MathUSee

[parias1126]

have a question with regard to using MathUSee at the lower level (specifically Alpha and Beta). I have been talking to another homeschool mom and she says she is using a supplement with the program. She is using it alongside Horizons. That seems like an awful lot of math to me for a 2nd grader, or maybe I'm wrong.

 

We used MathUSee last year (Alpha), and are thinking about going back to it, but I never thought you needed another program with it. She says she was told she needed another program with it by other homeschool moms, and I have been told the same thing. I have also been told by the MathUSee rep that it is a complete program.

 

If you use it, what do you do? I am only asking because I would love others opinions about the program and I have been told so many mixed things. I know if I used 2 math programs with my 7 year old, she would be filled with frustration.

 

Thanks!

 

Pam

[justamouse]

I just sold all my MUS and started Singapore math. Since I'm a Singapore newbie, I don't have a lot of into to offer you but that MUS was ... slow? Maybe someone can better explain it?

[MicheleinMN]

I'm using MathUSee and Horizons with my dd 9 and ds 8. We will only cover 1 Horizons book per year at this rate, but I like the mixture of problems presented in it. MathUSee is a mastery program and will not adequately prepare my children for their end of year testing. (We are required to test annually in MN.) MathUSee is their practice/repetition/drill work for math each day with Horizons as their overview math text.

 

HTH

[PCA]

I use MUS. Just recently, I started supplementing with Singapore and Rod and Staff.

 

MUS is our core, We do it alone Mon-Wed. Then I add in Singapore and Rod and staff on Thursday and Friday.

 

MUS does not do enough drilling, and my children actually enjoy mixing it up with a different type of math. They can get bored with MUS sometimes.

 

I think each program is great I like MUS the most, but I wanted them to glean from each.

 

I think there is a WTM article about this topic of mixing different math programs to complement each other.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I also continue MUS a primer of sorts. Since it is mastery and goes along at a slower topical pace than I'd prefer, I use MUS and Singapore. How we do this varies on the preference and ability of my students.

 

For example the 9yo is working through Singapore math on MWF (2 lessons, on Wed) and completing 2 worksheets/day of MUS on T,Th

 

I find this to be a great compliment....thorough immersion on one hand and challenging conceptual math on the other.

 

For my newest student (not my dc) who has come from ps...he's way behind in math, period, so I we really need to hit the basics before he gets into Singapore. We're using MUS Foundations and will finish the entire program at an accelerated pace before beginning the appropriate level Singapore.

 

Either way, for Me (ymmv) MUS does the immersion very well, but I find the spiral method a more pleasing approach to beginning mathematics, so I choose the best of both worlds.

[Quad Shot Academy]

MUS is our core. I supplement with Focus on Math starting in Alpha and Life Of Fred starting in fractions. My daughter has really been struggling with Math so I started using Making Math Meaningful at the end of Alpha. From reading about Cathy Duffy's learning styles, I found out that my daughter does not like drill or unchanging repetition. MMM has given her a variety of exercises that are more interesting to her and she is doing much better. I hate to move my core curriculum from MUS though. MUS lays everything out very systematically and has the basics of everything they need to know.

[Calm37]

Wow, I am so surprised that every post so far uses multiple maths!

 

We have used MUS starting with Alpha and my girls are now in Zeta in 7th grade. I am fine with MUS and they do great with math. It is plenty for us, one lesson per week. Their friends take over an hour each day for math and they think they are lucky! They do pages a-d (skip e usually) and the test.

 

I plan to use MUS all the way through 12th and nothing else.

 

My older two used many curriculums over the years (Saxon, Horizons, ABeka, Key to, Singapore, Jacobs, etc.) and MUS covers it all. Mr. Demme continues building up to things in a brilliant way that makes math so much easier for the kids. I am happy to have one thing I can stick with. I asked him once at a conference why everyone says MUS is too easy, too simple and he just shakes his head. "It's not supposed to be hard!"

[Quad Shot Academy]

The main things that MUS does not cover in the first two years are shapes, measurement, sizes, and using charts and graphs. The telling time and money exercises are very weak also. My son would have bombed that portion of the standardized test if we had not done Spectrum Test Prep and found the problem. He did not know a cube from a cone! :001_huh: Now if you are not doing testing, I would hope a child would pick this info up somewhere along the way, but mine didn't by third grade.

[TxMama]

We do not supplement MUS at all. I agree with you that 2 maths would be overkill.

 

The problem people have with MUS is time/money/word problems/(others I'm sure I'm forgetting. lol).

 

I do all this in real life. My kids learn to tell time with a clock and while they are learning I just keep asking them "what time is it" and help them if they need help.

 

They learn money by using real money... preferably their own. When they are learning change I keep a jar with coins and if they can figure out a way to pay for X ( ice cream cone or whatever) then they can use the coins to purchase the item.

 

I teach math with MUS but then let the kids use math in our real life.

[Ginevra]

I have used MUS since my daughter started first grade. (She is in 7th grade now.) I would not have in my wildest dream (or is it worst nightmare?) had her do another program alongside MUS. I agree that since MUS doesn't dabble in a little bit of everything, but rather focuses mainly on one operation, kids could score lower on standardized testing. My daughter is not math-intuitive and she is slightly behind where I would like her to be at this point, although she still scored in the 77th percentile last year on CAT. My son, who is good at math, is way, way ahead, using only MUS. He scored in the 96th percentile on CAT.

 

My oldest is taking a break from MUS currently and is using Life of Fred, which we love. But IMO, it is not necessary to use another program with MUS. For us, it would have been a terrible kill-joy.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Ginevra
typo

[SandKsmama]

My 8 and 6 year old use just MUS and the plan right now is that they will continue with it until pre-algebra, then probably move into Teaching Textbooks. The 8 year old has tested the past 2 years, and he tested very well in math. I find those measurement, etc. type things that aren't focused on heavily in MUS, very easy to teach as we go along just in life. He learned about measurement in the kitchen, he learned about temperature as we talked about the weather, etc.

 

Now, for my older daughter, she really struggles in math, and I've found it helpful to use 2 math programs for her, because she needs those various approaches to get it. The younger 2 don't seem to need that at all.

[robsiew]

We use only MUS. (we can't afford to use 2 programs and I don't think my kids would go for that!) I love the program and feel that it teaches the basic math that is so foundational. Like a pp, when it comes to time, money, etc. we teach it in "real life".

 

I live in MN and quite frankly, and yes we have to test, but since it doesn't matter what my kids score on the standardized test (we don't report scores to anyone) I don't care that they are not learning everything in the order that the test requires. The most important thing to me is that they learn their basic math skills well. So, I teach those, not to a test.

 

I'm curious as to why people see this curriculum as "boring". I've never used another program. No, the pages aren't pretty, but that's not what is important. I'm not sure what other math programs do that is so exciting... MUS has manipulatives, it has drill and it has story problems, the best part to me is that it has an accumulative review every week... not sure what else is needed? I get the feeling people expect a curriculum to entertain...

[Elizabeth Conley]

We use MUS, and we're getting excellent results. That being said, we also keep up with what's on the end of year standardized test. The presumption of these tests is that the child is being educated via a spiral curriculum. There's a smattering of skills tossed into spiral curriculums at random points which are covered in MUS more systematically. In some cases, this means they're covered later, albeit more thoroughly. I make sure the kids have a nodding acquaintance with these skills.

 

We use "Use It! Don't Lose It!" Daily Math drills to accomplish this. We do this because the children love these exercises, they take less than 10 minutes a day, and they do cover exactly what will be on their standardized tests.

[Devotional Soul]

For my state, if they do poorly on standardized testing, they get evaluated, and if they do poorly twice with testing, they can take away the right to homeschool!

 

So, that's a pretty serious reason to make sure my ds knows how to divide by 3rd grade, when the first testing is required. That's my biggest reason for not using MUS.

[Quad Shot Academy]

I'm curious as to why people see this curriculum as "boring". I've never used another program. No, the pages aren't pretty, but that's not what is important. I'm not sure what other math programs do that is so exciting... MUS has manipulatives, it has drill and it has story problems, the best part to me is that it has an accumulative review every week... not sure what else is needed? I get the feeling people expect a curriculum to entertain...

 

MUS has the exact same page layout with the exact same problems, just different numbers, each day. Most other programs I have seen are far more creative in the presentation and drill of the facts. For example, instead of giving yet another page of 9+x they have 9+x problems that are then used to fill out a secret message; they have coloring pages, color all the equations with a sum of 9 this color, with a sum of 8 this color and then a secret picture is revealed, they have paths and mazes that can be traced by finding the right answers . . . my son would hate that, but my daughter loves (possibly needs) it. I am still not straying from my MUS core, as it is the best all around program that I have seen!

[mystika1]

Hi,

I really like MUS. Before MUS we were using RS which covered wayyyyy to many topics in a lesson for our taste.:willy_nilly: It is nice to sit back and know that I won't be reaching for a new manipulative every five seconds.:001_smile: With MUS I have everything I need to teach the lessons. If I need color for the online printed worksheet pages I rev things up by using color paper or paper that has images on the bottom when printing. We also use the online drill when she needs. For clock teaching I just printed up clock pages from enchantedlearning and taught her the clock. I also had MUS beta manual on hand and looked ahead at the clock lessons and used that to. As far as money is concerned I used real money and taught her that also. I find mus teaches in a way that my daughter really gets it. I don't really mind that the concepts are not taught in the same order as public schools. I want her to have solid "roots" in math not a tidbit here and there of a bunch of stuff.

 

That said,

I did have an issue recently where my daughter would not use the blocks to figure out problems that she could not solve. She would pitch a fit. After much help from this board I discovered it was a discipline issue which has been corrected. W are much happier now. :D

 

I think it all boils down to what your goals are for your child. If you want to touch on lots of rich topics and come back for more later great. If you want to savor and soak in some topics until it is cemented and move onto the next topic that is great too. You choose what works for your family and your goals and run with it.

 

I hope this helps,

 

Penny

[mrsrevmeg]

I think that using two math programs would be overkill to my kids. They have grammar, writing, Latin, science, history, art, music, Catechism, and Bible to do in addition to math each day. MUS has been wonderful for our family. Our kids are learning and are ahead of the public school children in our area. My third grader has been doing multiplication for several weeks now, his ps friends have not started it. I always hear that MUS is behind other programs in the early year, but I have yet to see it in our experience. I love the fact that every worksheet has word problems with REAL-LIFE situations. None of the "Dan is paddling a canoe heading north at 5mph and Jan is paddling south at 2mph. How long before they meet?" Our family is using MUS all the way through. I love that they are learning not only HOW to do math, but WHY problems are being done the way are being done.

[elise1mds]

MUS is working very well for my first-grader so far, and I have no current plans to supplement other than to touch on some of the topics that have been mentioned - time, Roman numerals, etc. We are just moving at the pace of my son. He was doing a great job till we got to adding +9, which took him two weeks to master. Having done that, though, he has now conquered his +8 problems a lot more quickly because the technique makes sense to him. So he has gotten through a good chunk of Alpha in 1-1/2 months. On Monday I will do the lesson 1-10 review test and then spend the rest of the week working on time and shapes. We will start Lesson 11 the following week. I keep flash cards in the car for him to review his math problems any time, and I have invented an addition game with 10-sided dice that he loves to play. I could not do multiple types of problems with him as he is already ADHD with transition problems and needs to be able to focus on one thing at a time. I plan to keep this up as long as he finds it interesting and is learning. Just MHO. :)

[inactive]

We've used MUS for the past 4 years (after using Saxon) and I am thrilled with the results!! :) I have NEVER considered supplementing with another program.

 

We use the FREE online drill as a warm-up and then move on to lesson time where the kids demonstrate mastery to me and then they complete a page. If they get it right away, we do the test and they move on. If they don't get it, we practice a little more until the concept is mastered, then test and move on.

 

I think my kids have a much better concept of WHY math works than they ever did with Saxon. (With Saxon, they were simply memorizing the steps to get the work done -- without any understanding of WHY they were doing it. Two or three lessons down the pike, they had forgotten HOW and we had to review it all over again.)

 

My oldest learned with Saxon from 5/4 all the way to Algebra 1/2 and couldn't tell me ONE THING about working with fractions. After 2 lessons with MUS and the fraction manipulatives, the lightbulb went on and it's been clear sailing...

[silvermine]

I liked singapore for pre-school, but we're enjoying MUS. We don't have to test here, so order doesn't matter at all. We've done money, time, measurement, and graphs and stuff other places, I guess.

 

I just like the MUS approach.

 

(Not enough drill? Does that mean I'm weird if we think there are 4-5 pages too many in each lesson? :D)

[EKS]

He has always had excellent test scores btw.

 

Yes--when my son took the WJ-III after completing Zeta he scored off the chart (at adult level).

 

Which I realize says more about "average" adults than my son's math ability, but still.

[Moniksca]

I did MUS beta alone with my ds. Since it does lack time, money, and measurement, I did those on my own. It would have been too much for me to incorporate another math program. MUS didn't work out for us we did not finish the program. Since it is a mastery program and concentrates on only one operation, it became exhausted, I found that he just began to dread it. I love the concept but it just didn't work for us, my guy is very hands on but the layout just didn't fit. I also found there was plenty of drill for us.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Moniksca

[Lovedtodeath]

We do not supplement MUS at all. I agree with you that 2 maths would be overkill.

 

The problem people have with MUS is time/money/word problems/(others I'm sure I'm forgetting. lol).

I am pretty sure that MUS gets to these in a different order. Time is in Alpha. There are word problems in every level, as far as I know. It is so funny that the creator of Alpha says that he wanted a math program where kids learned real life application, then I see people complain about that. wierd

 

If you do not have to meet state standards or pass standardized testing, then you don't need to supplement MUS. Some kids get bored with MUS, so they supplement with something more fun. It is not slow if you do the entire program without supplementing. You can still have Calculus in before college.;)

Edited September 19, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[corbie]

I really love MUS, but we gave it up. My oldest dd got to Epsilon and suddenly couldn't divide. We spent a year on division, and it was lost. I had to re-teach so much. I had two dd's in MUS, one liked it but needed more review. One hated it. She is now doing Horizons, and is happy. My older dd that went to Epsilon is now doing K12 math, LoF, and Singapore CWP. I love MUS for beginning years but feel it is lacking in review in upper elementary. As far as testing, my kids did fine. They did however, do poorly at concepts that MUS misses. Their computation skills were excellent. I still love the program, but I'm not sure I will use it with my younger girls. I love the manipulatives and the skip counting songs. I will always use those. HTH

[johnandtinagilbert]

I really love MUS, but we gave it up. My oldest dd got to Epsilon and suddenly couldn't divide. We spent a year on division, and it was lost. I had to re-teach so much. I had two dd's in MUS, one liked it but needed more review. One hated it. She is now doing Horizons, and is happy. My older dd that went to Epsilon is now doing K12 math, LoF, and Singapore CWP. I love MUS for beginning years but feel it is lacking in review in upper elementary. As far as testing, my kids did fine. They did however, do poorly at concepts that MUS misses. Their computation skills were excellent. I still love the program, but I'm not sure I will use it with my younger girls. I love the manipulatives and the skip counting songs. I will always use those. HTH

 

I used only MUS with dd last year and found the same thing. Too much immersion, I guess. That's part of why we are doing Singapore too. I like the continual practice of MUS, but need the reminding a bit more than what is provided. I also really like the word problems and intensive concrete pictures in Singapore. I really believe if a child can do well in Singapore, they'll do well anywhere.

 

One child, HATES Singapore, so we are taking a different route for him. MUS is out the window, as he Really Needs the spiral approach. For him, it's LoF and Saxon...go figure, a dc who loves Saxon!