Help - Math curriculum 5th

[blueninjamum]

I need help figuring out whether to jump ship from Abeka 5 to Beast Academy (or something else?)

 

Background - My 5th Grader is home with me this year. I homeschooled him for 3rd grade while we travelled on sabbatical. He went back to local public school for 4th. In 4th Grade (which is when testing is done in Canada) he was tested and scored 99% on gifted exam. In our school district there is no contained program for G & T, but there are a few enrichment days offered per year (10 or 11 pull-out days). Following an iffy 4th grade year with a teacher who resented him and a whole year with a class which really struggled with math (4th grade was no advancement over Abeka 3) we decided try homeschooling again for 4th. He appreciates homeschool. I would say his strengths are language based and we can delve into material and research that he can't at school - he did also score highly in math and visual perception. But he does miss recess and gym with his friends.

 

In 3rd Grade, while travelling, we used Abeka 3 which was perfect as I found big holes from previous public school education and felt Abeka filled them.

 

We chose Abeka 5 for homeschooling this year because we were already familiar with the program and wanted to fill in holes from 4th grade public school. We are exactly 1/2 through year and Abeka 5 is pretty much a breeze and we are getting nervous that he won't have covered sufficient topics to head into Pre-Algebra next year. We supplemented a little with Beast Academy 3A and 3B last year and found it was challenging and engaging. I'd like to head to APoS Pre-Algebra next year (whether at home or negotiate with the school for him to do this as online curriculum). What should we do right now? Trust in the method and continue with Abeka 5? We don't mind it and we are used to the routine but are not finding it very challenging. Should we supplement with geometry and graphing in the summer? Should we ditch and jump ship to Beast Academy 4 or 5?

Any advice appreciated.

 

 

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[OneStepAtATime]

Why not both?  Do Beast but test through Abeka until you hit more challenging areas.  Run one as the primary and the other as the secondary until you find out if Beast is enough.  For some kids it is.  For others it is a great program but there isn't enough review/practice for things to really sink in long term.  A lot of people use Beast as a supplement to help solidify conceptual understanding while running another program as the spine.