year in 2A, but it is still so worth it. If only I could claim the years back!

 

I'm now also using the Singapore Essentials K program with my younger girl and it is AWESOME. Simple, effective, brilliant. A night and day difference between Earlybird and Essentials.

 

OP, I wish I could tell you that I don't like Singapore, but I just can't. I love it too much! Sorry! :001_smile:

[Forgiven]

We tried to use Singapore 1A with my oldest son, but he hated it, which I was okay with because I couldn't stand going back and forth between the teacher's guide, and his books. I kept getting confused on where I should be when. I was more than happy to put that aside! We now use Math Mammoth for all three of my kids (my K'er this year finished off Singapore's Earlybird books and then started MM1A) and all three love it.

 

My older son, who hated SM with a passion does his work without any crying or fighting. He's actually very good at math and with MM, everything has clicked and he rocks through his work.

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

I liked it, but I switched to a math that is part of our syllabus. I may still do IP books in the future during summers. I do hate how they use the phrase number sentence. I used to make DS1 cross that out and write in equation.

[elizabeth rose]

Well, I have used it for 12 years straight, with different kids, however I am finally leaving it. I feel after level 3, for me at least, it is just too hard to teach.. The instructors guide is wordy and unclear . I just want the clear facts about how to teach adding fractions for example. They have a very convoluted way of explaining things, at least to me. I am not a math person. I am switching to Rod and Staff. I just want simple, effective math lessons. SM also takes us a looong time, which is why we always are about a half a year behind. Doing the activities and lessons in the I

HIG, then the textbook, then finally the workbook, oh and the mental math would take too long. My kids can only handle 1 hour of math a day. I really think that should be enough myself. Again, I am not a math loving person, and I just want something simpler to teach. I'm switching when we finish the levels we are on now. Can't wait!

[Luvingmy4boys]

We tried 1A. The reason we quit was on me....It wasn't how I learned math and could not get into teaching it.

 

 

This is one of the reasons that I worry about as to why I won't like it. If I find it difficult to teach, I won't stick with it.

[Luvingmy4boys]

Well, I have used it for 12 years straight, with different kids, however I am finally leaving it. I feel after level 3, for me at least, it is just too hard to teach.. The instructors guide is wordy and unclear . I just want the clear facts about how to teach adding fractions for example. They have a very convoluted way of explaining things, at least to me. I am not a math person. I am switching to Rod and Staff. I just want simple, effective math lessons. SM also takes us a looong time, which is why we always are about a half a year behind. Doing the activities and lessons in the I

HIG, then the textbook, then finally the workbook, oh and the mental math would take too long. My kids can only handle 1 hour of math a day. I really think that should be enough myself. Again, I am not a math loving person, and I just want something simpler to teach. I'm switching when we finish the levels we are on now. Can't wait!

 

 

Just out of curiousity, did you have the US Edition or the Standards Edition HIG? I've read that the Standards was supposed to be much better than the US Edition from 2A and up.

 

Rod and Staff is supposed to be very simple just like CLE which is one of the things that I love. I'm not a math person myself but that was because it just never clicked with me.

[unfrumpable.]

I used most of 1B with my son. I personally didn't care for some of their concepts. I felt they were adding extra steps to easy problems. My son was having a hard time grasping it as well. So, we switched to MM. Not a whole lot of love there either, since they teach the same. :) We're now using Horizons and getting our math lesson done in a more timely matter. I still do about half a page of MM a day and I do have CWP too.

 

I wanted to like Sinagpore because it receives such high praise, but it just didn't go over well here.

[AimeeM]

We tried it and didn't care for it. I'm not sure *why*. Part of it could be that we started late in the game (dd started at Singapore 5A); she understood the concepts, she simply didn't understand how they were presented - she had been using a traditional math program for so long that this didn't mesh well with her. We moved to Math Mammoth and are finishing up MM6 now.

I have Singapore Essentials for my 3 year old. I still don't care for it, frankly, and we will be moving away from it next year I think.

[NittanyJen]

We don't get the book switching frustration... We don't do a lot of book switching. I teach from the text, make a note of which workbook exercises were relevant, then he does the workbook exercises on his own.

 

Voila-- no switching. If we use the IP book, we use it on a different day, so again, no switching involved. There are already way too many problems and too much review in the US Edition anyway, so we don't bother with the CWP or EP books, and I've never yet needed the HIG; if I did, I would read it ahead to teach the concrete portion, and not use it at the same time as the text, so again, no switching involved. Just store them together with a sticky bookmark in place and easy-peasy.

 

 

[a27mom]

I like it and don't like it. We have the textbooks, and like to cuddle up and work through them. But I did not like the HIG (US edition). I am not a fan of detailed teacher's guides in general. I really don't want to have 3 different books for 1/2 a year(or less) of math. We are going to switch to MM. I may still pick up used SM textbooks because my we do enjoy doing "cuddle math" for a change of pace occ.

[Luvingmy4boys]

 

I think it's those darn HIGs though. They aren't good. I didn't use them. I just did it on my own.

 

With my second I'm using MIF. I have yet to get a TM for it though.

 

 

I've been looking at MIF too and their samples look so much more helpful and easier to follow. Even used I find it very expensive but I do love the looks of it.

[elizabeth rose]

Just out of curiousity, did you have the US Edition or the Standards Edition HIG? I've read that the Standards was supposed to be much better than the US Edition from 2A and up.

 

Rod and Staff is supposed to be very simple just like CLE which is one of the things that I love. I'm not a math person myself but that was because it just never clicked with me.

 

 

I have the U.S. Edition. however, I have heardthat the Standards editionis much wordier! I don't want more words. As for just using the textbook, I have done that on some days. Some days though, it is not enough. For example, I didn't remember how to explain changing denominators of fractions to a common denominator. The Instructors guide didn't really explain it, and the textbook didn't at all. I had to go to my math dictionary to re-learn the process and explained it to my daughter from there. I've also had to look stuff up on Khan academy for an explanation of addittion and subtraction with carrying/borrowing. the sm books are just not clear enough. At least for me, a non math person.

[lorisuewho]

I think I SHOULD like it but I never do.

We did SM 1A and then I decided I hated it (my ds was fine with it) and we did Rightstart and CLE.

Then for this year I bought SM 2A and 2B, looked through it, and remembered I hated it. I sent it back and we did MEP instead. It turns out I love MEP.

Now I"m planning for next year. I actually considered buying SM again, but then I came to my senses. We are going to stick with MEP for my oldest, and a combo of MEP and CLE for my 2nd son.

[mom31257]

I came across two grade levels of workbooks at a thrift store and gave them a try. I have a math degree, so I could understand what was being taught and why even without the teacher materials. I didn't care for it in the least, and I don't really see what all the hype is about it. Maybe having a math degree causes me to automatically teach things to my kids regardless of the curriculum I'm using. My dd thanked me for doing a good job on teaching her mental math. Something came up with a group of friends, and they were amazed how fast she could do calculations in her head. She is my child who doesn't even like math.

 

I think something like these books would be just as effective. You should look at Scholastic's Teacher Express, especially the next time they have Dollar Days sales. They have several fun math books that would be great supplements.

 

Mental Math Kids Can't Resist

 

Speed Math for Kids

 

Mental Math Activities

[Lots of boys]

We tried SM for all of 1 and 2 but dropped it in favour of MM for gr. 3. I like how Singapore introduces concepts but I prefer the way Miquon does. We have been using Miquon since the begining and so we dropped SM in favour of the exploration that Miquon offers (my kids LOVE it) and the practical, incremental steps and review of MM. SM didn't have enough review for us and the juggling of the many books was a pain. The Miquon/MM combo is perfect for us.

[LittleIzumi]

We've tried Earlybird, Essentials, 1A, and 1B. It doesn't work for us. I did not use the HIG, so maybe, possibly that would have made a difference. MEP and Miquon work MUCH better with my kids' brains and thinking styles. I do want to find a resource for practicing making ten, though. That clicks really well with The Drama and I want her to have a chance to use it more.

[Wabi Sabi]

I *wanted* to like it but it just didn't work for us. I bought all of the books for both 1A and 1B but it just wasn't user-friendly, IMO. Too many books for us to juggle. I wanted something a little more streamlined and simplified. We switched over to Math Mammoth and have been very happy with it!

[alisoncooks]

And as if I haven't talked enough in this thread....

 

I'll also add that I had Math in Focus, the first 4 levels (to compare to SM). I forgot about that, since we never used it. :p

(Yes, my oldest is 6 and I bought 4 levels of MiF. I can't help myself -- I'm an obsessive curriculum-researcher.)

 

I can't say that I loved the MiF teacher's guides. Too classroom-y. Full of text boxes and side notes and large-group activities and testing info. Just as confusing -- or more so, IMO -- as the HIGs. Maybe I'm biased, though: I did 5 years teaching 1st grade in public schools & I've had my fill of bulky, over-wordy teacher's guides... (The HIG just felt more streamlined.)

 

I do really like the workbooks for MiF, though. For my younger DD, I plan on using my SM HIGs for game/teaching ideas and just work through the MiF workbooks. I really preferred MiF 1A/1B over SM 1A/1B. Seems like it progressed more gently b/c it had more practice pages for each concept.

 

The textbooks were a toss-up. Both SM and MiF texts don't really excite me. I think I prefer both programs WITHOUT that middle, textbook step.

[Mommy22alyns]

I hated it and it was a miserable failure here. Rebecca is thriving with CLE.

[lisamarie]

I think something like these books would be just as effective. You should look at Scholastic's Teacher Express, especially the next time they have Dollar Days sales. They have several fun math books that would be great supplements.

 

Speed Math for Kids

 

 

 

 

I just checked this book out and it's awesome! Who knew it was so easy to do multiplication of big numbers in your head with a few tricks!

 

And as to the original question, we've used SM through 4a with my DS9 and 2b with my DD7. Our biggest challenge with it is the lack of review. Mastery is great, but then they get to the review lesson and have no idea how to solve the problems because they've forgotten since the last time they've seen it. DS does a lot better with Saxon, which is what he's using now. DD7 just finished 2b today and isn't ready to move on. SM pushes too fast, doesn't offer enough review for her, doesn't give her enough practice of each type of problem, etc. I just purchased MM for her and we'll work through that for the rest of the school year. If it clicks better with her then we'll stick with it. If not, then I'll have her try either CLE or R&S until she's ready to move into Saxon 54.

[Luvingmy4boys]

The lack of review is what seems to be a more common complaint and that's why I'd be hesistant to use it as a stand alone curric even though many use it that way and they say it works for them. I guess it really depends on the child. I know my kids need review and so that's why I've been considering it as a supplement to their CLE. Math in Focus looks alot nicer and also looks like I could get away with only using the student text and workbooks to teach instead of buying the pricey Teacher's manual.

[sweetpea3829]

I love Singapore Standards for DS6 who is accelerated in math. I find there to be plenty fo review between the textbook, IP, tests, CWP, etc etc etc. In fact, he often has too much review.

 

I hate Singapore for DD7 who is dyscalculic. She cannot handle mental math and Singapore is a LOT of mental math. I'm trying MUS with her, though after seeing the videos, I already dislike it. (Am I the only one who doesn't care for Demme's teaching approach?) Perhaps she will feel differently.

 

I have the HIG and I like it. I haven't used it much in 1A but I'm starting to pick it up more in 1B.

[originalkat]

Singapore is a really good math program...but it DID NOT work for my daughter. We did CLE Math1 in 1st and switched to Singapore Math 2 for 2nd. The mastery based approach was all wrong for my dd. She lost a lot of the ground we had covered in 1st grade. We quit in December and started over with CLE Math2 and it is working beautifully!!

[Embassy]

My boys don't like it. They would prefer an easier program that doesn't make them think so hard. Singapore has been great for my children's math skill development and we use it through Singapore 5. I wasn't taught this way, but I wish I had been since my own math skills have improved immensely while using this curriculum. I love how mental math skills are promoted and taught.

[stripe]

I bought the texts but never wanted to buy the workbooks too so it sort of languished.

[junepep]

We happily went through the Kinder - Early Bird A and B books of Singapore supplementing with MEP and Miquon. Kit found it a bit boring, but she also seemed to like having something that was intensely colorful and soothingly easy play around with - especially when she was struggling with a reading concept - I could just drop MEP for a bit and we'd just do random WB pages and Singapore. However, when I looked through Singapore 1A and 1B at a friend's house, I decided to simply dump Singapore all together. Even after reading through a good portion of the HiG Singapore just seemed like it wouldn't be a good fit (for example: Kit had never liked the Singapore games - but loved the ones from MEP - go figure). So we just use MEP and Miquon these days (although I plan to trade Miquon for Beast Academy in a few months-ish "when she's ready" ;)).

 

In the end, we like math a lot here, and Kit seems to like the challenge of using two different math programs at a time, but she likes fun math. Math that she gets wrong, not because she made a foolish calculation error - but because the question didn't necessarily have an obvious answer. If Singapore had built it's core around the Challenging word problems and Intensive Practice books we'd probably still be doing it, but I just didn't feel like the core curriculum was for us. I didn't like having to juggle books when MEP has everything in one, and I didn't like the intense focus on one thing at a time in independent segments -- too much potential to do the same exact thing for a week or more straight. From everything that I've heard, Singapore is a great program, and maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance, but why modify something to fit when something else is a better fit?

 

(My youngest is also finding Singapore "boring" and is currently on strike - she'll only do MEP and play with c-rods atm)

[acsnmama]

Love Singapore Math here.

 

There are some things about the program that can be frustrating. However, 1st grader is doing division mentally. He just completed book 2a today and will be moving into 2b.

 

I was not taught this way. I wish I had been. I agree with what someone else stated above about it helping her mental math skills, it has helped mine!

 

I like what Singapore has done for my son. We're also using Essentials A & B for my 4 yr old and she is doing well.

 

We don't typically do any of the games or hands on learning. However, Singapore does have game suggestions, and also suggestions for using math manipulatives, so it can be very hands on if you want it to be. I love the approach, and I don't plan to leave it until we hit a major road block, hopefully that's never!

[pitterpatter]

This is the main reason I love SM. It is far superior to all of the rote memorization I learned in public school. SM makes so much sense to me. I'm learning the methods right along with DD and loving it. I feel so much more math literate. :001_cool:

 

We tried 1A. The reason we quit was on me....It wasn't how I learned math and could not get into teaching it.

[claluck]

I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it. I know that is lame and they aren't that much, but I was hoping to have a program that will work for all my kids (I am about to have my 7th) and the idea of buying consumable workbooks drives me nuts. So we do math mammoth and we like it. The kids don't love it, but I am not sure they would love anything, well thats not true they love LOF.

 

At any rate both MM and Singapore have one flaw and it is just the mastery based approach which is fine but when your kid spends a month on division and then suddenly they need to do multiplication and they cannot remember how even though they had just mastered that before. I really like it other wise. I have come up with a solution to do a 5 a day type thing like they so in math on the level. It takes a bit of work from me, but I just went through the table of contents for the last few years and made up a list of concepts the kids have learned. Then make up little review concepts so there aren't huge gaps of time between at least doing a review problem.

 

Christina

[cmarango]

We used Singapore Essential for K math. I started using 1A and didn't like how place value was treated and began using Rightstart as a spine. I used a bit of 1B (?) for introducing graphs for a week of doing something different. I still have 2A and 2B sitting on my shelf, but I much prefer RS. We are adding in CWP every now and then and that is the only part of Singapore that I have kept.

[NittanyJen]

I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it. I know that is lame and they aren't that much, but I was hoping to have a program that will work for all my kids (I am about to have my 7th) and the idea of buying consumable workbooks drives me nuts. So we do math mammoth and we like it. The kids don't love it, but I am not sure they would love anything, well thats not true they love LOF.

 

At any rate both MM and Singapore have one flaw and it is just the mastery based approach which is fine but when your kid spends a month on division and then suddenly they need to do multiplication and they cannot remember how even though they had just mastered that before. I really like it other wise. I have come up with a solution to do a 5 a day type thing like they so in math on the level. It takes a bit of work from me, but I just went through the table of contents for the last few years and made up a list of concepts the kids have learned. Then make up little review concepts so there aren't huge gaps of time between at least doing a review problem.

 

Christina

 

You will find that the word problems in Singapore prevent this problem very nicely if you work through the sections. Even in lower levels, there are multi-step problems that require use of kills from prior sections to solve, so the students are using previously learned skills daily; a problem may look like a division problem, but it will often also require subtraction, geometry, measures, multiplication, decimals, or some other skill in addition to the primary skill being obviously presented. Also, in the US Edition, between the Workbook and the textbook, there are several review sections in each chapter and more between each couple of chapters. One would have to move incredibly slowly to go a month between practicing skills. The only exception I can think of is the first time a new concept is introduced; oftentimes, the intent there is not permanent mastery but first exposure.