Mathy supplement for BJU Math 1 &/or 2?

[monalisa]

MY dd7 is in BJU Math 1. I like it in many ways (it is comprehensive & mastery based, the TM is good), and my dd7 is doing fine overall with it (she understands the concepts, although she drags her feet doing the workbook). However, I do not see her gaining a lot of deeper math thinking. Plus it is taking her forever to learn her math facts.

 

I think I want to keep on with BJU for 2nd grade, because she'll could likely be back in school in 3rd or 4th grade. BJU covers all the traditional scope & sequence, and is mastery & concept based. I'm wondering if I should either add a 2nd curriculum as a supplement or just do a different one over the summer (we'll finish BJU1 a few weeks before summer). I'm considering Right Start (or the AL Abacus Activities), Math U See, or Singapore. I watched the MUS demo yesterday and was impressed with the approach. I have the RS games, and my dd loves playing with the abacus, so that makes me wonder if I should do something along that line (although we haven't done much w/ the games).

 

I'm wondering if anyone has done this type of supplementing w/ BJU, with any of these 3 curr.? If so, how do you schedule it? I am a little intimidated with doing 2 separate programs (not by the math, by the amount of time & planning). But I can see how 2 different perspectives would be helpful. Any experiences & thoughts are appreciated!

[PeterPan]

Lisa, are you using the new edition that has a cd in the tm? Have you explored what pages are on it? If she's balking at the workbook, indeed she needs more work. I used old edition BJU3 up (now in 7), and with the old editions you had supplemental workbooks (Spring into Action which is like homework, Reviews which is spiral review and fact drill, Stretch Your Mind which is challenging application problems). I had those and used ALL of them with my dd. I thought they were reformatting the pages and including them on that cd in your tm, so that's where I would start, to make sure you're maximizing what you already have. Also read the thread we've been having around here on overteaching. Yes you can do that with a 2nd curriculum, but I'd start by maximizing what you have, personally.

 

We did RS A-D. The conceptual instruction in RS is very similar to BJU, though I prefer RS at the lower levels. Put another way, I loved RS up to a point, loved the way they presented concepts, and found it an easy slide into BJU after that. RS sells two formats: the leveled books (A-E) and the original form Activities for the ALAbacus that has everything for all your basic math in one book. Just depends on whether you want to use it as a supplement to your BJU or whether you want a full curriculum with lessons. Either way would be fine, and sounds like you have time for whichever you prefer.

 

Haven't used MUS, so I'm no help there.

[monalisa]

OhElizabeth,

Thanks for your reply! I am using the 3rd edition with the CD; it has Enrichment pages and Fact Review (drills) on the CD. There is a separate Reviews Workbook. I haven't used the enrichment (there are about 3 per chapter), so I should try those. I have used the drills, and sometimes the Reviews. The Reviews pages though, are often identical to the worksheet, with previous chapter review problems on the back.

 

I almost feel like dd sees too many of the same problems and is getting bored (since the front & back of the worksheet are the same problems, and the reviews are the same problems - just different numbers), and have even wondered if going to more spiral like Abeka would be better for her. That's why I wondered if teaching it from a different perspective would help. I don't want her to just become a recipe follower (like I am, though I always have done good at math & have a decent understanding since I made it through 2 years of Calc.). I personally feel like mastery w/ regular review is better than spiral, but maybe that's not true at this level. I like a lot about BJU. Maybe I just need to finish the year and use all the tools and then reassess.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[PeterPan]

Nothing says you have to use the extra pages that go with where you're at. You could keep moving forward with your regular lessons but have that enrichment page be back from lesson 1. With my dd I'd even mix it up more, having times where we did only the extra pages, but several, say one from computation, one from measurement, and one from graphs. That way it was a nice mix of easy and hard. But seriously, I think in your position I'd just start with the homework worksheet for lesson 1 and move forward. It will give you that review you're looking for without taking any extra work.

 

Spiral? I have nothing against it, as it works for some kids. My dd didn't like having so many types of problems in one session (mind-swirling) and didn't like the long lessons that typically go with programs like that (CLE, saxon, Horizons). We could have stuck with them (we tried Horizons and CLE), but I was able to get the same effect by using multiple pages of the BJU stuff, mixing up the topics (not doing all the worksheets for say lesson 63 in one day), etc. Somehow the way BJU breaks it up made it feel like less work, even though the overall quantity ended up about the same as one of those spiral programs.

 

I'd trust your gut. If you think she needs more time on something or needs to see it afresh a new way to go deeper, by all means branch out. I'm all for the manipulatives in RS and other programs. I liked the approach of RS in those lower levels better than BJU, which is why I used it instead of BJU. It certainly won't hurt to bring other things in and see it from a new perspective. Any time you're going deeper and solidifying the basics it's good.

[monalisa]

Thanks OhElizabeth!!!! I appreciate your perspective, because BJU isn't a "popular" math program around here or with any HS'ers I personally know (in my area, many use MUS or RS), and its interesting to hear your experience w/ Horizons etc. compared to BJU.