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LTBernard
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I have been playing with this idea for a while now.  I know that different kiddos like different curriculum, but I thought it would be very interesting to see what people would say to this.  If knowing what you now know you could go back and make a list of all the math curriculum your child would go through from the time he/she started formal math curriculum until x time (this could be however old they are now, graduation, whatever) how would that list look?  I see people talking about SM, Beast, AoPS, etc... I would love to see a break down of how each of you think the best list would look for your child(ren).

Not sure my tired brain is making sense of this, so if I need to clarifry please let me know

 

Leslie

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I was very very lucky.  For my older, I got it absolutely right (just by accident!).  Start formal math at age 7 using Singapore Math intensive practice.  Started AoPS at age 9 and used it until university classes.  Pretty short and sweet list!  This child is a theoretical mathematician.

 

Younger's sequence was pretty much a disaster. In hindsight, I should have done Singapore math until 5b, and then switched to MEP year 7 and use it all the way to the A levels.  This child is much more practical.

 

Ruth in NZ

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Started with MEP when she was four or five which was ugly.... Floundered through a couple of years of this and that (Singapore, MM, Living Books, DreamBox) The problem was my willingness to switch, not our lack of fit. After that, Singapore through 5b in 2 years with some Zaccaro, Beast Academy, Dolciani and Alcumus thrown in for good measure. CTC discovering Geometry still in progress.

If I had it to do over, I'd probably do Singapore for grades 1 and 2, then switch over to a compacted Math Mammoth with a side of Living Books and problem solving through 6b.

She'll finish Xtra math about the same time as 6b. I never made a big deal about learning tables until this year. Her mental math is awesome, but her math facts were not fast.

We are finishing Math Mammoth 6b in a couple of weeks. I own MM7a, Derek Owens PreA, Auffman PreA, a Dolciani and Singapore 7a. Still not completely sure which we will use. Debating just printing off MM 7 and sticking it her binder without fan fair. DO would be easier for me.... I know I will sell the rest so I'm not tempted to curriculum hop again.

Will seriously consider John Rosaco for Algebra and after. Dd would be a candidate for AoPS, but is already doing 2 languages, wants to do a second instrument, and is on a swim team. There are only so many hours in the week.

So list?
Analytical Math Kid:
Singapore
MM
Zaccaro
Alcumus
Xtra Math
Dolciani

 

ETA- My Dd loves graphic novels and math, but didn't love Beast Academy, although she was largely beyond them when they came out.

 

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For DD10, the things that have worked best is

 

k-5- lots of living math books and experiences, SM IP

PA/Algebra-AOPS for the challenge, LOF for fun, plus other topics as needed for science.

 

We've used a lot more than that, but those are really the things she's learned most from and has stuck with. I anticipate keeping the AOPS/LOF going a few more years.

 

DD is a science-minded, language-loving kid. She enjoys math, and it's usually her favorite textbook, but it's pretty far down the list of things she loves to study and explore.

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I did not start homeschooling until 5th (DS) and 6th (DD) grades, so have no idea about elementary curriculum.

 

My one BIG mistake was to use Saxon 8/7 with DD in 6th grade and DS in 5th grade (one semester) simply because I did not know any other curriculum. It was a poor fit for my kids, we hated it, and it was only bearable by radical cutting and tweaking (I cut the entire program down to a semester of bare bones to get DS through prealgebra as quickly as possible)

If I could go back, I would use AoPS Prealgebra for them instead, but I do not think the program was published back when we needed it.

 

After that, we hit the sweet spot by discovering AoPS and have been/are using:

Intro to Algebra - geometry - intermediate_ Precalc- Calc

with a one semester detour through Intro to C&P for DS.

 

After AoPS Calc which sadly covers only single variable, we did a self designed multi-variable calc with some use of the Stewart text, a definite letdown after AoPS; it seemed boring and uninspired.

 

 

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I wouldn't do much differently, largely because we bought BA the day it was released, so while using it earlier for my oldest would have been ideal (starting with the as yet still unwritten second grade level), it wasn't an option. For the baby we plan to have in several years, I'll do the same strewing of manipulatives that I did with my olders as soon as they were out of the choking hazard stage, and ''do'' Miquon and/or MEP (I've heard good things about MEP but haven't used it) whenever interest is shown and at whatever pace they dictate. By the time that child is old enough to use it, BA should be ready in its entirety, starting with the second grade level. If it's appropriate for that child, we might use BA until AoPS. If not, I'll choose something else based on that child's needs, obviously. If the third is anything like the first two, though, this ''plan'' should work fine.

 

I suppose if I could go back I would start my DD8 on Miquon from the beginning instead of doing RSB and SM2. She loved the manipulative work in RS, but when she got to the parts she was supposed to do without them, her mind would wander. She was fully capable of solving the problems without the manipulatives, but having them in her hands helped to keep her ''present'' in the early years. She's fine without them now.

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Thanks everyone!  It is great to see people's different thoughts on what is best.  I see a lot of the same ideas, but also some differences.  Before I knew what I was doing someone introduced me to Math U See and DS has gone through Primer-Beta and has Gamma.  In the mean time I learned about Singapore math and he has also gone through K1and B and also 1A and B.  I have seen a lot of people also use MM and BA.  Can anyone give me an idea about how these programs compare/contrast?  Also MEP seems to be very popular here.  I looked at it online and for some reason didn't really like the look of it. 

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With DD13, I would have gone through Miquon, possibly alongside CLE 1-3, from kindergarten through grade 3; then I would have gone through CLE for grades 4 and 5, and then transitioned into AOPS. 

 

With DS5, I am kind of "doing that"... but he doesn't have the working memory issues that my 2E 13 year old has, so CLE isn't working well for him, no matter how much I love the program (the amount of review only frustrates him - he doesn't need it), so I'm using Miquon and making sure to hit the benchmarks in What Your ----- Needs to Know; when he finishes Miquon, we'll probably transition to Beast. I'm also flirting with adding in Kitchen Table Math and living math books.

 

I do like CLE's flash card system, and we still use that, even with DS5, and I would probably use it for all of my children no matter what.

 

DD13 is naturally very good at math - conceptually, but is dyslexic and has working memory problems; struggles with computation.

DS5 is naturally good at math, AND enjoys it, without the dyslexia. 

It means a much different approach than I had anticipated. I thought they would take a similar approach, but... no, lol.

 

 

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Ideally I'd do SM and Miquon early and then so SM and Beast until starting AoPS with prealgebra. Then go through the AoPS sequence until college.

 

With my oldest that is what I did (except Beast)

With my second, I think AoPS will get too frustrating as we move along and we may jump ship to something less inspiring.

With my third, I'm tinkering with Beast, SM and MEP trying to get her up to prealgebra. I think she'll need more practice than AoPS (not sure) and may keep on with some MEP.

Child four is happily just starting Beast alongside SM. I dropped Miquon a little sooner than the others because Beast was actually published when he needed it.

 

 

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Also MEP seems to be very popular here.  I looked at it online and for some reason didn't really like the look of it. 

 

We did not use MEP primary, only MEP secondary.  My ds likes it because it has a 2 week rotation of topics: 2 weeks algebra, 2 geometry, 2 number theory, 2 mathematical diagrams, etc.  Each has a test at the end and there is a test every 3 or 4 units that is cumulative throughout the year, so he is able to remember it.  It has good word problems and mental maths for each unit.  But what is the best part about the program are the 'activities', these can be really difficult, and very open-ended.  They really encourage my ds to *use* the math that he has learned, and use it in a unique manner.  Each activity is designed to take about an hour.  Although there are some theoretical problems, this program is much more practical than something like AoPS.

 

MEP is designed to get you to the A levels, which is approximately AP level (although different).

 

It is a strong program.  And although free, does take quite a bit of downloading and organising.  So if I had my way we would use something else, but this is absolutely the best program for my younger ds.

 

Here is an example, ds (age 11) did last month in the angles/maps/bearings unit.  They gave a scale drawing of the UK with the cities marked:

 

You are the flight director of a new small airline based at Manchester. You have leased

4 identical planes which fly at an average speed of 450 km/h, and need refuelling after a

maximum distance of 600 km. You would like to provide at least one daily return flight

from Manchester to each of the other cities marked on the map.

 

Design:

 

(a) timetables for the daily use of each plane (starting no earlier than 0700 hours,

and finishing no later than 2200 hours; allow at least 40 minutes between

arrival and departure at any airport).

(b) flight paths for all flight movements, ensuring that they do not conflict with

one another.

 

 

Ruth in NZ

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Also I am looking at AoPS and I see they have 9 different books available ranging from Pre-algebra to Calculus.  Since they are suggested to be used for 6th-12th grades that leads me to believe that people cover more than one per year.  Is this a good assumption or do people just pick and choose which ones to do?

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Some of the AoPS books (Number Theory, Intro to Counting, Intermediate Counting) are optional, strictly speaking. They're excellent books and cover useful material, but for students who aren't headed for a math major or those who come to AoPS later in the game (so have little time to spare), it might be preferable to stick to the ones that cover standard high school courses. But since they're not standard courses, you have the freedom to use them however you like. Some people just do them once a week while working alongside the standard books, or for non-math majors (or math majors who will be doing the material again at university) you could treat them as ''group math'', since they're pretty fun topics.

 

Many people do find, though, that the Pre-Algebra and Intro to Algebra books take an entire calendar year--not just an academic year--to get through. So if you don't school year-round, keep that in mind as you plan ahead.

 

You'd asked about a comparison between MM and BA. Both are more or less conceptual rather than procedural (this is especially true for BA), but MM has far more problems and never reaches the height of rigor BA does. My DS9 doesn't love math and I'm guessing is not headed for a math major, but MM was so painfully slow for him (even only doing every other odd-numbered one), that after doing it for a few weeks, he begged to go back to AoPS (I'd put him in MM briefly because he needed to do some work with negative integers before continuing Pre-A, and the BA book that covers the topic was only published a couple of months ago. His sentiment was that AoPS may be harder and sometimes frustrating, but at least it wasn't boring. This is all even more the case for my math-loving DD8. 

 

I think MM and SM are fine for kids who need more practice (MM) or who just plain don't like BA (either MM or SM). I think if I couldn't use BA for some reason, though, I'd try MEP first.

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In a perfect world: Lots of living math and concept math until second grade. At second grade I would have used Beast and Singapore IP. Ds would have just eaten Beast books like candy. Then begin playing with PreA of AoPS in third and integrating with extensive geometry and art with the PreA concepts. There would have been zero easy math. No math color sheets. No cute workbooks. No "I am so smart. Look at how awesome my math is. I shall squish you all with my mathematical ability." Challenging from the beginning.

 

What I actually did was a bit messier. We did living math and concept math until third grade, then tried a Saxon Algebra 1/2 book. Child adamately hated it. He could do the problems with no issue, but hated it. Dropped that after less than a quarter. Then used an old Glencoe (possibly Scott Foresman?) public school PreA book which he flew through. Picked up AoPS PreA. Child had a complete emotional meltdown with AoPS. He did not like struggling. Fourth grade Ds decided to stop being a total butthead about math, and flew through AoPS PreA and added in Counting & Prob. This year we are doing AoPS Geometry and finishing Counting & Prob. We are AoPS from here on out. Ds likes math as puzzles and using math in science, but definitely not going into STEM at this point.

 

Also I am looking at AoPS and I see they have 9 different books available ranging from Pre-algebra to Calculus. Since they are suggested to be used for 6th-12th grades that leads me to believe that people cover more than one per year. Is this a good assumption or do people just pick and choose which ones to do?

Umm...this one is a hard one to answer. Some kids here are flying through the books with multiples being finished in a year. If you pair the books with the online classes, that is easier since the pacing of the classes is quite quick. That has not been my experience, but I do not have a STEM kid (Ds is languages/leadership). However, it seems fairly universal that once a kid gets their stride with the feel of the texts, they often take off. The pace at that point varies for the student, but evens out so you can tell how fast they can progress through chapters. Ds can get through a chapter every two weeks without any stress and with everything else going on in our lives. I can plan on that pace. It has remained the same regardless of which book. Some parts are quicker, some longer, but the average remains the same.

 

Intro to Number Theory and Intro to C&P are much smaller books and each is more of a semester. Intro to Algebra is rather massive and includes quite a lot more than a standard Algebra 1 text. That one usually takes far more than just a year (though a strong student could diligently get through it). If you had to pace them, I'd go with two books every three years to be on the safe side.

 

Many of us start with much younger kids. My son's first exposure to AoPS began at 8 years old. Many also do not use the books traditionally. While doing PreA, we added in C&P just for fun and to help Ds emotionally. Then he wanted to skip Algebra, so we did Geometry and the rest of C&P. Next year we are integrating the remainder of Geometry and Algebra. It works out over the long haul, but it is not paced normally. Many parents stagger in this way, so a traditional pacing doesn't really happen.

 

You do not have to skip any books, though some families do, but you definitely want to start as early as possible and not wait until 6th just because that is what is printed on the label. The texts are dense and designed for letting kids stew over difficult parts, circling back sometimes to cement understanding, and in general allowing the math to seep in. That is far more stressful with a tight timeline.

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We started using MM1 when my son was 4.5. He found it easy conceptually, but really balked at all the problems. For K, we switched to using Singapore IP and CWP as our spine, along with LOF and other living math books, math games and apps, and books by Ed Zaccaro and Cleo Borac. My son is finishing up Singapore 2, and we will begin BA 3A in a few months. We plan to continue with BA, and Singapore, as needed, for reinforcement. I suspect that he will start AOPS Pre-A sometime in 4th, around age 9.

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Also I am looking at AoPS and I see they have 9 different books available ranging from Pre-algebra to Calculus. Since they are suggested to be used for 6th-12th grades that leads me to believe that people cover more than one per year.

There are all kinds of combinations possible. My older is my guinea pig and he is independent by nature.

What he choose to do was

3rd - prealgebra book, Intro number theory

4th - Intro to algebra & Intro to C&P to make up California algebra 1 (we were with a public charter so he had end of year test, CA alg1 has prob. & stats.)

5th (currently) - Intermediate algebra, Intro geometry, Intermediate C&P

??? - PreCalc

 

We school year round and take breaks for Summer camps and family vacations. Intro to NT can be done in a summer if your child doesn't have much summer activities. Intro to C&P took about the same amount of time.

 

I have other math books so if he gets bored with AoPS style, we can use Stewart Calc or some others instead. So far he is much more interested in the sciences. If I were to do over with this child, I could skip using textbooks before prealgebra and just teach him wifh pencil and paper, supplementing with contest problems for fun.

My younger is not as self-directed a learner for anything yet.

 

ETA:

Both browse through the Zaccaro books at B&N and didn't like it. They didn't like the LoF samples either.

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My oldest used Singapore through 5b and is now using AOPS pre-A. I wouldn't have done anything differently.

 

My youngest is in Singapore 3. She has a harder time keeping track of math facts/place value, so I may slow her down and add in more practice until she is solid on her basics. 4a really ramps it up!

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Calvin's talents are mostly on the arts side, but he's better at maths than he thinks.  We used some Miquon at the beginning, but he worked much better with very explicit instruction.  

 

We used Singapore Maths up to 5A maybe?  Then we did Galore Park SY Maths 1 with Life of Fred Fractions and Percentages.  At that point, I made the mistake of forgetting how important explicit instruction was to him, and shifting to L of F Algebra 1.  After about half a book, it clearly wasn't working - he was confused and sad.  So we went back to Galore Park, completing book 2 and part of 3 before he want to school at 13.  He didn't love it, but there was a bit of history mixed in and it was efficient.

 

So, for him: good picks were SM (I used 3rd edition) and Galore Park, with L of F as a supplement only.

 

L

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With MM we are doing 1-2 problems out of ever six or eight (basically each little block) and pretesting- so maybe half the chapters. We are doing the grade six math after doing mostly Singapore.This kiddo really needed to learn how to read to learn math and mind the details, so it's working well for that.

 

Beast runs a little ahead of MM. Some of the third grade topics in BA are in 4th grade MM. It didn't work for my DD, but she was allergic to anything "hard" at the time.

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DS started with SM at 5. He could do it but disliked. So I brought on the changes - Rightstart, all sorts of play math, specific topic books from Aimsedu.org, Ed Zacarro. He loved Ed Zacarro the best, and some of the Aimsedu materials. LoF did not work. Then we found AOPS, and that was it. I did try to switch him out to Dolciani, but he insisted on switching back.

 

Many a time, I wanted to write in the forums that I didn't find AOPS to be discovery in style. But I just had a word with DS on why he likes AOPS. "Discovery", he says. "It leads you to discover surprising patterns that are delightful." I'm taken aback that he used the d word, so it must really be so.

 

Eta: we tried MEP but ds didn't understand what I was saying (he has auditory issues). We fled quickly!

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I'd use . . .

 

Expecting about 30-40 min math 5 days a week for Years 1-4, gradually going towards 1 hr a day by Year 7 (or age 10-11). 1.5 hours a day at most by Year 10+ and/or ages 14+ unless the child desires more.

 

Lettered items (6b, etc . . . are optional and I'd use them if the child has an interest in that area and/or needs more support and/or needs to kill some time before being mature enough for the next stage . . .)

 

(Note "Years are roughly approx to grade level, but might be compressed or done earlier than grade age for Accelerated kids. They were for mine.)

 

Years 1-3 Miquon & Singapore in parallell (not scheduled to coordinate, just as separate subjects daily) + daily 5 min FACT practice coordinated with when the topics arise in Singapore. Mastery of all facts (+ - * /) before ending drill. 

 

Years 4-6 -- rest of Singapore (through 6) 

 

** Alternate -- consider AoPS Beast for years available (perhaps replacing later levels of Singapore during Years 4-6)

 

Year 6b -- Patty Paper Geometry (nice to do part time while doing Singapore 6 or similar, or can do as a summer course, etc. Not a full year.)

 

Year 7 (might take 18-24 months depending on age of child) - AoPS Pre A

Year 8  - AoPS Intro to Alg part 1

Year 9 - AoPS Intro to Alg part 2 

Year 9a -- AoPS Intro Counting + Probability AND AoPS Intro Number Theory  (Non core, but awesome for mathy kids with time available)

Year 10 - AoPS Intro to Geom 

Year 11, 1st semester - AoPS Alg 3

Year 11, 2nd semester -- AoPS PreCalc

Year 12, AoPS Calc

 

The other AoPS upper level books would be fit in if appropriate for the particular child and time allowed.

 

Alternate for Years 10-12 or 11-12 -- if the kid isn't independently clicking with AoPS by the end of the Intro to Alg book and/or the Geometry book . ..  I'd switch to Life of Fred for the remainder of the sequence. . . Either using PA Homeschoolers for Calculus, or Mom-teaching it (with whatever book desired), or taking it at a local college. 

 

My kids were ahead of when Beast came out, so I can't assess it. 

 

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What do you mean by "living math and concept math"?

 

No textbook. This was/is easier for me as I have a math background, but basically the math that happens in daily life and using daily life for explaining math questions. Lots of baking, but only being able to use a 1/4 measure. Later only using a 1/3 measure and having to convert. Then only making 2/3's a batch of something and having m reduce. My son thought it was a game. When he wanted to add numbers that were in the thousands he did not have enough blocks to use as manipulatives, so cars became hundreds, animals became tens, blocks became thousands, and crayons were ones. He would regroup and trade in. In games he figured out the probability of rolling/spinning the number he wanted to get. We would calculate time in the car based on miles per hour and where we were going. How much the total gas bill was going to cost based on gallons. How much was a toy going to cost if it was ten percent off. Later, how much interest was going to be added in a month on the credit card if interest was simple interest.

 

That was the only math we did. My son had no clue that math came in textbooks. The largest problem that I encountered was that we did this a year too long. When presented with traditional PreA In third, it was far too simple. My son got a big head about how good he was at math. When he then encountered AoPS, he liked the more game-like puzzle format, but not the difficulty of the problems. He immediately jumped to "I am terrible at math." The living math was great prep, but I made the mistake of thinking a confidence builder to start the transition from "fun, life math" to textbook math was needed. It meant we lost a year and had some hard emotional stuff. The emotional stuff has really paid off now, but losing the year hasn't been fun. It also created a stigma with Ds that he is not a math kid.

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My biggest regret was buying Saxon k-3. Huge expense and it taught him nothing that I couldn't have taught him around the house and on a white board. I had PS Teacher "friends" telling me I couldn't possibly hs because it's a professionals job so I had no confidence. Now I realize Ruth Beechick's The Three R's is what I should have done in some form.

 

I would use life examples and maybe some school zone books. Then I'd get MM1-6 as needed with Beast as my main. Verbal Math was great during the summer car rides to Dairy Queen too. 

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Guest GhostWriterGirl

This topic could not have come at a better time! My DD is 11 (6th grade) and completed Lial's BCM for pre-algebra in the fall and has moved on to Lail's Beginning & Intermediate Algebra for Algebra 1. She works with a math mentor everyday for an hour (her request, not mine). He informed me over the weekend that he anticipates her completing algebra 1 by summer. He said she not only understands the information, but the theory behind it as well and that we need to start thinking about curriculum options for geometry and algebra 2.

 

You have all given such great information that it was easy to pick out the kids that sounded a lot like mine and have given me some great places to start!

 

 

As a follow up...for any of you that had highly advanced math kiddos in the middle school ages, what did you do for calculus, but more importantly, BEYOND calculus???

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Electives for advanced students:

 

After the lial algebra:

AOPS discrete math courses

Statistics with something such as Against All Odds

 

After at least algebra 2/geometry (the geometry is more for mathematical maturity than because it is specifically required):

AOPS intermediate discrete math courses

AP statistics

 

After precalc:

Linear Algebra (most books are calculus-optional)

Abstract Algebra (using a more elementary text than otherwisel)

Point-set topology (using an elementary text)

Number theory

Cryptography

Combinatorics

Graph theory

 

After calculus:

Multivariable calculus

A more mathematical treatment of probability and statistics

Differential equations

A more theoretical view of calculus

An introductory course in complex variables (not complex analysis, but more application-oriented)

 

Which options you choose depends on the interest and ability of the student and the ability of the tutor. 

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Many interesting thoughts here. Sort of a spinoff question, and I don't know if it belongs here or in another thread.

 

When/how/would you introduce formal math to a young kid who seems to pick it up naturally?

 

I have a kindergarten kid (almost 6), who seems to understand more math than is common for his age. He adds the scores when we play games, and easily handles the two and three digit numbers involved. He occasionally wants to do oral math problems, things like "42 x 3" or "156 x 2" or "one and a half 3s" He seems to have a good intuitive understanding of things like place value into the millions, percents, fractions, negative numbers, etc... Like today when he was counting to ten very fast and I told him "That's not 10 seconds, I think that was only 2!" he instantly replies "So I was counting at a fifth of a second, right?" 

 

This is all mental, since he doesn't know any official on-paper type strategies like borrowing and carrying, or multiplication tables. And other than the very occasional desire to trade math problems, mostly just as it comes up in life. Sometimes I talk through some mental math strategy when he asks me a question, I think he mostly just learns it by thinking and an occasional kenken puzzle? He spent a month or so a year ago where he was doing a bit from the Miquon red and orange books, but not much since. 

 

If you had this kid, would you try to encourage more formal math, or encourage him to intuit it awhile longer? Obviously he knows plenty for kindergarten, and it's interesting to watch him figure out math on his own. On the other hand, it does seem like math is something he might have the potential to be good at, and I know he adores science (chemistry is his current burning passion), so perhaps it would be helpful if I did suggest a slightly less scattered approach? I've glanced at a few first and second grade math worksheets, and it seems the only thing he might not know would be how to do a problem with too many numbers to hold in his head. But I'm sure a whole curriculum would have more.

(If it matters, he doesn't really read at all yet, so I'd have to read any non-video content to him. And his handwriting is awful)

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I love that he does all that in his head!  Maybe when he does the work in his head you could start having him tell you how he worked it and then write that down so he could see that what he is doing can also be done on paper.  Then at some point after doing that a while work into more.  Does that make sense? 

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What a great thread!  I hadn't thought about what my kids did in preschool in so long!

 

Started homeschooling in preK with Singapore Math kindergarten level, US edition.  Not sure if they even sell that anymore, but we enjoyed it.  Had Beast Academy been available we would have used that.  We did SM 4 days a week and on Wednesdays we did fun math: something from Theoni Pappas or Martin Gardner, e.g.  Then at around 3rd grade, our Wednesday fun math day became a practice MOEMS day, while continuing the other days through Singapore 5B.

 

At around 5th grade, the girls were ready for PreAlgebra, and we switched to 5 days a week + a MOEMS exam.  By 6th grade, we moved on to MathCounts.  In the meantime they had dabbled in AoPS number theory, counting, AMC/MC prep, either with the text alone or online.  I plan to continue through the AoPS sequence, with my older dd now in Geometry and younger is doing Algebra and Counting/Probability.  

 

 

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I love that he does all that in his head!  Maybe when he does the work in his head you could start having him tell you how he worked it and then write that down so he could see that what he is doing can also be done on paper.  Then at some point after doing that a while work into more.  Does that make sense? 

Makes sense. He can write down answers (in keeping score of games), but handwriting is hard for him.

 

Perhaps a good approach would be to attempt to introduce book math at a third or fourth grade level, whenever the kid gets there on his own? Of course, I'd have to figure out what third or fourth grade level is, and deal with gaps and such...

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Makes sense. He can write down answers (in keeping score of games), but handwriting is hard for him.

 

Perhaps a good approach would be to attempt to introduce book math at a third or fourth grade level, whenever the kid gets there on his own? Of course, I'd have to figure out what third or fourth grade level is, and deal with gaps and such...

 

I was just meaning for YOU to write it down so he can see what math looks like on paper.  My DS loves to do his math in his head even when he shouldn't.  I think just seeing it written down will help solidify that he is actually doing math and also when he gets to math that you need for him to write down later that won't feel so foreign to him.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I did not start homeschooling until 5th (DS) and 6th (DD) grades, so have no idea about elementary curriculum.

 

My one BIG mistake was to use Saxon 8/7 with DD in 6th grade and DS in 5th grade (one semester) simply because I did not know any other curriculum. It was a poor fit for my kids, we hated it, and it was only bearable by radical cutting and tweaking (I cut the entire program down to a semester of bare bones to get DS through prealgebra as quickly as possible)

If I could go back, I would use AoPS Prealgebra for them instead, but I do not think the program was published back when we needed it.

 

After that, we hit the sweet spot by discovering AoPS and have been/are using:

Intro to Algebra - geometry - intermediate_ Precalc- Calc

with a one semester detour through Intro to C&P for DS.

 

After AoPS Calc which sadly covers only single variable, we did a self designed multi-variable calc with some use of the Stewart text, a definite letdown after AoPS; it seemed boring and uninspired.

 

 

 

 

We just finished AoPS Pre-Algebra online for my 8th grader.  I'm not good at math so we did the online option.  Wow, it was a fast pace and a lot of work and the last class will be this Friday.  So now I have to think about Alg 1 and 9th grade.  I see you've gone all the way through Calc.  How did you assign grades using AoPS for high school?  Not knowing about the grading is one hurdle to continuing to use this but also dd13 is currently saying math is her least favorite subject.  In the online class there were challenge problems sometimes she didn't know how to start and I didn't know how to help so we struggled along looking through the textbook until we found something to get us started.  How did you use the textbook and/or alcumus in  structured way for high school?

 

Thanks for your feedback.  I have a very bright child, but I'm not sure she is even remotely interested in a math/science career so I want to see how implementing AoPS (not online) would work for high school.

 

I'm also trying to come to terms with what my responsibility is to her.   I'm trying to consider the question that just because she can do the work in AoPS would it be okay to choose something less challenging if she dislikes it.  I think she just dislikes having to work at something.

 

Any thoughts or insight would be appreciated.

 

Blessings,

 

Cynthia

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