This is super helpful - thank you!! I had found the resources but didn’t realize the added benefits beyond planning purposes. What curriculum did your 2 olders switch from, and at what ages - into what levels of BA? Can you tell me about how long it takes you to get through a chapter? Do you work 4or 5 days a week? Now - can anyone tell me how to get my kids to do a placement test in summer!

Thanks for the insight! Unfortunately, I try to avoid FB at all costs and have resigned myself to ignorance in situations like these. I still believe I’m better for it. In this case, ignorance may not be bliss, but I can’t afford the curiosity.

Sorry - too many abbreviations maybe - Singapore Math Live is the 3rd party “endorsed” service that provides a syllabus and recorded lessons and helps for each level of Singapore Math US Edition - workbooks, Challenging Word Problems and Intensive Practice. The lady who does it - I forget her name and am too lazy to look it up - told me over the phone (and I believe it’s somewhere on her website) that in order to get the results for which the original SM has a reputation, you have to complete all three books and not just the textbooks and workbooks.

I was actually thinking the same the more I looked into BA. I had thought I knew what to do for the 5th grader and was really exploring options for my 3rd grader. He loves stories and characters and so this jumped out at me for that reason. The more I read, the more I thought my older, more puzzle-minded, son would enjoy the challenge. I will say that, though my second son doesn’t LOVE math as much as his brother - he isn’t quite as mathematically minded, he is very gifted and learns quickly. To be fair, since I never had to “teach” my first, we were sort of in that rhythm of skipping the lessons and the textbook and just doing the workbook, CWP and IP. The sweet second boy kept up, though, and held his own. I just know I’m doing him a disservice, and he deserves a real teacher. I feel confident that he will succeed with the guide book, video lesson and added practice, if needed. I am not as certain that he will love it. Of the two, he is much more enthusiastic about it. My oldest one cares not at all about characters and stories. I so appreciate experienced homeschooler’s opinions - so thank you so much for processing with me!! Honestly, if SM had more video support, I’d just stay with it since neither were begging to switch, and have thus far succeeded in learning the concepts with very little instruction. The only real glaring hole is that my 8 year old is struggling to understand time associations - like “a quarter until 3 is 2:45” - but I haven’t taken the necessary time (ha pun) to reinforce and practice. We don’t love the SML videos, and would have to switch to another version for other third party support. These others don’t include help for the CWP and IP (which I agree with SML, who advises that is the only way to actually get the results for which SM is known). Everything I’ve read says it is not advisable to switch to dimensions this late in the game from other versions, and that is the only “SM” program that provides video support. I’m thinking through using only the workbooks (dropping IP and CWP) for 3 with my 3rd grader along with BA 2 - and SM 5 workbooks with BA 4 for my 5th grader. It might be too much but perhaps not, and at least I’ll be getting progress reports and testing which we weren’t doing with SM. At the risk of completely losing you, at this point, I should also say that neither ever had trouble with the workbook problems with SM - only with the CWP and IP occasionally. Neither like doing the work, mind you, but the workbooks were easy for them both - with minimal textbook assistance.

Thanks for the feedback- I really appreciate your insights. I think I’m finally ready to just jump in and give it a try. 💪

My incoming 5th grader (turning 11) has been Singapore math (using the Singapore math live syllabus) since 2a in second grade. He completed the workbooks, IP and CWP for all 3 years - just completed 4b in May. I have never taught him one lesson. When he would get stuck, he would refer to the textbook (otherwise never even opened it) and/or watch the Singapore Live video (maybe once every month). We were planning to switch to Saxon 7/6 using My Math Assistant videos. However, his brother (incoming 3rd grader and turning 9) completed 2b SM (workbook, IP & CWP) using SM Live in May but needed more help and enjoyed it less. We are planning to switch to BA for him (going to try starting in 3a) and I’m wondering if the 5th grader should consider it too. Any advice on placement for these guys? And/or opinions about BA vs. Saxon vs. Singapore Math (US edition)? Finally, we work well when I assign pages for the week (4 days), and I’m concerned about using a “time limit” to pace ourselves since my boys will just space out and we might never complete a chapter that way. Any experiences to share - successes? I’m particularly interested in utilizing a program that includes online grading/progress reporting. TIA - I know there are a lot of other posts that may have addressed some or all of these questions….