If your child is using two math curr. at the same time...

[Xuzi]

How does it work? :001_huh:

 

If you're using, say, MUS, and MM at the same time, how do you carry it out? Does your child do a lesson in MUS first, then a corresponding lesson from MM the next day? Or do you look over how MUS and MM cover a certain subject, then use whichever one you feel teaches the subject best, and switch off however often you feel to have to to get the "best" from both curriculums?

[HappyGrace]

I do Singapore and actually a couple other programs with ds7 (LOVES math), and CLE and MM with dd10. The reason I do this is certain programs have strengths that may be lacking in the other.

 

For dd, I simply do one lesson in each, each day. If they are both a little long that day, I cross out some problems in one or the other. For ds, who is doing more than two programs, I have one "spine" program (Singapore) and add in from the other programs on alternating days, depending on what we're in the mood for or have time for; AGAIN-just doing the next lesson in each.

 

I never try to match up topics, and it ends up just being review, or another way of thinking about the same topic. It works out really, really well!

 

I would say seeing things presented in different ways in different programs has also helped *me* to be a MUCH more confident math teacher. I was very weak in math myself and now I feel good about teaching math.

[Cynful]

We use three. :) But only 2 on any given day. Here's the schedule:

 

Teaching Textbooks 4x/week (we only do this because they love it)

RightStart Math 4x/week (this is what I consider our main program)

Singapore Math 2x/week (this follows nicely with RS and takes it deeper)

 

We've done RS and Sing. this way for two years, but just recently added in TT. It's going quite well and I really like how they all complement each other.

 

Good luck,

[adrienne]

We use Singapore and the Key To series. Singapore is our spine; although, Key To is complete on its own.

 

I do not try to match them up by topic; instead, I let the kids choose which book or exercise to complete. There are many Key To books in the series so they've alot of flexibility.

 

Ideally, I'd prefer they try to match topics, but it just doesn't seem to work that way.

 

hope that helps,

Adrienne

[robsiew]

We haven't up to this point, but I'm going to start supplementing MUS with MM. Mainly, just to give the kids exposure to different ways of doing things, making sure their skills are transferring to other arenas. I'm pleased with MUS (and the kids like it) so that will be our "core" and MM will be the supplement. I saw someone here on the boards that does this schedule and I'm going to try it:

 

Day 1: MUS Lesson, sheets A and B

 

Day 2-5: One MUS page, one MM page

 

I would think whichever curriculum you are using as your core you should practice in first, then add the other one in..... MUS works nicely as there aren't a lot of problems per page. I have heard that MM has a lot of problems per page so I'd just cross out problems if I felt there were too many.

 

I'm also contemplating LOF for my ds who is moving into fractions. I may just get that level and see if he likes it. I would probably then reduce the other math to 4 days a week and have him work in LOF one day a week.

[Halcyon]

RIght now we're using Singapre and MEP, but we're thinking of folding in CSMP.

 

We do 20 minutes or so of Singapore in the morning, usually about 2-4 exercises, depending on the difficulty, and then 15-20 minutes of MEP (1 sheet) in the afternoon.

 

I don't try and correlate them up in terms of subject matter--my son is doing MEP Y2B and Singapre 2B so they roughly cover the same material, although using different approaches. So far my son is liking it.

 

Oh, and we use Sadlier Oxford to cover some basics like measurements, although we're phasing it out.

[Lovedtodeath]

Well we had been using Abeka all year and DD just wasn't understanding a couple of things, so I just got the blue series of those topics. I do not feel teh need to supplement Math Mammoth, so I will be keeping the Abeka in case it works for DS and switching DD over to MM alone.

[WiseOwlKnits]

We do Horizons, Singapore, and MEP every day...because DD *loves* math and begs to do more. MEP is the one that I would "throw out" if I had to and the one that gets sacrificed on days where we don't have time to do all 3.

[Mommyfaithe]

I always seem to be using at least 2 math programs. For dd 11, we do Life of Fred on Mondays and the CLE the rest of the week. For ds 7, I am going to start using BJU Math 2 (2nd 1/2 as we did 1rst 1/2 last year) and use CLE concurrently. Probably 1 or 2 days of BJU and 3 days CLE.

 

For ds 15, I am using TT Algebra 2 with the DVDs and Life of Fred Geometry as a review from Jacobs last year. I will continue with Life of Fred one day a week for each kids as it is so much fun and a great way to solidify concepts.

 

For my 6 y/o, I use CLE 1- 3 days and hands on math and living math books the rest of the week.

 

I find my kids learn best with more than one program in most subjects....otherwise we get either totally bored or terribly overwhelmed.

 

~~Faithe

 

~~Faithe

[mystika1]

Monday/Wed./Friday=MM

Tuesday/Thurs.=MUS

 

:)

[Karen in CO]

We're doing Saxon and Fred. And I have no formal plan for how we do them. Sometimes, my dd will do only Fred plus the Saxon fact sheet for a week. Other times, she will get tired of Fred and do Saxon for a week. And sometimes she will work for a week doing a lesson from both programs. Fred and Saxon are very different. Sometimes the slow pace of Saxon suits her and sometimes it is too boring to tolerate.

 

It is very easy to get lost in multiple programs, and it is equally dangerous to just follow the assignments without true understanding.

[Manamana]

If you use two programs how do you know when it's time to move to the next level? Do you move on when you finish both or just one?

[Guest]

We do them all everyday. We did a page of Abeka, a page (or 2) of Singapore and then a Miquon/Cuisenaire rod activity, time permitting. The Abeka was a lot of writing, so I let my son do the Abeka orally and then he had to write the Singapore. When I started adding it orally, things went very smoothly. DS would finish that page in about 2 minutes. I was more concerned with him getting what we were learning than his handwriting. Next year, we are just doing Singapore and Miquon, but I plan to do them both daily, as well. :)

[Closeacademy]

We do Singapore and Rod and Staff. Each day we do a lesson in Singapore text and workbook and then my child does some review work out of Rod and Staff.

 

I do not match up the subjects but let each program go at its natural progression. For Rod and Staff, I only have the TMs on hand and I copy the problems in a notebook for my child to do so they usually have about a notebook page worth of work to do. :001_smile:

[Karen in CO]

If you use two programs how do you know when it's time to move to the next level? Do you move on when you finish both or just one?

I move to the next level of each independently.

[LoveBaby]

Generally we do MUS everyday and about 2 pages of MM every day.

 

I do not worry about them being lined up because I want the children to come across things that they either a) haven't come across yet or b) it's been awhile since they've studied it. I think it will help re-enforce those skills and challenge them to use math in a different context that they are used to.

[Poke Salad Annie]

We use two programs as spines, MEP and CSMP. We do a lesson in each program every day, sometimes immediately after the first, sometimes we skip a subject, then go back for the other math. I have found that it does not seem to matter either way. Both of these math programs are *fun* ways to do math, and it is our favorite time of the day---no arguments, no complaints. I have integrated the mini-computer into our MEP lessons, and my little guy is loving it! Making the *trades* on the mini-computer requires thought, and we take turns making "moves" or trades, until we get to the most simplified answer. It is making him think instead of just scribbling down an answer, and I also think it is working those algebraic-type skills.

 

I also add in (for extra drill) a page of Strayer-Upton or another vintage math text from the 50's that I have on hand. This is usually done 3/week. It is the only thing that elicits a bit of groaning, but I can see the benefits of using all three of these things together. My child's computation skills are getting much, much better.

 

All of this said, I am very teacher-intensive with math, as I feel that it's difficult for most children to get the concepts without some kind of explanation along with examples on the dry-erase board. To me, that is key---whichever program or programs you choose, be willing to invest the time with it so that your child *gets it*. There may be some kids who are able to take a workbook and breeze through, but for us the time spent with hands on and explanations has been priceless. In answer to the other question, we just move on to the next level. We are a "do the next thing" kind of family, and it has worked well for us.

[nmoira]

I'm using MEP and Miquon with my youngest. We do a lesson and the corresponding worksheet, and later a "lesson" or sheet or two from Miquon. With my eldest I'm using a variety of programs. She'll do either some MEP or Mathematics 6 as part of her warm-up. Later in the day she will work on her "main program" which is currently LoF: Pre-algebra with Biology. I make no effort to coordinate topics for either child.

[Laura Corin]

With Hobbes, I use Junior Maths (Galore Park) as our main text, then we do Life of Fred Fractions for fun review once a week. I also use Bond Assessment Papers with him for further general review.

 

Laura

[razorbackmama]

For most of my kids we use MUS and Singapore (will become MM next year). We do MUS on MWF and Singapore on TTh. We just go straight through both. My mathy child does LOF in addition. He does that on MUS days, and I have him do a lesson in MUS and then 2 chapters in LOF.

[melmichigan]

We do a lesson of Singapore and right now 2 lessons of CLE most days. It really depends on their understanding. Friday they struggled again with making 10's so we are doing review EP today. :) I imagine CLE will step back to 1 lesson but we are only starting 103 so it is very easy, with the different approach to time and money I wanted to start at the beginning. Amazingly my DD's hated the mental math sheets with SM and ALEKS quicktables, but love the CLE math drills and flashcards, go figure. So far I really like the combination.

[razorbackmama]

If you use two programs how do you know when it's time to move to the next level? Do you move on when you finish both or just one?

I just move onto the next level of whatever I just got done with.