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Juggling math curriculums


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My 7 yo is finishing up Singapore PM 4A and BA 3C right now, but is only on level 3 for Singapore CWP. I seem to recall reading somewhere (though I can't find it now) that most folks finish up Singapore with 5B and 6A-B is not a lot of new stuff (can anyone verify?). At his current pace, he'll finish up Singapore 5B by mid-summer. I realized today (as I ordered him his next PM book) that I don't really have a plan for what to do with him at that point. Currently, he does BA 2x/week, PM 2x/week, and CWP 1x/week. CWP is by far his least enjoyed part of schoolwork. What would you recommend for when he finishes PM (or would you change things now, so that it takes him longer to finish up PM)?

 

I think my default is to just let him do BA 3x/week and CWP 2x/week and that keeps it simple for at least another year (I think it would *probably* take him around a year to finish up all the BA practice books and all the CWP books), while letting him explore his own bunny trails when he wants. Would you do something else instead? Less BA/CWP and more extra fun stuff? I know most folks start the AoPS pre-alg after finishing Singapore, but I'm not sure he's mature enough for that yet. I've never seen the stuff, but have just read that it's tricky. I'm not so concerned about the actual algebra (he finished Dragonbox Algebra5 in a week this month and is mostly done with Algebra12 already) as I am his frustration tolerance that has occasionally caused problems for us in BA.

 

I feel like I should know what to do with him, since I am a mathematician, but I'm only just beginning my journey of teaching my own kids math (as opposed to college kids!) and I don't know a lot of these curricula as well as you experienced folks, so I'd love some advice / insight!

 

ETA: FWIW We already do a lot of extra enrichment, just by nature, since he's a curious kid and I have the background to explain a lot of math stuff to him. So we've explored random stuff like graph theory and coding theory and other rabbit trails already, and I expect we'll keep doing it.

Edited by deanna1ynne
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My older did SM 6 and benefited from it for standardized test since prob & stats was covered. Besides he did SM5A to 6B in a summer than did AoPS prealgebra right after.

 

When my oldest started prealgebra, I was estimating calculus at 8th grade but he started in 7th. It is really hard to estimate.

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Here're a few ideas..

 

1- Continue math enrichment; wait for emotional maturity to catch up to his intellectual maturity and then move him to AoPS Intro to Algebra.

 

2- Move him to AoPS pre-algebra now which will lead to a few months of short term frustration, but will eventually increase his frustration tolerance.

 

3- Learn a new language. IME, this has a beneficial impact on everything academic, especially mathematics. I've seen my DD take a leap in math every time she has progressed in language learning. Something about struggling through a new language structure seems to stretch her brain. fwiw, she has less patience with language as compared to math.

 

4- One of those programming languages like Python or LaTex?  Maybe someone with more computer programming/science experience can chip in. This will dovetail very nicely with his math learning.

 

 

 

Edited by Ebunny
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Good to know that level 6 of Singapore may still be worth doing. That will buy us more time for him to mature just a bit before starting aops.

 

Thanks for the other ideas too. The language one is an interesting one to ponder. He reads and speaks English well, reads and speaks German moderately well, and we're in the process of learning to sign for my youngest. He's expressed interest in learning Russian, but lacks the fine motor skills for too much computer work (handwriting is hard and typing is harder, so there's no way something like LaTex would be a good fit right now) but maybe I'll look into other language learning options for him.

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He's expressed interest in learning Russian, but lacks the fine motor skills for too much computer work (handwriting is hard and typing is harder, so there's no way something like LaTex would be a good fit right now) but maybe I'll look into other language learning options for him.

Try the free lesson on living language app for Russian if you have an iPad. We tried the German and Chinese, and very little typing for the beginning lessons http://www.livinglanguage.com/products/russian/mobile-and-tablet-apps

 

Also try Scratch programming as it's drop and drop so very little typing required. https://scratch.mit.edu

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My older did SM 6 and benefited from it for standardized test since prob & stats was covered. Besides he did SM5A to 6B in a summer than did AoPS prealgebra right after.

 

When my oldest started prealgebra, I was estimating calculus at 8th grade but he started in 7th. It is really hard to estimate.

My kiddo is nowhere near that fast, so we've got a bit of time yet, I think. :) How old was your older when he finished up SM then? I'm just curious how long the pre-alg through pre-calc took him.

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I'm just curious how long the pre-alg through pre-calc took him.

3rd prealgebra

4th intro to algebra book

5th-mid 6th intermediate algebra + intro to geometry (books and classes)

Mid 6th to end 6th precalculus book and class + intro to programming with python class

Summer intermediate programming with python class

7th calculus book and class

 

He also did the intro to number theory book and intermediate counting and probability book over a summer either before 4th or 5th grade. He doesn't like to write but types in Latex since he was 7. His fine motor skills are okay but gross motor skills are behind. He finished SM6b when he was 7 yrs 7 months approximately.

 

ETA:

Older has his meltdowns but would power on and is a perfectionist. Younger would just sit around and wait for help, and he doesn't even ask and he does as little as he can for anything, very laid back. Very different temperaments.

Edited by Arcadia
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Arcadia, your older blows my mind.

 

OP, I think Russian would be a great idea. It gives you the grammatical benefits of Latin, but in a modern language.

 

My DS is also not a CWP fan, but really enjoys BA. I'm not sure with your background, and all the extra enrichment, that you're going to be able to slow the kid down that much. You might just have to roll with trying PA and assessing frustration tolerance.

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My DS is also not a CWP fan, but really enjoys BA.

 

This is my boy. And I've considered nixing the CWP, except that I've gotten so much advice about advanced learners going deep and not just fast, and I don't want to do him a disservice. I'm really on the fence about continuing it because I am loathe to continue something that may turn him off to his current love of math.

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And I've considered nixing the CWP, except that I've gotten so much advice about advanced learners going deep and not just fast, and I don't want to do him a disservice.

We tried IP and CWP once and he finished it very fast and was bored. That was costly. BA wasn't out and both my boys didn't take to BA when the first books came out. My husband said to keep the BA books we bought as a souvenir :lol:

What we did use were the free U of Waterloo math circles materials. With those we could go as deep and/or broad as each child wants. We did spend quite a bit on trinkets at the university store when we visited :)

http://www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/events/mathcircle_presentations.html

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3rd prealgebra

4th intro to algebra book

5th-mid 6th intermediate algebra + intro to geometry (books and classes)

Mid 6th to end 6th precalculus book and class + intro to programming with python class

Summer intermediate programming with python class

7th calculus book and class

 

He also did the intro to number theory book and intermediate counting and probability book over a summer either before 4th or 5th grade. He doesn't like to write but types in Latex since he was 7. His fine motor skills are okay but gross motor skills are behind. He finished SM6b when he was 7 yrs 7 months approximately.

 

 

This reassures me some, bc my guy is nowhere near as quick as your guy (he's 7.5 but only finishing up 4A right now), so it looks like it'll take a fair while to get through all the aops stuff. So if we do just spend some time finishing BA whenever he's done with SM, then maybe pre-alg will be a good fit for him. The books certainly look long enough to spend a LONG time in each one!

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Arcadia, your older blows my mind.

My older doesn't like sports and he only do two languages at a leisure pace so he has too much free time left for math and science. He is not into the AMCs or other competition math but my younger boy is so he accompanies his brother to keep him company.

If my older use the time he spend on math and science to languages or music or sports, his profile won't be so lopsided.

The books certainly look long enough to spend a LONG time in each one!

The book that took both my kids the most time was intermediate algebra. Both boys are high on visual spatial actually. They can pass off for VSLs. Geometry was relatively easy.

 

I have a "tortoise" too, a "hare" is tiring enough. He got bored with SM so he skipped 6A and 6B. He spends longer per day on math and every other subject because he gets distracted and ends up chatting or daydreaming. We school year round for him else he does forget. He had to do test prep for prob and stats because he forgot everything including what was mode and median.

 

2nd prealgebra book (started at 7yrs 8mths approx)

Summer Keys to Algebra workbooks for drill

Grade skip 3rd because he missed California's old December 2nd cutoff by 3 days, my older is just before cutoff.

4th-5th intro to algebra (book and intro to algebra B class) and intro to geometry book and class

Summer AoPS MathCounts/AMC8 advanced class

6th intermediate algebra book and class

 

He just want to do the minimum so he didn't do number theory or counting and probability. He did math circles one term and he did the AMCs since Nov 2015.

Edited by Arcadia
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My older doesn't like sports and he only do two languages at a leisure pace so he has too much free time left for math and science. He is not into the AMCs or other competition math but my younger boy is so he accompanies his brother to keep him company.

If my older use the time he spend on math and science to languages or music or sports, his profile won't be so lopsided.

The book that took both my kids the most time was intermediate algebra. Both boys are high on visual spatial actually. They can pass off for VSLs. Geometry was relatively easy.

 

I have a "tortoise" too, a "hare" is tiring enough. He got bored with SM so he skipped 6A and 6B. He spends longer per day on math and every other subject because he gets distracted and ends up chatting or daydreaming. We school year round for him else he does forget. He had to do test prep for prob and stats because he forgot everything including what was mode and median.

 

2nd prealgebra book (started at 7yrs 8mths approx)

Summer Keys to Algebra workbooks for drill

Grade skip 3rd because he missed California's old December 2nd cutoff by 3 days, my older is just before cutoff.

4th-5th intro to algebra (book and intro to algebra B class) and intro to geometry book and class

Summer AoPS MathCounts/AMC8 advanced class

6th intermediate algebra book and class

 

He just want to do the minimum so he didn't do number theory or counting and probability. He did math circles one term and he did the AMCs since Nov 2015.

Sacha is definitely more globally gifted vs. pointy, at least for now. But, wow, your kids still blow me away. I make Sacha participate in sports, music/theatre/art, languages, etc. because I believe in being well-rounded, but Sacha treats every activity as social hour. He spends a lot of his days playing with friends in the afternoons and evenings -- they make up imaginary games, play video games, and play outside. He's very social, so there is nothing he enjoys more than playing with friends. We also take off a solid 4 months of summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. He regresses a bit academically, but quickly catches back up. He loves going to camp, and SD is so amazing in the summer, that it is hard to even contemplate doing school.

 

A fellow boardie, with an AL of her own, put me in touch with a woman who can administer the Woodcock Johnson for us. I will be interested to see how he does. I just don't see him as an especially pointy kid. Though he swears he wants to go to Epsilon Camp next year, and enjoys reading books like The Number Devil in his spare time, he doesn't constantly talk about math. And, I don't want to pigeon hole him. I want him to be able to dabble and explore, and find his passions.

Edited by SeaConquest
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A fellow boardie, with an AL of her own, put me in touch with a woman who can administer the Woodcock Johnson for us. I will be interested to see how he does. I just don't see him as an especially pointy kid.

Have fun with the testing. It was entertaining for me when my kids did the WISC as I could hear from the waiting area while my husband took the non-testing kid for a car joyride. The scores won't have made as much sense if I didn't know how my kids were tested (ETA: as in how questions were asked and how my kids answered. Some questions were the same and my kids answered differently)

My kids results weren't pointy, they are just underachieving in languages :P They are also introverts that behave like extroverts.

 

For epsilon camp, have people who can write letter of recommendation (LoR) in mind. We don't have any one to write for Awesome Math camp or any camp that need LoR this year. I'll see how DS12 does for the qualifying test next month before worrying about the required LoR.

Edited by Arcadia
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Ha ha ha! This is so not what I meant! Sorry for the confusion and thank you for the thought! :) Though maybe I SHOULD see if he's interested in juggling.... lol.

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