Will Singapore math work for me??

[Samiam]

Hmm, looking at Singapore math now that I saw many people were using in it in another post. I have looked at this in the past many moons ago for older DS, when he was younger, but never actually used it. He tends to be a math whiz and it takes very little "teaching" on my part for him to get it. I think I could have used anything for him, and it would have been fine. As it was, we used Calvert Math for most of elementary.

 

Now I have DS6, who is a different student altogether. He's the kind of guy where things need to be repeated a few times before it sinks in. If we talked about something today, he will probably look at me tomorrow with a completely blank look as if we have never talked about it before. He takes a little effort, okay ALOT of effort, on my part. We started our K5 year with Saxon, with him having hardly any math background at all, I mean nil. I don't think he got ANYTHING from that, not to mention my eyes glazed over on a daily basis using it.

 

So January, we started BJU. I can't say I dislike it, actually I do like it quite a bit. My son has retained quite alot, and there aren't any struggles to get him to sit and do the daily worksheet. The worksheets are simple enough, don't require alot of writing, and are very vibrant. The themed material keeps it interesting for my DS. The TM explains everything to me, which I kind of like. I need that, the "how to explain this concept" hand-holding that the TM's gives.

 

BUT all of that being said, I almost wonder if BJU is a little bit of over-kill as far as the TM, which is the bulk of the cost. Each lesson has several different activities, which are reviews, plus activities that are new material for that lesson. We skip the Christian content, I pick and choose the review activities and definately cut to the chase for the new material. The theme, which is a good point, tends to take a back burner in our daily lives, just because we often need to just get to the meat while I still have his attention and his rear-end next to me. So the fact that every worksheet is based on the farm, well, it makes for a colorful worksheet, but isn't necessarily essential to getting the point of the lesson. I never use the manipulative's from BJU, because you have to print and cut...I just use our Saxon kit manipulatives, which are generic enough to be used with any curriculum.

 

Soo, I am sitting here thinking if I need to spend that $$$, and maybe I could find a program that does just as well for DS6, but isn't so costly. I see many people using Singapore. Do you think Singapore would work for a wriggly boy, one who would prefer to engage in lightsaber battles then do anything that is related to school-work, one who needs a bit of a slower pace with repetition? Does the Singapore teacher material give me, the parent, enough guidelines and suggestions of how to teach the material. I know the workbooks are not in color, but I think we can handle that, because the textbooks are, right?

thanks for any suggestions.

[chiguirre]

IMHO, Singapore will be very frustrating for both of you. Ds is not a mathy kid and he really struggles with understanding the concepts. I tried SM last year and, although he enjoyed it, it really didn't stick. There just isn't enough review for him. We're using BJU now (but I have the 2nd edition) and it's a lot better. The slower pace and lots of repetition have helped ds do better with math. I also use MUS with him and that's a nice change of pace from BJU. I'd switch to it entirely, but it takes ds too long to understand a concept and doing the same exercises over and over gets stale for both of us, so BJU livens things up. I love SM and use it with dd, but it's just not a good fit for the math-challenged.

[ElizabethB]

My daughter was math challenged until we switched to Singapore! It's really improved the way she understands math.

 

We do have to supplement with math facts, however. We were doing Flashmaster, but we have the Right Start math games now and those are a lot more fun, we're doing them over the summer for math fact review and will probably use them as well next year with only occasional Flashmaster use.

 

It's inexpensive if you just buy one level, I'd give it a shot and see how it works for you. (It took about 3 months until it really started helping.)

 

You may need to go down a level for review to start. For example, 1B introduces a bit of multiplication and division very simply, it's don again in 2A, but the explanation is a bit overwhelming, I'm going to repeat that part of 1B next year before showing her the explanation in 2A.

 

My daughter is also good at puzzles, and she liked the puzzle type challenging problems in the IP books. When we switched to Singapore, we backed down a bit and started with 1A. The IP challenging problems in 1A were perfect for her, but the ones in 1B were too hard, we'll save them for when we do 2A next year. (By the time we got to 1B, she was again learning new things and back to working on her learning level.)

 

The pictures are idiot proof, you almost don't need the Home Instructor's Guide, but they do have some good ideas so I keep buying them. (The standards ones are supposedly better than the U.S. edition HIGs.)

[SherryTX]

I second Singapore math - I think it is excellent!

Regarding not having enough drill - well, there is Mental Math pages in the back of the Home Instructor guide, and there are a good bit of activities that you can do with your child listed in the guide as well. I think it has a lot of bang for the buck!

[Closeacademy]

My dd who picks up math easily has done very well with Singapore. She picks up the concepts easily and the work is just enough.

 

But for my dd that does not pick up concepts easily I use Rod and Staff to teach the concepts and Singapore to cement them.

 

Basically, if BJU is working well for your son then I would stick with it. Only change if what you are currently using is not working and you think this might work better. Singapore is light on review and each concept builds upon what is previously taught. It is great for children who whiz through math but difficult for children who have trouble with math concepts.

 

Good luck.:001_smile:

[Hazelt"nut"]

I have recently ordered singapore for my dd7 who will be going into Second grade. i ordered the textbook, workbook and home guide for 1b and 2a. I have heard that eh CWP are must but gong out of print. I can't buy them all right now even if I would find them. What is the IP you mentioned. My daughter loves puzzle type problems and so what you said interested me. Any insight as to what extras I need to purchase.

Thank you

Sheryl

[AudreyTN]

My ds6 sounds EXACTLY like your son. I absolutely love Singapore and do plan to use it with him, but probably more as a supplement. He's just started Rod and Staff 1 and he LOVES it!! The TM explains a lot. It's very useful.

 

BUT if BJU is working for you, you'd probably be better off sticking with it.

 

Sheryl- The IP (Intensive Practice) has some challenging word problems in each unit. It also includes more games and puzzles to reinforce concepts. A lot of people use them a level or so lower than what text they're using.

[radiobrain]

I love Singapore. I have one mathy kid and one non-mathy kid. They both do fine.

 

I always buy the Textbook but barely ever use it. I don't think that I have opened any of them for 2 years, but I like to have them in case I need to explain something in another way. You definitely DON'T need any instructor guides (in my opinion). If you want extra practice I would say to get an extra practice book or just do some problems on your own. Grab a cheap workbook from walgreens or something.

 

My kids are in 4A-5A and I supplement with "Key to" books depending on what I feel like they need work on.

 

But you need to use what works best for both you & your son. I think that if some people are used to something like Saxon or Horizons, Singapore will seem like it is lacking substance. It is only lacking the amount of exactly the same problems. My 10 yo would have DIED if I had ever presented him with a whole page full of problems like that! It takes several years to really gain a full understanding of all the basic math, and if you don't try to drill it or jam it all in there at once, it is more likely to become an acceptable daily thing.... not a dreaded and awful activity.

 

Sorry, just getting on my math soap box.:tongue_smilie:

 

Korin

[claire up north]

Based on your description of your son as one who needs a bit of repetition and will look at you on Day 2 as if you'd never discussed the same material on Day 1, I would not recommend Singapore. (I've used Singapore for 5 years with 3 kids, BTW).

 

You might want to consider A Beka. It is colorful, offers LOTS of practice (I actually wind up scratching off about half the problems as my kids learn the concepts), is extremely thorough, and is pretty cheap. (I think about $15 for each grades 1-6).

 

Although they offer a teachers manual and other stuff, you certainly don't need it, IMHO.

 

hth!

[AudreyTN]

(I've used Singapore for 5 years with 3 kids, BTW). You might want to consider A Beka.

 

Do you use A Beka with Singapore? I was considering doing this, is why I ask.

[ElizabethB]

IP is Intensive Practice.

 

Singaporemath.com has all of the CWP right now, I just ordered them. I didn't need the CWP (yet!), and the IP books are nice to have, not "need," but they are great for children who like puzzles.

Edited June 16, 2009 by ElizabethB
S

[claire up north]

Do you use A Beka with Singapore? I was considering doing this, is why I ask.

 

Yes, I do. I usually have the kids working in either Sinagpore or A Beka. I don't have them do both programs each day. When they were young, I used to do a day or two of Program 1 and then a day or two of Program 2, but as they have gotten older and the concepts have gotten harder, they usually work a few months with Program 1 and then a few months in Program 2. I make no attempt whatsoever to line up the concepts being taught between the two programs.

 

Let me know if you want to know anything else about combining the two programs.