Help with Math for My Son

[4Kiddos]

I was hoping I might be able to find some help here for myself with math for my son. I am finding it really difficult to stay ahead of my son in math- specifically in finding enough math materials for him to be challenged. I haven't ever posted on the Accelerated Learner Board but I am starting to feel a little desperate. So, I would appreciate some advice :)

 

My oldest son is 6 1/2 and we are doing his "first grade" year. He is quite ahead in math- currently he is doing the Yellow Miquon book with some Singapore 3a thrown in. I have also added in additional materials as needed for fun- Primary Grade Challenge Math, Singapore Challenging Word Problems, Balance Benders, etc. So, currently we spend about 20 minutes or so a day on Math. During that time he will usually do 3 pages of Miquon, a couple pages in Singapore, and then a few problems from our other books. He really likes the problems that make him think about how to solve it and grasps new concepts really easily. Anyway, he only has one more Miquon book and I LOVE those. They and the Lab Sheets are the main curriculum we use.  The Singapore is ok but I am not as impressed with it and it seems to be less challenging than Miquon. Or I think it just goes at a slower rate or something. At his current pace, he will probably finish Miquon by the end of our school year. ACK! :(   So, what would you suggest after that? I was thinking perhaps Saxon 5/4 because my husband used those and loved them. My son is very much like him so I think it would be a good fit. But, I would like to have some of the "fun" math or problem solving that my son loves. Do you have any suggestions?

[elmerRex]

We used and liked Saxon Math 54 for first grade, but if you are having good success with Primary Maths then I don't see why you should stop or change.

You can find the entire book for Math 54 and Math 65 online for free,so do an internet search with Google "Saxon Math 54 PDF" and it will come up and you can download and preview the entire maths book without cost and decide if it will work for you.

[kiana]

Look into Beast Academy. Fun, problem-solving, challenging. Start in 3 and go as far as you can (3 and 4 are out now, maybe more will be out when he finishes) and then reassess.

[Mike in SA]

BA is a great next step.  We had DS8 do some number theory when he was 7.  He loved it, particularly the foreign and archaic number systems (Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Babylonian, etc).  That is a subject that is rarely broached by most schools, so you don't have to worry about "over-accelerating," if there is such a thing.

[mathwonk]

i have a different point of view from some possibly more knowledgable people.  To me your son sounds like a math person, and in that regard I would not recommend saxon.  i am a math guy (phd in algebraic geometry) and just cannot abide the "math hater" approach of saxon.  he regarded math as a skill that should be mastered but not enjoyed.  i consider it a book for those who do not like math but must master some minimal amount of basic stuff.  of course if it works by all means ignore me and go for it, but if you want other approaches, more likely to fit a future mathematician, jacobson's elementary algebra may suit a bright math loving kid.  his geometry is also wonderful.  just a suggestion.  you are in contact with the subject daily and your opinion is primary.

 

in language i just learned today, there is always needed a balance between "procedural fluency" (basic skills), and "conceptual understanding".  In my opinion saxon concentrates solely on procedural fluency.  this does not cut it in the long run. or as my friend who taught math at a school that (to me tragically) used saxon for years put it, " we found that afterwards, the students didn't understand anything".

 

so if you only want your child to pass a standardized test, saxon may suffice. but if you want him to understand and love math, i would avoid it almost like the plague.

 

but to repeat:  i am not there, you are, and just be sure not to use anything that does not work, no matter who recommends it.  have faith in your own judgment.  good luck!

 

edit:  Having trashed Saxon, and procedural fluency, I want to admit that sometimes PF makes us more ready for conceptual understanding.  I recall hitting the wall when my professor said that a differential form was a "section of the exterior algebra of the cotangent bundle", and only recovering when Harley Flanders wrote that it is something that looks like dx, or dx^dy,...., where ^ is multiplication, i.e. you multiply them by sticking them together: (dx^dy) ^ (dz) = dx^dy^dz, and the rules are that dx^dy = - dy^dx,....The he did a couple calculations.  It made me feel so secure to be able to calculate with them, I was freed up to learn what they meant.

 

Similarly Saxon can sometimes help get over the hump of fearing algebra, but then one probably needs a supplemental book that goes deeper and more interestingly into things.

[semory]

BA is a great next step.  We had DS8 do some number theory when he was 7.  He loved it, particularly the foreign and archaic number systems (Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Babylonian, etc).  That is a subject that is rarely broached by most schools, so you don't have to worry about "over-accelerating," if there is such a thing.

Mike - what materials/curriculum did you use for these topics?

[Mike in SA]

Mike - what materials/curriculum did you use for these topics?

AoPS is good, but very hard at this age. I would save it (or any formal curriculum) for later. We used Hashisaki's Theory of Arithmetic, because it was on our shelves at home. It reads well, but it really isn't intended for young kids, so the reading and teaching is up to the parent. It's a fun subject, so that's no big deal. Go very slowly, and treat each problem like a little project. Explore the math, and enjoy it. Finishing the book is completely irrelevant. Finishing any chapter is irrelevant. Exploration is the key.

 

It is a rather unique way to develop foundational mathematics. Beast Academy can provide further enrichment. Singapore is good, too.

 

Btw, I second the opinion on avoiding Saxon. Maybe not as strongly as above, but DW and I have both had our fill of unteaching it so that kids could relearn basics. DS13 used it for a while at school, and still struggles with a few "automatic" responses instead of critical thought, making advanced topics troublesome at times. DW, as a college prof, has seen lots of such cases. Saxon can be used as reinforcement, but is a poor primary source. TT would be better, if AoPS or BA is too tough.

[kateingr]

Seconding the Beast recommendation. I began it with my math-loving son when he was six-and-a-half, and it's worked very well so far to keep him challenged and interested in math.

 

My main caution with any curriculum that you use early is that you always have to keep in mind that while your child may be at the book's math level, he's not necessarily at the work habits level that the book expects. So, for my son, that meant that I needed to sit and really work through Beast with him to make sure he was catching all the directions and focusing. He also still needed me to scribe for him at that stage, although now at age eight, he no longer resists writing so much. Saxon would have the same issues--your son may be ready to do the math in 54, but he might not be ready to do that many problems per lesson or that much writing. 

 

If you'd like more info on Beast, I wrote a review here and a peek into one of our lessons here. 

 

 

[Momontherun]

Another vote for Beast Academy and skipping Saxon

[EKS]

Agreeing with the others--Beast Academy and no Saxon.

[kiwik]

I think only one person recommended Saxon.

[serendipitous journey]

Mike - what materials/curriculum did you use for these topics?

 

Not Mike :)  but I thought I'd toss out "Can You Count in Greek?" for non-base-10 number systems. 

 

To the OP, if you want to stay with Primary Maths you can do it somewhat easily by adding in the Challenging Word Problem books (appropriate problems from them, you don't have to do them all) and you can compact it without missing topics by buying the tests for the level.  If you think the child knows the material then give one of the tests (there are two for each topic) as a pre-test, and if the child is at 80% - 90% you can just teach anything that specifically needs teaching, above 90% simply move on.  Much under 80% teach either the whole topic or the parts you choose. 

 

Also, I find it helpful to do a chunk of fact-work daily at these ages.  With Singapore it is very easy, just pull from the Mental Math problems in the Instructor Guides; there are lots of ways to do a bit of facts regularly, though.  You may be doing something like this already or may choose against it, but failing to review facts caught us up short a few times so I thought I'd mention it!