travelgirlut Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I'm looking to move my son into Beast Academy for next year. He will be 10 and in 5th grade. Right now we use MEP and are about 2/3 of the way through Level 4 and will finish by the end of this school year. He loves the puzzley, logic kind of math, but he has requested to do something a little more independent. I love MEP and the topics it covers and the depth of knowledge it gives, but I too hate the time and paper juggling involved, so I'm not adverse to a change. So, internets, what level should we start on? I already own BA 3A and 3B from when they first came out and I tried it with my DD. It was a bust with her, but she thinks totally different than DS. I kind of hate to just jump in on Level 5 and miss all sorts of good stuff, but I'm also not sure we need to go all the way back to 3. Would starting with Level 4 be a good happy medium? Or do we really need to go all the way back to 3? Or would starting with 5 be fine? I looked at the placement test they have, and I'm fairly confident he could answer all the questions that would place him in Level 5, since MEP teaches a similar way of thinking, and the one problem I thought would throw him I asked him orally and he said, "Oh, that's easy." And proceeded to explain how he would do it. I don't care too much about pushing my kids to be crazy ahead in math, so if we did BA 5 next year, that would put him on track for AOPS pre-algebra in 6th, maybe, and I don't know if he'll be ready for that. He likes a bit of a challenge, but really freezes up if it's too hard. I know we don't have to do AOPS, but I think he'd thrive on it at the right time. Well, a long novel later, opinions? Thoughts? Advice? Love that I can come here for help! This place is the best!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 You could give the placement test for a more accurate idea of where he should be. Honestly, though, if you already own 3A and 3B why not just start right now with that? Just see how it goes. Maybe do it as a fun side thing right now. If it is a good fit but most of it is review, he will still be getting review in a bit different way and with more depth, but may be able to move more quickly through the lessons. If it is a bad fit then at least you didn't spend additional money on a program that won't work for your child. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roseto27 Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I agree. Since you already have 3a and 3b, go ahead and do them. It will be a review of concepts, but in a different, deeper, and fun way. Then do the placement tests to see if you should purchase 4a-d or move into 5a. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verity Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I found Beast Academy to be a year ahead (by number level vs grade level.) So, my 4th grader did 3 A-D this year along with Singapore 3. We will be doing 4 next year in 5th grade. I did do the placement test and he did very poorly (just brought him home after two years at a small private school), I might have even started at level 2 (if there is such a thing) but he learned alot from BA this year and alternating with Singapore gave me a good place to continue practicing his basic math skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 BA does have topics outside of the normal curriculum, so I don't think it will be all review. I'm not sure even MEP has Fermi problems. One possibility is to skip the first 3-5 pages of each chapter - those are pretty basic. Then make sure to have lots of fun with the starred problems and the last few pages of each chapter. You could probably skip most of the measurement chapter in 3C. I believe MEP covers measurements really well. And I found that chapter in BA the weakest of them all so far. The investigations were fun though. But yeah, BA assumes Algebra will start by at least 7th. If you were planning Algebra in 8th there's no problem in falling back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 (edited) I would start w/ 3 since you already have it. Your son could probably speed along (or skip sections) and finish books 3-5 in grades 5-6. Then do pre-al in 7th. Edited April 30, 2016 by Coco_Clark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 My 10 year old tested into 3C, but we bumped back to 3A. She is half way through after a week but she loves it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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