I'm looking into Singapore math and many of the items available interest me. I want to be able to teach it with the text book. I was wondering if the workbook is a place to write out problems from the textbook like what you might use a "scratch" paper for, or if the two products are necessary to use together. Is it beneficial to use a practice book, or does it increase the workload significantly. I was thinking about buying the practice books instead of the textbook workbooks. Do you think it's more beneficial to actually purchase the textbook workbook? I also wanted to look into the Singapore math step-by-step problem solving, critical thinking, and the challenges workbooks. If you have any input on those it would be appreciated. *I noticed the practice book I was thinking of is a Frank schaffer publication. Have any of you used this as a supplemental practice book with Singapore math. I also noticed that the "Singapore math" books are an offshoot as well. I would still value input on those as well. I'll look through available posts to see if this has been covered recently.

I want something spiral because ds8 tends to forget concepts easily. I didn't love all of the copying in Saxon because he hates to write, so we went with CLE. I really liked it, but it was tears, mental breakdowns, crying all the time for him. I think the colorful pages might help, too. (I let them chose a workbook spelling on their own, and he chose BJ spelling because of illustrations and colors.) I'm terrible at searching this forum so if I'm missing all the posts on this one, feel free to fwd or post or however it's done here. Thanks!

Last year I bought Saxon Math K and Saxon Math 1 for $10 each. It was a good deal and Saxon was recommended in TWTM so, I bought them. I also got the manipulatives on Rainbow Resource. I neither love nor do I hate Saxon. I was irritated sometimes by the amount of parent prep. My son has done well with it. While he's never cried because of math, he protests the calendar routine and some other repetitive tasks the curriculum assigns. I want homeschool to be enjoyable, not to see the light in his eyes dim with boredom. We changed the calendar routine (colorful magnetic calendar) and we skip some of the routine sometimes or we will do a game or play with the abacus. As far as the rest of the lessons, I get the feeling that sometimes Saxon is moving a little slow, probably due to the spiral nature of it. Today, after filling out a drill adding doubles up to 9, my son asked me how much was 200 + 200 and I showed him how to do it... we went off on a tangent. But if you would have seen his delighted face, you wouldn't have stopped either! We started adding other simple numbers like 100 + 100, 1000 + 1000, 400 + 400... Then we had to go back to the worksheets (because I'm that mom that likes to check boxes), that are all very similar and of course, my son can finish with no trouble. He does not mind a page with 20 addition problems. He actually gets a kick of completing them fast. lol I do not do 2 or 3 lessons in one day because we have other subjects to complete and he is still too young to sit still for too long. In fact, sometimes we complete Saxon in two chunks with a break. Sight word drill is enjoyable for him. Probably because we get off the table and he wiggles while he reads them... I downloaded a sample of Life of Fred Apples and read it to my son and he liked it. A lot. I ordered the apples book to use at bedtime. I think it will be a nice supplement and we may get the whole set if the religious content isn't too overt. After all that, I would like some opinions. Should I stick with Saxon while doing Life of Fred for fun? Or should I switch him to something else? I want a rigorous math curriculum that does not repeat itself so much? Something that will make me feel like we are indeed covering all the bases. Drill is fine. I am sure we can slow down if we need to, but its hard for me to figure out how to get Saxon moving without missing things. We are secular, but we are not offended by a religious curriculum as long as the religious content isn't a central part of the content.

Hello all, My oldest is 10 1/2 yo, entering 5th grade. He's bright and I'm wanting to keep him challenged/interested in math. I have tried multiple curricula. Right now I'm doing a combination of Beast Academy and Math Mammoth, which is fine. I just heard about Making Math Meaningful, and it sounded interesting. I'm wondering, should I look into it? What are the pros and cons of this curriculum? Do you know about how it does with 5th and 6th grade? Thanks. Erin

Has anyone tried RightStart math? Who loves it? Why? I'm agonizing over whether to try RightStart C next year instead of Saxon 3. (I picked C instead of B based on the site's recommendation.) It's not that my DS7 has a big problem with Saxon. He does fine and doesn't complain most of the time. But he doesn't have that mythical "love of math" I've heard so much about. Maybe because I don't have that, it's hard for me to imagine, but if it's real, I'd like him to have a chance to develop it. And Saxon isn't really inspiring. I would describe it as thorough and adequate, but it's not making anyone around here EAGER for math. So, I took a few learning style quizzes on behalf of my son, and he is mainly auditory, and secondly kinesthetic. So I thought RightStart seemed to fit well with that. Is there another math I MUST investigate? I need something complete...I don't want to have to piecemeal it. Any suggestions?

Hello all, I wish I had taken advantage of this forum sooner. This is my third year homeschooling, and I've been swamped ever since I started. I quit my part-time job which will hopefully help me to not merely survive but actually plan ahead and see the big picture (at least now and then). =) My oldest is 9 and 1/2 years old and reads at a very high level. He reads 900-page sci-fi books for fun. I can't keep up with him! He scored 12th-grade level on spelling when we did our first standardized test this year. But my question is about math. He's been complaining that it's "too easy." We started in 1st grade with a combo of Saxon and Singapore. We started on first grade materials even though I knew he already knew a lot of it, because I wanted to reinforce facts for him. By the end of 2nd grade, he had gone through 3 years of both curricula. This year I decided to switch to RightStart Math, hoping that would help with my second son, who didn't like Saxon at all. I started my oldest at Level D, based on the brief placement test, but now I realize that level was too low. I like the Montessori thinking behind RightStart (we're a Montessori family), but it seems like it's not challenging enough. I'm really running out of steam for this school year, so I'm not going to make any major changes until next school year, but I'll try to supplement with some leftover Challenging Word Problems books from Singapore I have lying around. I have two questions, however, with regard to the future. 1) What do I do for next year? It will be 4th grade for him. Do I continue with RightStart E and skip over stuff, so we get through it faster? Does anyone know anything about Level G (it looks like there's no F), in terms of how challenging it is? Do you have other curriculum recommendations? I don't want him to miss important skills, but it would be better to be able to move faster. Also, my time is getting more and more limited, so it would be nice to have a curriculum that he could basically do on his own, rather than depending on me (RS is teacher-heavy). Other question... 2) What should be my goal over the next few years? i.e., when should we start Algebra? My husband says, "if he's bored, start Algebra." I know Susan Wise Bauer says that most students aren't ready for the abstract thinking involved in Algebra until at least 7th or 8th grade. Is this true for all kids, or is it different with accelerated learners? How can I know when he's ready? I want him to be engaged and challenged, but not push him before he's ready. If he's not ready for Algebra, what kind of math can keep him engaged for 5th and 6th (and 7th?) grade in the meantime? I wish I had more time to better craft each curriculum choice, but I'm really swamped. We're adding child #3 to the homeschooling mix in the fall, and child #2 still needs a lot of time with me. Plus, I need to potty-train my toddler at some point, and every once in awhile do laundry. =) I posted the math curriculum question to the K-8 board, but no one replied. I'd appreciate any input any of you have to offer. Thanks, Erin

Has anyone had experience with the Introduction to Number Theory book in the Art of Problem Solving curriculum? Judging from the short list of topics, it seems that much of the same information is covered in Introduction to Number Theory that are covered in the Number Theory chapter of the PreAlgebra book. Is the depth much more sufficient? We do not have enough years to cover both Introduction to Number Theory and Counting & Probability. My son does not want to go into computer sciences, or extensive mathematics as a profession, so we will not be covering the Intermediate Counting & Probability. It is more a choice of which introductory text to use for foundational knowledge and later basis to pull from in more complex mathematics. The other option is to do both books in the year, instead of just one. Number Theory is an area my son is fairly strong in and the number theory chapter in the PreAlgebra book has been mostly review. Would it be too much to go through both books simultaneously? Any experiences or thoughts here would be welcomed. Thanks!

I have been using both Horizons and Singapore math with my 8yo (almost 9yo) DD. She is ready to begin Horizons Grade 4 and is part way through Singapore 3B. I feel that using both of these programs has given her a really great math education so far. However, the trouble is that I have three younger DCs, two whom I also teach and one toddler. I am swamped! Math takes so much of our time and I would love to simplify, but I don't know which program to drop. My DD LOVES Horizons and would be so disappointed to drop it. However, I am afraid to let Singapore go because of the strong mental math//critical thinking/word problem component. I have even learned a lot from teaching Singapore! In an ideal world, I would continue with both, but if I do that I'm afraid I will be so frustrated that no one will be happy. :crying: My DD is bright and learns new things very quickly so I want to make sure that she is challenged and stretched. I have thought about using just Singapore's CWP and Mental Math books as a supplement to Horizons, but I wonder what we'll be missing if we don't actually use the text, workbook, and HIG. I've even thought about moving to Teaching Textbooks as that would free me up so much, but I've read mixed reviews on TT and I don't want to compromise the quality of her education. Help! What would you do?

I am new to The Well-Trained Mind and I am new to homeschooling. I thought this would be a great place to ask for advice. I have two boys that have been in PS since they were 3. They have been on an IEP their entire school career. I won’t rant about how I assumed that because the PS “team†was nice and showed me dibble scores every year, they MUST be doing things right for my boys. I became aware… then I became proactive in my boys’ education. I just fired PS. I am trying to find the best math methodology for each child. My 12 year old has Asperger’s & ADHD inattentive with a high/average IQ. He does not do well with divided attention. I was leaning toward Saxon Math. Any thoughts? My 11 year old is ADHD combined, hyperactive dominant. He thrives with sustained and divided attention and sustained attention (TEA-Ch subtest Sky Search 15 and Score DT 16). His WISC-IV perceptual reasoning score is 133. Math is his strong suit. I think he would be bored with a spiral (& textbook) style of learning math. For him, I was leaning towards Systematic Mathematics. Is there a math curriculum that would suit him better? Thanks in advance! :bigear:

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/12/seattles-math-secret-revealed.html I don't think many here will be surprised by the "secret."

We've been a contented Saxon family for a number of years. Two oldest used Saxon K - 3, then did 6/5 through 8/7, then Algebra 1/2. Now they are using Art of Problem Solving Algebra. I really like and they really like AoPS. Artichoke (my 4th grader) is just about finished with Saxon 3. He's bright but had far more early grade interuptions because of moves, so he's a little behind where his brothers were at that grade/age. He's also young for his grade and would be a third grader if he'd started in this state. We were taking a little break from Saxon 3, because I didn't feel like he had his multiplication facts nailed down enough to go on to the lessons that were multiplication of a two digit number (ex. 37 x 8=). Our break was to work through the first chapter of the SMSG grade 3 book. He's been really enjoying this. Today he asked if there was more SMSG to do, because he like it better. He said that it feels like he's really learning stuff instead of just "doing math problems". I'm not sure if this is because it's not spiraling, because it's dealing with early geometry (lines and angles) or because we've been giving a lot of focus to mastering stuff instead of just checking the boxes. I've never pondered alternatives to Saxon before this year, because we'd been quite content with it (and the 95+% scores of the older kids didn't make me feel like I needed to seek out another option). But I'm curious what folks would suggest as an alternative to going into Saxon 5/4.

In another thread, there was discussion about Singapore Math vs MM vs TT. It seems to be common consensus that TT is behind grade level while Singapore is significantly ahead. So, if that's the case, which math programs are "on" grade level? I'm thinking about supplementing TT with something else but I don't really know what. My kids and I have been really happy with TT and I already have it for using next fall. However, I don't want to do my children a disservice by not providing them enough. So, what would ya'll suggest for supplements? Or do you think it necessary? FWIW, both my 3rd grader and my 4th grader will use TT4.

Hi! I'm homeschooling 3 children for the first time this year, and one is in Kindy. Saxon math is toooo easy, slow, and boring. My 3rd and 4th graders are using Saxon just fine, but it's too far behind for my KG'er. Any suggestions? I flipped further to the middle and back of the book to make sure I cover 'main ideas' with her like finding patterns, ordinal numbers, etc... but the lessons are too slow. Should I fast forward to Saxon 1? Seeing as it's going fine with the older 2, I don't have a big complaint, but then again we're pretty new. The only complain I could have about Saxon (for up to grade 3) is how much time the meeting and lessons take. Since I have 4 kids altogether, it's hard to designate a good 30 minutes without interruptions to 'teach' a lesson. I'm just barely getting by with my 3rd graders lessons, and although they don't take too long, I feel bad when I get interrupted while trying to show her fractions or something else on the board. Do some math programs at such a young level give the student more autonomy?

I'm wondering your opinion about the math program you're using and why you chose it. The programs that seem to be popular are Math-u-see, Singapore, and Rightstart, but without access to the actual curriculum, it's difficult to choose. My daughter is six in August and we will be beginning first grade this year. Last year we used Saxon K. Thank you for your help! Jani

Hi there. I wonder if anyone might have a suggestion... Background: Our dd13 (9th grade) has expressed an interest in taking part in some extracurricular activities through the public high school and possibly attending fulltime in the tenth grade. I've been making some phone calls and have discovered that this IS allowed (extracurriculars), but from what I've been able to find out so far, there's a good chance that she would be expected to follow the same curriculum as the kids in school are doing. I've yet to confirm this (have to wait another week before the individual I need to speak with comes back to work), but even if they don't require it for participation in extracurriculars, she does want to attend full time in 10th. Problem: She isn't "on grade level" in math. When we started homeschooling years back, we thought that we were doing it 'all the way' - so we haven't been too concerned with being EXACTLY where the public school kids are. She's ahead in some, behind in others - depending on where you make your comparisons. I need a math program that will "close the gaps" - and fairly quickly. She's at about the 6th/7th grade level in math - and she needs to catch up to 9th. (She may or may not have to work with a 9th grade text this year - we don't know yet. But by Sept 2011, she WILL have to handle the 10th grade math text if she goes ahead with her current plan and attends public high school full time.) If she does have to do the 9th text this year, we'll deal. I'll still need something to work with her on the gaps - we'll just have to make it work out. What program would you all suggest? Something that covers the basics, covers the major concepts taught during 7 & 8 mainly, I guess it would be. But something that can be done in a shorter time than usual. (If we get lucky and don't have to use the 9th text this year, then we have the full year to catch her up to level.) Thanks! :)

Are there any CD-ROM (or DVD) based math courses people recommend for pre-algebra and beyond? I afterschool my son with Singapore Math, currently using book 5A. He enjoyed the Descartes Cove math software and also Newton's Quest. We have one PC with an internet connection, and one without, that I let him use unsupervised, and I have found that if install academic software, he usually works on it when the mood strikes him.

Dd13 has been breezing through Lial's BCM this year and is anxious to start Algebra. I thought LoF might be a good fit but it doesn't have enough hand holding for either of us. I need a solid refresher and she needs better explanations than we are getting in LoF. Y'all steered me to Lial's BCM last year and it was perfect. What do you recommend for Algebra and beyond?

Anyone care to share some of their favorite websites to use as resources for teaching math, specifically for K-8 students? I'll start with my small contributions: Math Drill Sheets Daily Mental Math Drills (more for high school, but worth listing) Khan Academy I'd love to see what you've found!

I searched Dolciani and you can see (and be overwhelmed) by 10-11 pages of all her different books but there isn't much detail for each book. Here is the info .. Beware, even though there are links to Amazon, etc, they are not always the same book. Eg, I clicked on one for Algebra and Trig and the book that came up was only Algebra. I've been wondering if anyone has contacted Google Books about putting the solution books for old Dolcianis online? Some of these book dealers are putting up astronomical fees yet this is an educational item and those solution books are what teaching moms/dads need. They say they will put the entire out of print book online here. I'm not sure how they make the selection. Anyone have experience with this process?

I just received Singapore Math 1B in the mail. We ordered the HIG, text, workbook for the Standards edition. I also ordered intensive practice from the US edition because my gal was between 1B and 2A in terms of skills and we went with the lower since we were new to the program. Here are my questions... The HIG is great with how to introduce the lesson. Then the assignments are there. Do you do all text and workbook pages listed for that "lesson" (some days it seems like a lot) Or do you break it up into more than that? How do you determine it? Just while you are working on the lesson and whether or not they get it? If you have the test books - do you find them useful? When do they get incorporated? How do you incorportate the intensive practice? random times? at the end of a unit? summer practice? Does a "unit" typically take a week? 2 weeks? How about the mental math practices in the back? Copy them and do one daily? I am sure any way we want to do it will work out, but I was used to a program that was more straight forward with less "parts" to put together. I am curious how others have looked at it. How do you plan ahead? We LOVE the way the math is presented, so it should be fun! Any tips from Singapore users would be great!

This is long. Sorry. After a few confusing years of ps Everyday Math and a year of Saxon 56 during which he did fine solving the problems and memorized the standard algorithms but still couldn't apply his math, my older son did PM3B-6, then the first maybe five? chapters of NEM. Then he paused to do Keys to Algebra 1-3 to cement "all those little rules" (his words), then we continued on in NEM. He did NEM1, NEM2, NEM3, and then he went off and did pre-calculus at the community college with Blitzer. Now he is doing technical calculus at college and he says he "rocks" at the algebra part compared to the other students. He is struggling with the calculus. This doesn't surprise us. He has always struggled mightily with math. I kept him in Singapore because I had a strong feeling that he just wouldn't understand how to apply his math if he used a different book. Sometimes I wish that I had done Dociani with him, but then I remember my own high school's math classes. We used Dolciani. Only about 20 of us out 200 did calculus in 12th grade, so I think perhaps it isn't a magic bullet. I remember that I struggled with word problems that my son solved easily, even though I was several years ahead of him in math and doing that Dolciani. I also have trouble judging the Dolciani because my father did my math with me and taught me what he called the engineering way of doing things. This definately wasn't like I was being taught at school. It was more like Singapore than Dolciani. Now I have to make the same decisions for my youngest. He is in 9th now and doing NEM3. I am wondering if I should switch him to Dolciani because I remember doing lots of things in 9th grade that he isn't going to get in NEM3 or even NEM4, like logs and matrices and series. I know my son could go straight into CC pre-calc next year after completing NEM3 (and we'd probably get to bits of 4) but he might want to peacewalk, which doesn't mix well with CC classes. Or he might not. Would those missing bits come back to haunt him later on in engineering school? I remember having a whole extra computer science math class that covered many of those bits. It was a waste of time for me because I had had all that in high school, but the fact that it was required might mean that my son would be fine if he doesn't do it in high school. Is there any advantage to getting through all of the CC's two semesters of pre-calc and their three semesters of calc before going to college? Do I switch him to Dolciani algebra 2? I bought an old used one. (That is how I know we used it in high school. When I unwrapped it, my husband and I groaned. It brought back all sorts of memories.) It does indeed have those missing things. Then what happens to geometry? I figured out where those missing bits are in Singapore - NAM, which the more advance math students take concurrently with NEM3 and 4. We, however, are already spending between two and three hours a day on math. I can't imagine adding in NAM. We might have time to get to a few chapters of NAM at the end of this year if my son doesn't go walking for too long. I spent less than two hours on math in high school. I don't think this son is any less mathy than I was, so... so what? Is NEM particularly arduous? Is it worth it? Can we jump into Dolciani midstream? Do I suppliment with Dolciani? If he waits another year and doesn't do pre-calc until 11th, then he could do Dolciani Algebra 2 and/or NAM in 10th, but what would I call it on his transcript? Integrated Math 4? Questions, questions... So the issues are: Time spent each day Time available each year (with peacewalking) Peacewalking not mixing with community college (he would vanish mid-semester) Missing bits Geometry (included in NEM but not in Dolciani) I like the applied-ness of NEM Advantage of getting two semesters of precalc and three of calc at CC before going to college My son himself wants to just keep doing NEM and add in NAM. The community college says they will look at everything and offer advice. Before I go talk to them, though, I'd like to know what the hive thinks. -Nan

My kids are transitioning back to public school this fall. We happily used Math-U-See for the last two years at home. I anticipate math being the most difficult subject for the girls to catch up in--since it is just done very differently in MUS. So supposedly our district is beginning a new math program, Math Expressions. Anyone heard of it? Good/bad opinions?

Hi all! What are your thoughts on MEP? Also for anyone with experience, what MEP level would you place a child who completes R&S Math 5? It seems like most would be put in MEP's grade 5 as the UK seems to be a year ahead of the US, is this correct? Thank you!!

A friend just told me about her dd's math assignment. She is in a public school that uses a "new math" type of text. She had to find numbers in use around the house and tell about the numbers she found. This was supposed to show that numbers are IMPORTANT. It sounds like it was a rather time-consuming assignment, although my friend said it was fun! She was just upset, because the teacher later decided that the numbers had to be food-related. The dd got all the answers wrong, and had to do the assignment again! My head was just spinning after hearing about all the little steps they had to go through, and I just kept thinking- how is that supposed to teach math?

I'm considering a change in math. We're currently using Horizons 1 and Singapore 1A with my 6 yo K/1-er-we used Horizons K last year. The pace of Horizons has become a little overwhelming for ds (and I don't feel like he's truly learning the concepts), so I think we're going to focus on Singapore for a little while-but I feel like Singapore by itself might not be "enough". I'm looking at MUS, and while I like it, I'm not totally convinced-it seems kind of expensive, and (after watching portions of the primer video that someone lent me-although I'd be doing alpha with ds) some of the memorization tricks seem forced. So I'm curious what else is out there that people have really, really liked. I'd love to hear what people have found effective in really helping their kids learn math. What is the best math you have used? Thanks in advance,