marypoppins Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 After much discussion with dh, we have decided to switch from Saxon after this year when we finish up Saxon 3 - at least until higher level Jr. High/High School math, and then we will revisit whether or not to return to Saxon. For now, it is really turning off my 8yo ds to math. I think the problem is mainly in the presentation; it just isn't appealing to him at this point. For now I am leaning toward CLE, but Singapore is still in the back of my mind. I have a few questions hopefully you can help me with. 1) Does Singapore cover enough about U.S. units of measure and U.S. currency? 2) I have read that Singapore starts off gentle enough, but rapidly progresses to quite challenging topics by about 4th/5th grade. Do you find that your students are able to comprehend and keep up that pace? 3) Is there enough drill and review? 4) I have read that some parents add a special word problem book or other extra workbooks (I believe published by Singapore??). Do you add any of this "extra" stuff? 5) About how long do you spend on Math each day using Singapore? 6) And by chance, have any of you ever used both CLE and Singapore? Which one do you like better and why? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I'd like to add on to your questions about singapore - Are the teachers manuals for singapore a good idea? I am not savvy at teaching math and sometimes I'm not really sure how to explain things, I'm wondering if those manual would help. My son is finishing 1b right now and we will start 2a this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 1) Does Singapore cover enough about U.S. units of measure and U.S. currency? The U.S. version has plenty on this. 3) Is there enough drill and review? I find that the amount in the workbooks is enough for most topics, but occasionally we go into the Extra Practice workbook. With three supplements designed to go along (Xtra Practice, CWP, and the CD-ROMs), you really can't lose. I'm using Challenging Word Problems a year behind the Textbook & Workbook in order to get long-term review. 4) I have read that some parents add a special word problem book or other extra workbooks (I believe published by Singapore??). Do you add any of this "extra" stuff? Oh. See above. Yes. The reason kids in Singapore do so well is not that the textbook and workbook that forms the core of their curriculum is so wonderful; it's that they get it from several angles and apply it in different contexts. I therefore consider the Challenging Word Problems and Extra PRactice books essential. There's one for each level, geared right to what you're teaching out of the textbook. 5) About how long do you spend on Math each day using Singapore? Half an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 never mind! figured it out. If anyone has thoughts on the teachers guides I'd love to hear. Rose thanks for the input above, I wasn't familiar with the add ons from Singapore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 If anyone has thoughts on the teachers guides I'd love to hear. Rose thanks for the input above, I wasn't familiar with the add ons from Singapore. The Home Instructor's guides published by Sonlight explain the goals of each lesson, give ideas for discussions and exercises with manipulatives, and schedule the lessons. I can't use manipulatives with my guys because they get distracted and start building trains and whatnot; so I found these unnecessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 1) Does Singapore cover enough about U.S. units of measure and U.S. currency? Yes, it does a good job of covering both US and metric units. 2) I have read that Singapore starts off gentle enough, but rapidly progresses to quite challenging topics by about 4th/5th grade. Do you find that your students are able to comprehend and keep up that pace? We've kept up with the pace just fine. There are usually one or two sections a year that we need to slow down the pace to really master the material, but there are also easier sections in which we can make that time back up using a faster pace. 3) Is there enough drill and review? It doesn't drill math facts so you would need to do that on your own if those haven't been mastered yet. For most kids, I would say there is enough drill and review. If you need more, you can always add one of the supplements. 4) I have read that some parents add a special word problem book or other extra workbooks (I believe published by Singapore??). Do you add any of this "extra" stuff? We add the Intensive Practice. It does a good job of further applying a concept beyond what is in the book. We use the Word Problems either as a review over the summer to keep math fresh or as a bridge between levels to give us time to drill math facts. 5) About how long do you spend on Math each day using Singapore? I would say the Singapore work takes about 45 minutes a day (depending on DDs mood of course) HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 1) Does Singapore cover enough about U.S. units of measure and U.S. currency? If you use the U.S. edition then the problems are about U.S. money. As far as mesurement, there are sections and problems for U.S. measurement. Personally, I skip these as they can pick these up on their own and I feel that it is more important to learn how to do metric since that is what the scientific community and most of the world uses. 2) I have read that Singapore starts off gentle enough, but rapidly progresses to quite challenging topics by about 4th/5th grade. Do you find that your students are able to comprehend and keep up that pace? Yes, there are 6 levels of Singapore Primary Math. And after the 6th level your child should be ready for Algebra which is usually started in the country in 9th grade. Each level seems to have a big new intense subject that you spend quite a bit of time on. Level 1 is mainly addition and subtraction. Level 2 is about regrouping and multiplication. Level 3 is about long division and multiplication. Level 4 spends it's time on fractions. Level 5 on decimals and Level 6 percents and geometry. Singapore never really starts off easy--it just has pictures and puzzles to make it look so. From what we have done so far--I would not start PM 2a unless my child had addition and subtraction facts down. For 3a--make that multiplication and subtraction facts. Singapore is good though--real good. 3) Is there enough drill and review? Does it drill you to death like Saxon or Rod and Staff? No. Is there enough work between the text and workbook for a child who gets math concepts easy? Yes. If your child has a hard time picking up math concepts then you will want to supplement. You can either use Singapore supplements or you can use online drill sheets. For a child who is good at math and understands the concepts quickly and really runs through it then it has enough for them to learn the concept and get on to the next thing which generally builds upon the previous or other previously learned concepts. 4) I have read that some parents add a special word problem book or other extra workbooks (I believe published by Singapore??). Do you add any of this "extra" stuff? Yes, Singapore Math has supplemental workbooks you can buy. There is Extra Maths Practice for the child who needs more problems just like those in the workbook. Intensive Math for the child who lives and breathes math and wants to take the concepts learned to a whole new level. And then there is Challenging Word Problems for extra practice doing word problems. Starting with Level 3, I would buy these as this is when they introduce the two-part word problems and I could see assigning a word problem a day for this level. 5) About how long do you spend on Math each day using Singapore? It depends. If it is easy math then about 5 to 10 minutes of workbook work. If it is a concept that is new and hard--then she make take up to an hour to do 1-2 pages of work. I've divided my lessons into 3 parts. Rhythmic drill--we toss a ball back and forth and do math facts. Exploration--I use the examples from the text, stories and manipulatives to teach new concepts or reinforce things we have learned. Workbook time--this is where she does between 1 to 3 pages in the workbook. I do not do all of the math lesson at one time. I generally start the day with drill, do some phonics and a story, do the exploration, copywork and then the workbook. All together we probably spend 20 min to an hour and a half on math per day four days a week. For the question on Home Instructor's Guide. These are good if you need a schedule, teaching ideas, games for reinforcement, mental math pages and answers to the problems. Hope this helps. By the way we have used SM from Earlybird to 3a so far.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 OK thanks Christy and Rose. I think it sounds like I should check out the teachers guide. My boys very much need and want manipulatives and I am just not clever enough to know what to do with them other than saying - here, go play. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karensk Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 ...I posted a fairly detailed description of the TM's here : http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=72340#poststop Since the TM's and HIG's were written by the same author (except the Rosenbaum Foundation ones - 1A & 1B), I believe the content is mostly the same. The main difference is the arrangement/layout. The TM's are organized in a way that's more useful to me, since I like to be able to look at a topic and it's objectives all together, not just the little parts. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SophiaH Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 My dd6 (in K) is currently in 1A, almost on to 1B. I am competent in math, but found it very difficult to explain the basic concepts to a level that I felt like my dd was grasping it well (maybe just because Singapore goes about solving problems very differently from the way I was taught?). So, after nearly getting through 1A, I ordered the HIG found on singaporemath.com. Man, I wish I had had the HIG from the beginning! It has been super helpful to me in providing suggestions for explaining the concepts, giving game and reinforcement ideas. I have actually gone back and re-taught some of the concepts for review and to solidify the material. So, whether or not is necessary is probably dependent on whether you, the teacher, need that undergirding of support. (I do!) But, the HIG has definitely provided ME with the confidence to know that I am doing things "right," and I feel like my dd has really understood things a lot better this time around. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Thanks Karen, I'll check out that thread. ETA: and thanks mamahawk, sounds like it would be a good add on for me as well. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marypoppins Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 Thanks to everyone for taking time to give such thorough responses! I appreciate it so much. Decisions, decisions....:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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