mumkins Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Math is the thing that drives me most crazy about HSing! We tried horizon's, but it moved to fast. I tried MUS, but it moved too slow. I feel like Goldilocks! Where's my just right cirriculum? We moved on to saxon which I was initially happy with. I love scripted! But I couldn't keep up with the meeting book. It was too much with teaching 2 seperate courses, with a toddler and baby too. I felt like I was always behind. We've moved on to Singapore 1A and 1B. I feel extremly incapable of teaching it. I don't know how it is I'm suppose to teach the Singapore way. It feels like there's just not enough work. So saxon is too much and Singpore is too little. Again, where's my just right?! I want a scripted program that teaches mental math, reviews concepts, doesn't move too fast or too slow that wont require me to teach over 1/2 an hour per grade. Any suggestions? Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 A lot of people drop the Saxon meeting, or at least parts of it. Did you try this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Abeka Arithmetic saved my homeschool! Before... When we did Horizons it was all worksheet. The TM... Disclaimer: I have not tried Saxon. Abeka is working very well, and I know that I spend less than 30 min. teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I use Singapore. Do you have the Home Instructor's Guide? It really lays out how to teach the concepts, and has additional games and mental math worksheets. We also use the Intensive Practice books, which provide more practice while kicking it up a notch with how the concepts are applied. They are great! There is also the Extra Practice book. Singapore assumes you will drill the facts on your own. I know there is no way my son would learn facts just from doing the workbook pages. I know some people just go through the text and then hand the wb pages to the kids, but there really is a lot more to the program than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 In the lower grades of MUS, my son sped through because I would give him the test first. If he did well, he skipped the lesson (which he loved). That's an easy way to speed it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 With my 1 non mathy dd who did not do well with Singapore I am letting her try Teaching Textbooks and she is doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I'm not sure how MUS can move to slow since you are supposed to move on as soon as your child masters a concept, but it sounds like to me you are a BJU math person. They are the not too fast, not too slow homeschool math people :lol:. They take a very steady pace, not a spiral style, but they don't stay on one concept for such a long time as MUS either. Of all the curriculums I've looked at (and I've looked at almost all of them!) they sound like just what you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I could have wrote your post myself. We did Saxon K, then tried Rightstart....my dd became math phobic, so we went to MUS and yep it was slow and boring. Then I had a program that used Singapore and I felt that you can't learn math in 10-15 minutes through this program. It just lacked in my opinion (through the program I bought it with) and like Rightstart it's more abstract and can get tough to teach it. We really ditched it because of the abstractednes and the fact that it would be like teaching Rightstart. Neither of which way I learned, so it was very confusing to me. So we came back to Saxon. Now after a year a Saxon, which we like, I dropped the meeting book, although I wonder because I think there are a lot of good skills in the meeting part that shouldn't be skipped. We've been trying to do one portion of the meeting book. One day is county by 2's or 3's or 10's or whatever, one day we fill in the calendar, one day we do graphing. But it's very time consuming still. I'm am liking the looks of CLE www.clp.org. We'd place about 1/2-3/4 a year behind, although it's just like Saxon without all the excess. Plus the worksheets have directions as you move up in levels, so kids can become more independent. While Saxon is working for us, the time it takes is long. So since I like Saxon, CLE looks close without all the scripting, but still with help and the fostering of independence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Have you tried using the Intensive Practice and Challenging World Problem books with Singapore? We use both of them. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtolgd Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 You sound a lot like us this year! We started with horizons...caused tears and lots of frustration with ds. Gave MUS a try...he couldn't take how slow it moved. Then after much searching and looking at samples...we decided to give CLE a try...and we love it! It gives me enough direction that I feel like I'm not missing anything on teaching him. The flashcard system they have set up makes it so I don't have to worry about which facts to drill....just need to pull the ones out for each day. DS loves the speed drills...tries hard to beat his best scores. There is variety and review but not like horizons. It's really been a wonderful change for us and I think this one is a keeper! The only negative thing he's had to say is that there is no color...but that's not a deal breaker here! I will start dd on book 106 in 2 weeks when she finishes the horizons book she is in, and I think it will be wonderful for her as well. For third grade, a lesson is taking us about 30 minutes a day...much better than the hour of tears that Horizons gave him. Looking ahead in the 3rd grade teacher's manual, it looks very thorough and just what we need. I'm so grateful for all the people here who recommended it! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I second the question about the HIG for Singapore Math; it explains how to teach it. However, after trying the Saxon meeting books, I gave up scripted math ;). MUS is fun, but it just wasn't enough for us, so we've used it along with Singapore. I find that it's usually enough work for us, but we have added the Challenging Word Problems. The problem (no pun intended) is that CWP will be going out of print. There is MEP math, which has a teacher's guide, which we're using now along with Singapore Math for my 8 yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitraces Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 And has anyone tried Miquon Math? I loved it initially for it's low cost, then was sold on it for all four kids for grades 1-3. It was a great stepping stone to Singapore 4A. Lots of maniulatives, lots of thinking, just needs extra drill work on the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I second the question about the HIG for Singapore Math; it explains how to teach it. However, after trying the Saxon meeting books, I gave up scripted math ;). MUS is fun, but it just wasn't enough for us, so we've used it along with Singapore. I find that it's usually enough work for us, but we have added the Challenging Word Problems. The problem (no pun intended) is that CWP will be going out of print. There is MEP math, which has a teacher's guide, which we're using now along with Singapore Math for my 8 yo. I'd third the HiG for Singapore. And note the HiGs for the Standards Edition have been substantially improved over the US Edition according to the author of the HiGs (Jenny at singaporemath.com) and many parents. There is also a brand new book called The Singapore Model Method for Learning Mathematics. I'm waiting for my copy but the previews look awesome. And like Karin I love MEP as a program to do concurrently with Singapore. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in PA Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I want a scripted program that teaches mental math, reviews concepts, doesn't move too fast or too slow that wont require me to teach over 1/2 an hour per grade. Any suggestions? Help! Have you ever looked at RightStart Math? It certainly fits your criteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellycbr Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Have you ever looked at RightStart Math? It certainly fits your criteria. :iagree: Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyR Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 CLE math. CLE is like Saxon but without the excess. The higher the grade the less time you spend teaching and the more independently they can work. It also includes mental math and works faster then Saxon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumkins Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 I bought BJU this morning, but I have buyers remorse. Ah! I'm wondering if I should have bought CLE instead... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I bought BJU this morning, but I have buyers remorse. Ah! I'm wondering if I should have bought CLE instead... It sure seems like it, doesn't it? Read some posts from a few months back when BJU math was all the rage. ;) This thread made me want to check out CLE, and we are so thrilled and thankful for Abeka! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jg_puppy Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Sorry wrong place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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