Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment. I asked you to disagree with me, and I am not offended by any disagreements. Your thoughtful comments have allowed me to reconsider my program, clarify my goals, and revise my thinking… slightly. First, I would like to address some of the common comments: (Paraphrasing): ‘Finishing math early has no intrinsic value, but going deeper and broader does.’ And/or ‘There is value in going deeper – learning to think about problems, finding creative solutions, applying what you know, is all important.’ I agree. More on this at the end of my post. ‘4th grade MM is “a slogâ€.’ Thanks for the warning; I have only seen online sample pages. Of course I agree that “fun and cute†is better than dry and boring. The “fun and cute†suggestion of LOF was a bomb here. Child prefers higher quality fiction and found the math problems uninspiring. On trying Singapore: We did some CWP already, and I will reconsider looping back there. Thanks to those of you who mentioned other possible resources. I’m still researching them. ‘I was scarred by someone pushing me too hard as a child.’ I’m sorry to hear that. I know that happens. I was somewhat scarred by nobody challenging me, which is also a problem. I am well aware of both ends of the stick and am doing my best to find balance. To the “We just let our child play†comments: Our kindergarten curriculum consists of 30 minutes of math and 30 minutes of reading a day. That’s it for school requirements. This is on the “light†end of what most people on WTM currently do for Kindy. Comments about “pushing†are misguided, in my opinion. I agree with Paige that emotional health is important, and it’s a focus here. I suppose that I disagree that 5 is too young to teach the value of consistent effort. (Isn’t that the message of The Little Red Hen? And The Little Engine that could? And The Tortise and the Hare?) 30 minutes of math a day should not crush anyone’s soul. 30 minutes of frustration a day might. 30 minutes of mind-numbing repetition might. So I am trying to find the optimal curriculum that (a) is not too hard (b) does not repeat what she already knows. My calculation was that MM4 would fit those parameters. Of course, if I had a “play†based curriculum that covers new material that she doesn’t already have down, I’d be the first in line to buy it. But I really need “a curriculum†to follow, since I work full time. I can’t just come up with interesting lessons that build in math every day that are appropriately challenging etc. Let me try to rephrase my original post in another way, and see if you all still think I’m nuts: I have a very capable five year old who enjoys math but doesn’t beg for it. I do not want her to get overly frustrated with BA problems that are designed for children with a much larger working memory than my five year old has. I don’t see her getting anything useful from working problems that require more critical thinking skills than she is ready for. My thinking, therefore, is that if we slightly redirect our current efforts and move forward more with “algorithm†type work – building the mathematical toolbox, so to speak, that would free up time later, say in a year or two or three, where we could spend more time focused on applying the tools she has acquired onto challenging problems. So my thinking was to continue with our 30 minutes of math instruction by focusing on something that 5 year olds are better at – following the steps of an algorithm. And in a couple of years, “apply what you know†can then be the focus. Personally, I don’t think it’s highly appropriate to ask a 5 year old to look at a problem with no obvious route forward, study it for a period of time, and “try to figure out how to do it.†This is what I feel like I am asking her to do when we do the starred problems in BA. “Building the toolbox†seems like a better path for us right now. And, honestly, it feels more developmentally appropriate. Do you still disagree? In retrospect, my original post did not acknowledge the value in abstract thinking and advanced math problem solving skills. So, assuming we all now can agree that these have substantial value, what about the approach of moving forward with “building the toolbox†and solidifying the basic tools of math, and waiting on deep dives into challenging thought problems until a riper age? (Again, all are welcome to disagree. Please just don’t mischaracterize me as someone who is trying to push my child to do math that she is not capable of doing. If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re misunderstanding my whole post.)

This is my first post, but I’ve been reading here for about 2 years; I hope to get your advice on my math plan. My DD just turned 5, so is now ‘officially’ being homeschooled. We completed Miquon last spring. Loved it. We moved into BA and did the parts of each of the four books (3A-3D) that she could realistically handle, given her age, maturity, and math skills. She was probably able to do about ½ the program, typically the first half of each chapter. Now I am considering what I want to do next. My problem with continuing to work on BA as a standalone curriculum is twofold: 1) It moves very fast for a five year old, and I find myself “filling in†too much – Googling tips for teaching long division, for example. (I work full time, and I don’t have hours a week to plan new math lessons.) 2) My goals are not to challenge her to death for the sake of challenge, and sometimes that’s what BA feels like to us, when using it as a standalone curriculum. So what to do next? It seems that many of you would suggest more game-type stuff and/or other “challenge math†at her level. We’ve done some of this… Things like Sunshine Math and Math Kangaroo problems. I am inclined to move into MM, 4th grade. My rationale for this decision: 1) It’s the appropriate placement for what she already knows. 2) It will allow her to continue to build on her knowledge with a more manageable level of challenge. 3) Most important reason: She will “get something†out of the hard work she puts in. I want to continue to challenge her at her level; she is capable of it, and I believe it will build in the appropriate character skills needed to succeed later in life. However, I want her to get something out of the challenge. And if she can master 4th grade math now, while also building character and being reasonably challenged, that seems much more valuable than just being challenged with overly complicated story problems, and not “getting†anything tangible for it. In simplest terms: My thinking is that 4th grade math is good for her brain, and it accomplishes the goal of learning 4th grade math. Doing more challenge problems is “only†good for her brain. Is this bad logic? Another option would be to continue with BA, with me doing more teaching, but I feel like MM does a great job of filling in the steps – much better than I could do, given my prep time constraints. Last few notes: 1) Not doing any math is not an option. Both parents are STEM types and think math is important. Once she completes calculus, she can do other stuff if she prefers. 2) Math only consumes 30 minutes a day, and we think that’s reasonable, so please don’t think that we’re torturing her with hours of math every day. 3) I am not looking for curriculum advice; I can compare the options myself. I am more looking for what the hive thinks about moving forward into the next level (4th), instead of going sideways, given the rationale and circumstances I’ve laid out.