I'm deciding what math curriculum to use next year for 4th grade, and I'm thinking of using Sinapore Math. I have used BJU and Abeka primarily, but the incremental approach is driving me crazy. For K, I used Singapore, then switched to BJU for 1-2. For 3rd, I had older copies of Singapore 2A and 2B on my shelf (with HIGs) so I started with those, but I felt completely overwhelmed. The mental math was particularly confusing to me. I definitely have weaknesses in my understanding of some basic math. I also felt like it wasn't clear what I was supposed to be doing and when. The books are too sparse, especially compared to BJU and Abeka. I need more hand-holding than the HIGs provided (if you can imagine that).
Once we finished 2A and 2B, I bought Abeka based on recommendations from friends. But Abeka jumps around SO much from lesson to lesson. Nothing feels connected. My son is better than average at math, so he has progressed well no matter what books we use. But I need to be able to teach it, ultimately. And I want him to understand the concepts well enough to go as far as he wants in math.
My question is this: should I try Singapore Standards edition? Is the material for the teachers easier to understand than the older Singapore HIGs? I have 4 more kids coming along behind my oldest, so I'd like to find something I like and stick with it for all of the kids. Although in some sense I trust that Abeka will give a good foundation in math skills, it is distracting to me and to my son that there doesn't seem to be much fluidity. I purchased Math Mammoth and like the approach better than Abeka, so I think the mastery approach appeals to me more than incremental. But I would feel more comfortable using something more standard like Singapore (or even Abeka or Saxon) as my primary text (and Math Mammoth as a supplement). I want to be certain that, should there ever come a day that my kids must go to public or private school, they'll know what they need to know.