Suggestions for Math Curriculum

[mommy4ever]

I am looking for math curriculum for my grade 1 and grade 5, new to homeschool, kidlets.

 

I was interested in Math-U-See but haven't heard much about it.

 

I borrowed the Horizon Math from the school board, and I'm not all that fond of it, but we are just starting and i'm still learning too.

 

What is your recommendation?

[SonshineLearner]

Well, My very favorite... has been Singapore! :)

 

:)

[sagira]

MCP Math

Miquon Math

[gandpsmommy]

Well, I guess it depends on what you are looking for in a math curriculum. Do you want something scripted that will guide you in knowing how to teach? Do you like a spiral or a mastery approach? Are everyday applications and story problems important to you?

 

I can tell you that for our family, Righstart Math has been the best choice. I think it only goes through fourth grade, though, so that wouldn't really help with the fifth grader. I would definitely put it on your list of curr. to investigate for your first grader. You can visit the Righstart website to read about it, view sample lessons, etc. I know a lot of people like Singapore math for older grades. Another interesting option is Life of Fred, which takes more of a narrative approach to teaching math. You can also find out more information about it on their website.

 

Good luck in choosing!

[merylvdm]

I heartily recommend Singapore. It has given my kids an excellent understanding of math and their emphasis on word problems means that kids get to apply the math they are learning all the time. I have supplemented with Miquon as it has quite a different approach - and also with Life of Fred which my kids LOVE!! In fact we now move to using LOF exclusively after Singpore 6B.

Meryl

[i.love.lucy]

You might want to go to Cathy Duffy's website and check out her reviews. Her book is even better because it can help you identify your children's learning styles and then point you to all kinds of math curricula.

 

I started with Singapore and failed with it - dd hated it after being pulled from ps. It was too different. And I couldn't wrap my brain around it much either. Then we did CLE and I liked it until I realized for my child that she wasn't learning math conceptually at all. She was pretty much filling in blanks. Again, my fault for handing her a workbook and telling her "go do a lesson".

 

I have switched to Math Mammoth and am very happy with it so far. You can find a lot of threads here about it. I really like how it's teaching concepts and mental math. And the writer of the program, Maria Miller, has quite a few youtube videos of teaching the concepts if you need help.

 

I'm going to do Miquon with my K'er this fall and then for his first grade year the following year start him in MM in combo with Miquon. Might keep the rising 5th grader in CLE in combo with MM too, but it's a lot of work so I'm not sure.

 

GL!!

[Paintedlady]

My recommendation would be MUS or Math Mammoth. MUS would be my first pick, especially if you feel shakey about teaching it.

[workingmom]

My boys have done very well with Singapore and I am very happy with it. Check out the site and see sample pages from the text and WB.

[peace]

We use Saxon and are very happy with it.

[AK_Homesteaders]

My favorite is Math On The Level. It's a totally different approach, and VERY easy and fun for my children and for me. It's easy to teach all levels at once, and it uses mostly real life. It isn't at all scripted, but it also does not require lots of prep time unless you just want to put the time into it. Extremely effective. I have used MUS, and since someone gave me the teacher manuals and DVD's, I still use it as a supplement from time to time. My children enjoyed it until we started using Math On The Level. MUS is a good program, but it seemed that in the end, there would be too much "rote learning" rather than real understanding of the concepts, and that the MUS did not teach how to use the concepts in real life. Math On The Level solves both of those problems beautifully for our family.

[Julie in Monterey]

Singapore! We've been using it for 5 years. Both girls have thrived using it.

[Oops, duplicate account :/]

Miquon for grades 1-3 (that's all the curr. goes up to). Many ppl I know follow Miquon up with Saxon 5/4. I'm not sure what we'll follow up with. Miquon will help your child truly 'get' math. It's fun and cheap!

[sncstraub]

MUS is great for parents who aren't as comfortable teaching math because it uses a DVD to teach the lesson (either to the parent so they can go teach the child then, or, as many of us use it, for the parent and child to watch together to learn the new lesson).

 

MUS uses a mastery approach - wanting you to be sure the student knows the material thoroughly before moving on. There is plenty of review involved, however.

 

My 1st grader is using MUS Alpha this year, and I don't think he's a math genius (math can be a struggle for him), but he is getting it.

 

From what I understand, MUS doesn't always follow the standard scope & sequence. So if that's important to you, MUS may not be right for your family. I've also looked at RightStart and recently bought their math games kit as a supplement to MUS. We haven't started using it yet, but I'm hoping it will round out ds' understanding of math.

 

Also, I second the recommendation to check out Cathy Duffy's book. It's an excellent help!

[Lightly Salted]

My recommendation would be MUS or Math Mammoth. MUS would be my first pick, especially if you feel shakey about teaching it.

 

I'm using both of those, actually! :tongue_smilie:

[Sunshine State Sue]

We used MUS from K through Algebra. You may read my review here.

[mommy4ever]

Thanks everyone!

 

In snooping through all of this thread and looking at the various curriculums, I've come to realize that our school curriculum here, in the schools, is 1/2 to 1 grade behind most of the curriculum suggested. And that would be why I am banging my head against a wall.

 

I spoke to my older daughter, and what I was concerned about for dd11, is stuff she didn't learn until the 6th grade. SO...

 

This is what I have done. I purchased the grade 4 curriculum for dd11. There is quite a bit of review in it, but lots of new stuff to cover.

 

I am starting from the beginning with dd6, as to be sure she has a solid foundation. I got the grade 1 curriculum, I'm sure we will zip through some of it, skip some altogether, but I want a solid foundation. I opted to go with the math mammoth, I liked the set up and it was a download, so if she has done something, we needn't print it and she won't feel compelled to do the worksheet cause it's in the book, and may still get the MUS as well, but for now, we'll go with the Math Mammoth. I think the school board has Singapore and/or Saxon there to borrow(6mo at a time), so i may go grab that to give it a thorough once over.

 

I will evaluate more over the next couple months as to the path for next year, as dh just confirmed that we will continue next year! (YAY!)

Edited April 24, 2010 by mommy4ever