Why is MEP free?

[mo2]

I'm tempted to try it. But if it is so good, why don't they charge for it?

[Spy Car]

Because it it is a progra(me) from a British University, backed by the financial support of foundations, whose aim is to advance math education in the UK. They are more than gracious to make the materials available to home educators (and others) via the web.

 

Their purpose is to innovate teaching, not to sell curriculum.

 

But don't use it because it's "free", and don't NOT use it because it's "free" (excuse the double negative :tongue_smilie:).

 

If you and a child are up for something a little different that builds logic, reasoning and critical thinking skills while learning math, then MEP is an outstanding resource. And would be if one had to pay through-the-nose to use it. Mercifully, we don't :D

 

Bill

[Laura Corin]

It was funded as a public good by various charities.

 

Laura

[Corraleno]

MEP was not developed by a commercial curriculum publisher for sale, it was developed for British schools by the nonprofit Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching (which I think is based at the University of Plymouth?). The development was largely funded by charitable organizations and donations from corporations, and the CIMT are very kind to make it available to US homeschoolers.

 

I'm puzzled by the idea that something can't be good if it doesn't cost money...or that curriculum developed for profit is necessarily of higher quality than one developed by experts who are passionate about their subject and concerned about the future of education in their country. :confused:

 

Jackie

ETA: looks like we all posted at once!

[mo2]

I'm puzzled by the idea that something can't be good if it doesn't cost money...or that curriculum developed for profit is necessarily of higher quality than one developed by experts who are passionate about their subject and concerned about the future of education in their country. :confused:

 

 

Not so puzzling from my point of view. My budget for hsing is very small. I have spent hours googling for free resources. And come to find out, most of the "free" ones aren't really free. You may get a free demo urging you to buy the full product. Or you may get old resources that are out of date and need constant monitoring for inaccuracies. A lot of free materials are filled with religious agenda. Some things are free for awhile until they build up a following, and then they start charging. Some things are free until the person posting them can no longer afford to provide them for free, so they start charging. A lot of free programs aren't *complete* either. Maybe the good free stuff is just hard to find.

 

I simply wondered why or how this particular one came to be free and if it will remain free. I see now that is is funded by charities and donations. Thank you.

[Greta]

If you and a child are up for something a little different that builds logic, reasoning and critical thinking skills while learning math, then MEP is an outstanding resource. And would be if one had to pay through-the-nose to use it. Mercifully, we don't :D

 

So this is available to people outside the UK too? Where can I learn more about it?

[razorbackmama]

So this is available to people outside the UK too? Where can I learn more about it?

:lurk5:

[mo2]

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm

[Greta]

Thanks! I don't mean to hijack your thread, but do you (or anyone) happen to know what year of this program one would go into after completing RightStart Level D? Or just more generally, does "Reception" correspond to kindergarten, and year numbers to grade numbers? (Sorry, I realize this is a dumb question!!!)

[razorbackmama]

Thanks! I don't mean to hijack your thread, but do you (or anyone) happen to know what year of this program one would go into after completing RightStart Level D? Or just more generally, does "Reception" correspond to kindergarten, and year numbers to grade numbers? (Sorry, I realize this is a dumb question!!!)

 

Yes, I'm wondering about placement as well.

[freerange]

Or just more generally, does "Reception" correspond to kindergarten, and year numbers to grade numbers? (Sorry, I realize this is a dumb question!!!)

 

http://homepages.tesco.net/~littlebears/grades.htm

 

Year is Grade +1

[Greta]

http://homepages.tesco.net/~littlebears/grades.htm

 

Year is Grade +1

 

Thanks! :)

[stripe]

Anyone can use it. You don't need to be, or pretend to be, in the UK.

 

The MEP Yahoo group contains the password and provides a forum for discussing its implementation with other parents; otherwise you can individually email the MEP people and request a password. (A few of the files are password-protected.)

[Greta]

Anyone can use it. You don't need to be, or pretend to be, in the UK.

 

:lol: That's good, because as hard as it was for me to shed my Okie accent for a more generic American accent, I really don't think I could pull off a British one. :D

 

Thanks for mentioning the Yahoo group!

[SeekingSimplicity]

http://homepages.tesco.net/~littlebears/grades.htm

 

Year is Grade +1

 

 

 

Just my thoughts :)

If you start at the beginning with this program I think that might work, but if you're switching from something else, you might have to look at the worksheets and see where your child is at. According to this chart Y2 is 1st grade work, and has multiplication, division, and some algebra that kids around here don't get to till higher grades. And it seems like I saw somewhere on the yahoo group that some users are saying Y1 = 2nd, Y2 = 3rd, etc..

 

 

 

Although they are doing higher place values in addition and subtraction in 3rd grade, Year 2 contains some things they're just now getting to in ps grade 3 in this area. A child probably wouldn't be able go from that to Y4. I would say, compared to what our ps is doing, Y2 is somewhere between 2nd and 3rd. Y3 would be somewhere between 3rd and 4th.

[forty-two]

http://homepages.tesco.net/~littlebears/grades.htm

 

Year is Grade +1

 

My understanding (which the posted link confirmed) is that Year 1 = K, Year 2 = Grade 1, etc.

 

But MEP is quite a bit advanced, and doesn't necessarily expect every student to master every bit of the curriculum when it's used in the schools - it's not as if all 10-11 year olds using MEP in British schools have thoroughly mastered all the (very challenging) Year 6 material. (In fact, as Years 1-6 were designed after Years 7-9, much of the middle year material is just review of the later primary years; homeschooled students who have mastered Year 6 often are able to jump straight into GCSE material.)

[SophiaH]

Hi Greta!

 

Dd7 just finished RS C and we began Year 2 a few months back. It is so hard to find out where to start because of the higher level thinking skills that are introduced so early. Algebra concepts in first grade! So dd was young enough when we started that we just started at the beginning. The curriculum is so different that I would just look over a few different levels and pick one. The yahoo group would probably be very helpful with placement too.

 

Let me know if I can help in any way!

[Greta]

Hey, great to "see" you Heather! :001_smile:

 

Thank you, and forty-two and SeekingSimplicity for the caution here. I will ask about this further on the Yahoo group (pending approval). I'll also look closer at the Practice Books and maybe I can judge where to put her. I take it they don't have a placement test?

 

Conceptually, math comes very naturally to her. Drill and practice, however, is painful for both of us! ;) She grasps concepts quickly, and does not understand why I make her keep practicing them. (And I don't, to my mind anyway, do this excessively.) She likes the interactive format of RightStart, but does not focus well when she's just handed a worksheet. From what I've seen of MEP so far, I *think* it would be a good fit for her. Any thoughts?

[Spy Car]

So this is available to people outside the UK too? Where can I learn more about it?

 

Thanks! I don't mean to hijack your thread, but do you (or anyone) happen to know what year of this program one would go into after completing RightStart Level D? Or just more generally, does "Reception" correspond to kindergarten, and year numbers to grade numbers? (Sorry, I realize this is a dumb question!!!)

 

The materials are here, in case you haven't found them.

 

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm

 

We started on 1A in pre-school (there was no Reception level release at that point) and were are still working on 1A (almost done) now that he's in kindergarten. But I think that would be ahead of norm, and was less "independent" that it would have been has we started later (but I'm glad we didn't).

 

As a base of comparison, MEP would seem to be on a roughly equivalent level to Singapore (judging by 1A to 1A comparisons) with MEP tending to be more challenging. I'd think most people would call this "First Grade" math here in the USA, and fairly demanding First Grade math.

 

Then there are some unusual aspects to MEP that just are not what "we" (parents) are "used to" seeing in math programs. The kiddos don't care (if we can explain it) but it is "different."

 

And great many of the workbook items have a challenging aspect to them make makes you think whether you are 5 or 6 or 7 or 37. Good stuff! So I'd look at the Workbooks at the "grade level" and then start moving back towards 1A as far as you can while retaining a "challenge." Or even doing selected problems from earlier workbooks (you can see which are fun, puzzle-life challenges) and skip over those which don't pose a challenge.

 

Bill

Edited December 17, 2009 by Spy Car

[Greta]

And great many of the workbook items have a challenging aspect to them make makes you think whether you are 5 or 6 or 7 or 37. Good stuff! So I'd look at the Workbooks at the "grade level" and then start moving back towards 1A as far as you can while retaining a "challenge." Or even doing selected problems from earlier workbooks (you can see which are fun, puzzle-life challenges) and skip over those which don't pose a challenge.

 

Bill

 

This sounds like good advice. Thank you Bill!

[lionfamily1999]

I've found that the BBC (being the name under which I find most of my resources) and England (Britain, which one?), in general, is very generous is giving free access to really spectacular educational resources. Free language courses, free preschool classes, free nearly everything I've had to run searches for recently. I'm starting to believe that England is just more concerned with their children's education than lining their pockets.

[SophiaH]

Hey, great to "see" you Heather! :001_smile:

 

Conceptually, math comes very naturally to her. Drill and practice, however, is painful for both of us! ;) She grasps concepts quickly, and does not understand why I make her keep practicing them. (And I don't, to my mind anyway, do this excessively.) She likes the interactive format of RightStart, but does not focus well when she's just handed a worksheet. From what I've seen of MEP so far, I *think* it would be a good fit for her. Any thoughts?

 

It sounds like she would really like MEP based on your description of her.

 

And great many of the workbook items have a challenging aspect to them make makes you think whether you are 5 or 6 or 7 or 37. Good stuff! So I'd look at the Workbooks at the "grade level" and then start moving back towards 1A as far as you can while retaining a "challenge." Or even doing selected problems from earlier workbooks (you can see which are fun, puzzle-life challenges) and skip over those which don't pose a challenge.

 

Bill

 

:iagree:

[Corraleno]

Maybe the good free stuff is just hard to find.

 

This thread has an incredible list of free resources put together by Chels~, as well as contributions from many other WTMers:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109114

 

Many of these are complete curricula and totally free, such as Mr Q's Life Science curriculum, Progressive Phonics reading program, etc. For HS or advanced middle schoolers, check out Hippocampus, Khan Academy, MIT Open Courseware, the National Repository for Online Courses and "iTunes U," among others.

 

Jackie

[Cynful]

Would MEP be comparable to the Singapore Intensive Practice books? We've used those as a supplement to RightStart but I've always been intrigued by MEP.

 

Thanks,

[FairProspects]

Alright, you all have convinced me to try it as a supplement (well, that and its free :)). I do love Right Start though, so I'm hoping it will be compatible/stretch thinking in the same vein as that program.

[Sahamamama]

Yes some of the problems are very challenging. I wish they had the answers for some of them because once in awhile I have to skip something because I can't figure it out. I don't use the teaching stuff though (we are using so many different things as it is).

 

Wendy K,

 

Just popped in to say, "I love your avatar." :lol: That was me in high school Algebra..... Where did you get this? It's hilarious.

[Zoo Keeper]

We've enjoyed using MEP to supplement our Singapore/Miquon combo. One of my guys loves Singapore, the other loves Miquon; they both love MEP. :) I've found that combining MEP 1/Singapore1 and MEP 2/Singpore 2 has worked well for us. We do a page of MEP daily; Singapore is 2 to three times a week. Sometimes the MEP is review of Singapore, sometimes it gently introduces something before Singapore. Either way, it has all worked out well.

[Laura Corin]

I've found that the BBC (being the name under which I find most of my resources) and England (Britain, which one?), in general, is very generous is giving free access to really spectacular educational resources. Free language courses, free preschool classes, free nearly everything I've had to run searches for recently. I'm starting to believe that England is just more concerned with their children's education than lining their pockets.

 

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has a remit of public service, which now covers radio, TV and the internet.

 

Oh, the formal name for the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The abbreviation would be 'The UK.' 'Britain' is often used instead, but it excludes Northern Ireland. 'England' covers only one of the four nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). A Scot, for example, would not be pleased to be referred to as English.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Amber in AUS]

We have used aspects of MEP on and off and just love it. You can see it really stretches their mind.

[razorbackmama]

Does MEP have the sort of challenging word problems that Singapore has?

[lionfamily1999]

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has a remit of public service, which now covers radio, TV and the internet.

 

Oh, the formal name for the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The abbreviation would be 'The UK.' 'Britain' is often used instead, but it excludes Northern Ireland. 'England' covers only one of the four nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). A Scot, for example, would not be pleased to be referred to as English.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

Thank you.

Edited December 17, 2009 by lionfamily1999

[mo2]

 

Oh, the formal name for the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The abbreviation would be 'The UK.' 'Britain' is often used instead, but it excludes Northern Ireland. 'England' covers only one of the four nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). A Scot, for example, would not be pleased to be referred to as English.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

 

 

Good to know--thanks!

[mo2]

This thread has an incredible list of free resources put together by Chels~, as well as contributions from many other WTMers:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109114

 

Many of these are complete curricula and totally free, such as Mr Q's Life Science curriculum, Progressive Phonics reading program, etc. For HS or advanced middle schoolers, check out Hippocampus, Khan Academy, MIT Open Courseware, the National Repository for Online Courses and "iTunes U," among others.

 

Jackie

 

Thanks for this. I remember seeing it awhile back but couldn't find it on a recent search. (Probably my search terms were too broad.)

[gardening momma]

I've been downloading practice pages from Year 1 this evening. So far, I don't see a need for a password. Can anyone tell me what the password is for? I joined the MEP Yahoo group, and the welcome message also mentions the password.

[prairie rose]

Some of the higher levels, I think beginning in Year 5, need a password to access some of the materials. All you have to do is find the file on the MEP yahoo group to gain access. Or you can contact CIMT yourself and identify yourself as a home educator and they will give you the password.

 

Razorbackmama, I think the word problems in MEP are very challenging. Lots of algebraic thinking exercises and "think outside the box" type of activities even in the lower levels. It's been a while since I've looked at Singapore though so it is kinda hard for me to compare the two accurately.

[Lovedtodeath]

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has a remit of public service, which now covers radio, TV and the internet.

 

Oh, the formal name for the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The abbreviation would be 'The UK.' 'Britain' is often used instead, but it excludes Northern Ireland. 'England' covers only one of the four nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). A Scot, for example, would not be pleased to be referred to as English.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

I have always been confused about this.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[18] It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three devolved national administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. The Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are Crown Dependencies which means they are constitutionally tied to the Monarch (King or Queen) but are not constitutionally part of the UK,[19] though they are treated as part of it for many purposes including nationality.[20] The UK has fourteen overseas territories,[21] all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height in 1922 encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, the largest empire in history. British influence can continue to be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies.

 

And now that I have read this from wikipedia it is all clear. No, not really. It is a country consisting of 4 countries, oh and throw in a few more that are considered part of the country but they are really not. Ok then.:001_huh:

[Laura Corin]

I have always been confused about this. And now that I have read this from wikipedia it is all clear. No, not really. It is a country consisting of 4 countries, oh and throw in a few more that are considered part of the country but they are really not. Ok then.:001_huh:

 

When you have a country that evolves over a couple of thousand years, rather than being designed with an initial written constitution. It's messy, but bizarrely it works.

 

FWIW, the four 'countries' are often referred to as 'nations'.

 

Laura

Edited December 19, 2009 by Laura Corin

[katilac]

than the math my kids are currently doing (especially if year equals American grade plus one). I'll have to get them to try a few pages and see if they find any difference in the level of difficulty, especially in the word problems. And year 8 looks like a pre-algebra year to me, or typical American 8th grade. Things seem to take a steep jump in year 9.

 

It seems like they have clear, solid explanations. I love that they have a separate chapter on logic in year 7!

[Lovedtodeath]

When you have a country that evolves over a couple of thousand years, rather than being designed with an initial written constitution. It's messy, but bizarrely it works.

 

FWIW, the four 'countries' are often referred to as 'nations'.

 

Laura

You seem offended. I sincerely apologize. I did not think of the way my words could come across.

[mo2]

So could one use MEP exclusively? Would it be enough? It seems that most who use it combine it with Singapore and/or Miquon.

[stripe]

So could one use MEP exclusively? Would it be enough?

I think the MEP Yahoo group is a good place to go for more info. There seem to be plenty of people using it alone. It is intended to be a free-standing curriculum, especially in the schools where it is used.

 

You can see the year's topics in the scheme of work link from the Primary site.

[Friederike in Persia]

We use Singapore Maths as our main program and some other British materials on the side. Compared with Singapore Maths my dd are one year higher in the English system, but because they start so early in the UK, they are the "right age" for both programms. What I mean is that when we're in the UK dd(10) actually goes to year 6 class, but if she would go to the States, she would be grade 5.

 

If you're looking at reception you need to keep in mind that it is written for "rising 5s", that is for children who will turn 5 that academic year.

[stripe]

They also have a de-emphasis on writing. Reception has a lot of development of writing skills but not writing numbers at all. This is a CLEAR difference from Singapore Early bird.

[lionfamily1999]

I have always been confused about this. And now that I have read this from wikipedia it is all clear. No, not really. It is a country consisting of 4 countries, oh and throw in a few more that are considered part of the country but they are really not. Ok then.:001_huh:

I liked Laura Corin's explanation better. Wiki is overthinking this one :lol:

 

ETA, did I just step in it?

[prairie rose]

So could one use MEP exclusively? Would it be enough? It seems that most who use it combine it with Singapore and/or Miquon.

 

I am using it exclusively with my almost 4yo. She's doing just fine in reception year but she's a bit precocious. My older kids would not have done as well with it at her age. I plan to use it at least through third grade, by itself, with her and her younger brother. I might use it beyond third grade or I might put her in the program I have my older 3 in at that point. It's an awfully long time still before I really need to decide. But I think if you use the lesson plans and workbooks as they are intended (alot of the learning takes place in the lesson plans but not on the worksheets) it is a very nice stand alone math program.

 

The only reason I'm not using it with my older kids (I did for a while) is because they prefer math lessons they can complete on their own while only referring to me for help and I'm fine with that for them. They use ALEKS supplemented with Math On The Level. MEP, when used as it is written, is very teacher directed and teacher intensive. I prefer that in a program for young ones but I'm ok with my older kids working in a program that is more independent if they want to.

[Laura Corin]

You seem offended. I sincerely apologize. I did not think of the way my words could come across.

 

I don't use smilies, so maybe it came across wrong. Don't worry - I'm happy to explain.

 

Laura

[gardening momma]

than the math my kids are currently doing (especially if year equals American grade plus one). I'll have to get them to try a few pages and see if they find any difference in the level of difficulty, especially in the word problems. And year 8 looks like a pre-algebra year to me, or typical American 8th grade. Things seem to take a steep jump in year 9.

If I understand it right, Reception is pre-k, Year 1 is K, Year 2 is 1st grade.....Year 8 is 7th grade, Year 9 is 8th grade...and so on....Year 13 is 12th grade.

 

So the Year 8/pre-algebra that you mentioned would be done in 7th grade, and that steep jump in Year 9 is 8th grade.

[katilac]

If I understand it right, Reception is pre-k, Year 1 is K, Year 2 is 1st grade.....Year 8 is 7th grade, Year 9 is 8th grade...and so on....Year 13 is 12th grade.

 

So the Year 8/pre-algebra that you mentioned would be done in 7th grade, and that steep jump in Year 9 is 8th grade.

 

That would make more sense to me. The year vs grade info I came across was very contradictory. And let's not even get into the names of the different schools! I know we have some wonky ones, too, (middle school or junior high?), but I'm used to them.