Why more than 1 math curricula?

[mom2p&j]

Looking through the forums I see a lot of you listing your curriculums and several of you use more than one math. Is there a reason for this? I am planning on using Horizons with my daughter next year and am beginning to wonder if that is enough since I see most of you use more than that.

[Ellie]

Yes, one is enough. Really. Using more than one would have made *me* a crazy person, lol.

[plain jane]

There was a pretty informative thread about this a while ago... Here it is. :)

 

HTH a bit and gives you some more info on the whys of it.

[Alenee]

I think most people would say it is to fill in any gaps. Most programs differ in their scope and sequence yet the standardized testing that the majority are required to take each year do not. I'm sure some also do it to practice more of one concept.

 

The reason I'm doing this next year is to a) fill in gaps and b) to combat boredom.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

My 6th grader is just doing BJU 6 right now. She is almost done, but this year that included the textbook work, the spring into action workbook and the stretch your mind workbook. Last year was our first year homeschooling and she was very behind in math. I got her caught up, so this year we just stuck with BJU. This summer when she is done with that, we will do Life of Fred. After that I will test her into singapore (she is doing much better this year) So next year she will do LoF pre-algebra, BJU 7 and whatever level singapore she tests into.

 

My 2nd grader did Abeka and Singapore this year. Abeka was too easy so next year it will be Singapore and Horizons.

 

My kindergartener will do liberty math, horizons k, making math meaningful, miquon and MUS. Now-- let me start with him. We just officially started K last monday, we will go through the summer and next school year with breaks when he needs them. He is almost done with liberty math K, right now that is just done with manipulatives, so he can see. We are not writing the problems (I will show him what it looks like, sometimes I will make a + and = sign with our c-rods or base 10 blocks so he understands what those signs mean. When we are done with liberty, we will do making math meaningful over the summer, again just with manipulatives. I want him to understand the math concepts before I am worried about him writing them. We will start MUS, miquon and horizons after making math meaningful. Miquon (through much advice on here) will begin our day. He will start by just playing with the c-rods. Then eventually we will start with the curriculum. MUS will set our pace at first until he gets the hang of math (be that in 1st, 2nd, whatever)

 

Basically I want them exposed to math in many, many different ways. There are alot of curricula that they learn how to do math that 1 way, when in all actuality there are many, many ways to look at math. I want them strong in math. I am considering starting my rising 3rd grader in a 3rd program next year. I am trying to decide what would be a good fit with Singapore and Horizons. I am thinking about MEP. We do math all year. During breaks during the school year, during the summer, all year. We do not do math so it is overwhelming, but we do have high standards. We use manipulatives to clearly show the reason math is how it is. We do not just expect them to learn facts. They understand the WHY behind the how-to. That is why we used multiple programs.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Looking through the forums I see a lot of you listing your curriculums and several of you use more than one math. Is there a reason for this? I am planning on using Horizons with my daughter next year and am beginning to wonder if that is enough since I see most of you use more than that.

 

We use two full programs plus some math stories/games only because we enjoy mixing it up. We don't do two full programs every day or all we would get done would be math. Miquon and MEP are our foundation. We also use the math stories and games from Oak Meadow. We are a very math-oriented household; my dh is an electrical engineer and I have always enjoyed math myself. Do you need more than one math program to teach your child well? No, you don't. If you have a child who enjoys math, asks a lot of questions and wants more; then you need to do more than one.

 

Horizons is a solid program and enough for most children. If you want to try another one, Miquon is cheap and fun; but, please, don't think it's necessary just because other people do it. One person's bliss is another's torture. ;)

[sagira]

I think most people would say it is to fill in any gaps. Most programs differ in their scope and sequence yet the standardized testing that the majority are required to take each year do not. I'm sure some also do it to practice more of one concept.

 

The reason I'm doing this next year is to a) fill in gaps and b) to combat boredom.

 

:iagree: I like to see things from different angles, and shaking things up a bit is good for ds too (he's a lot like me). I really, really like the looks of Japanese Math, but I also like the way Math Mammoth presents concepts too, the thoroughness and the extra drill it would provide as well. That said, I can't let go of Miquon as a math lab to do on Fridays in conjunction with math games from Family Math for Young Children. This is my plan for next year. Am I crazy? Maybe, but it makes us excited about math, and that's a good thing :D

[mom2p&j]

We use two full programs plus some math stories/games only because we enjoy mixing it up. We don't do two full programs every day or all we would get done would be math. Miquon and MEP are our foundation. We also use the math stories and games from Oak Meadow. We are a very math-oriented household; my dh is an electrical engineer and I have always enjoyed math myself. Do you need more than one math program to teach your child well? No, you don't. If you have a child who enjoys math, asks a lot of questions and wants more; then you need to do more than one.

 

Horizons is a solid program and enough for most children. If you want to try another one, Miquon is cheap and fun; but, please, don't think it's necessary just because other people do it. One person's bliss is another's torture. ;)

 

I was just looking at the MEP...... how many lessons do you all print out at one time?

[Guest Cindie2dds]

I printed out the first few lessons to make sure it was a good fit, then I took the PDF files to Office Max and had the entire year printed out so we could move through here and there, although not as much as Miquon.

 

Hope that helps!

Edited May 17, 2010 by Cindie2dds

[Lovedtodeath]

I was using Abeka and it was working well as far as passing a test was concerned, but she wasn't really understanding concepts. We are currently using Math Mammoth, but I worry that we are losing momentum and maybe we should stick with Abeka as our main program and supplement with MM. So if I used both that would be why.

[In the Rain]

Singapore is our main math program, the one I hope to stick with. When dd "got stuck" on a concept, I added in Miquon. After a few weeks of doing Miquon, she "got stuck" there. :tongue_smilie: We went back to Singapore, and by that time, she was able to understand the concept being taught.

 

I basically used Miquon to fill time while waiting on Singapore concepts to sink in. She preferred Miquon and would sometimes ask for "fun math" :) We've juggled the two programs for two years. This year, I am hoping to use only Singapore, but I have Miquon on the shelf just in case. ;)

[Closeacademy]

I use more than 1 math program because my goal is mastery.

 

We use Waldorf style stories to introduce new concepts in a fun and interesteing way. Then we notebook these concepts so that we have a reference for later.

 

Then I use Singapore Math to teach the new concept and we work in that book using various manipulatives.

 

Then I come from behind with Rod and Staff to make sure that everything is grounded and cemented with the work in there. If you are looking for review work Rod and Staff is excellent.

 

I used to use Singapore by itself but we hit walls and I had to back up and find different curriculum and such to use until my dds had mastered the material enough to go on. Now that I am using this combo I don't worry about the walls anymore. We just move through Singapore knowing that the review work in Rod and Staff will cement the skills.:001_smile:

[5LittleMonkeys]

I posted recently that we don't need to supplement our math program but then I discovered why I do need to supplement with something. My oldest was requesting a more rigorous math so we started doing some placement tests to determine where she might place in other programs. When I gave her the first one she looked at it for a few minutes and got pretty frustrated; she said she didn't understand any of it!:confused: This is my mathy dc! I sat down with her and went through each problem on the first page showing her how this problem was just like lesson so and so in her MUS and that problem was like so and so lesson. She finally worked her way through the test but I could tell it went way slower for her because the problems were presented in different ways than she was used to in MUS. So, this year we are going to use a supplement (LoF) and I will probably print out practice problems from some online sources just so she learns how to apply her knowledge to problems written or presented in lots of different ways.

[susankenny]

We have only ever used one math program. I never understood why people used multiple programs either. I see this with language arts a lot as well.

 

Susan

[KJsMom]

She finally worked her way through the test but I could tell it went way slower for her because the problems were presented in different ways than she was used to in MUS. So, this year we are going to use a supplement (LoF) and I will probably print out practice problems from some online sources just so she learns how to apply her knowledge to problems written or presented in lots of different ways.

This is why we use more than one. We used BJU previously and it was such a battle. I would think she fully grasped the concept, but if it was presented in a slightly different way she was lost. And frustrated. Lots of tears and tantrums later I put BJU on the shelf and tried MM. The simple drawings were so much easier for her to understand than the manipulatives used in BJS. I added TT for fun and to make sure she was understanding what was presented in MM. We also play math games. My math hater is now a math lover! Our bedtime conversation recently has been about math and last night she said, "I can't wait to do division! Tomorrow I'm going to do five lessons. Just kidding!"

[diaperjoys]

We are using CLE as our primary math curriculum; my son thrives on the steady review. Sprinkling in Math Mammoth is a terrific boost in conceptual understanding and higher level thinking. The two together work wonders for our son!

[SilverMoon]

My kid that regularly uses more than one math does so because she chooses to. She enjoys math and likes seeing how different publishers teach the same concept. I don't even attempt scheduling all of them or coordinating the concepts. Only her main math book makes it into my planner. She digs into Life of Fred, her brother's old/current texts, or extra internet printables whenever she likes. It helps that she has an older sibling who's left extra math books around for her. :)

 

The oldest on the other hand, can't handle more than one math curriculum at a time without getting bogged down. Life of Fred is only used for a refresher during a time his main math can be completely set aside for awhile. Keeping up with one book at a time is hard enough for him.

[bearnpurple]

We only use 1 math program.....mainly because my children do not like math and they would REALLY freakout if I had more than one program of math for them. Now don't get me wrong......there are days when I pull out worksheets from other workbooks (specifically workbooks I got for free from other people) to make them feel like they are not doing math that day. I like the programs we use (Rod & Staff for my dd7 and dd5; and Practical Arithmetic for ds13). We have tried other programs but these were the least objected by them and they are testing fine so we are keeping them. I just had to resign to myself that they are not mathy kids. But they LOVE Literature, History and English so we extend on those.

 

Now my dd5 who uses Rod & Staff also uses BJU, Abeka & ACE paces because she LOVES math and can't get enough so depending on her mood depends on which book we work on.....go figure!

 

Anyhoo......the whole realm is every child is different; every homeschool is different; no one is all wrong and no one is all right.......I love this forum because I can get ideas to try or assurance that what I doing is fine or realize that everyone is going through similar situations just at different times in their lives!

 

:)

[Storm Bay]

We stumbled into doing two programs initially. My middle dd and I did not do well the Saxon (my eldest did it on her own for 3 years), so I tried MUS since she is so highly vs. She loved it, but it wasn't meaty enough for her (no hard feelings, please--there are many things I love about MUS but for my dc that's the way it is.) We bought SM and she did both. SM is quite complete with the exception of memorizing math facts, but she loved watching Mr. Demme. Also, sometimes Mr Demme would explain things in ways that made it acceptable for her do certain things. eg regrouping numbers. She fought me tooth and nail on this (she's not like this with everything) and I explained it several ways. However, when Mr. Demme taught it it made complete sense to her.

 

Now we do it because I am totally sold on the idea of learning math more than one way. It's not that one has to do that, but we're big on math here (okay, I'm big on math as is my ds and my eldest has become that way). I don't think that this is for everyone, of course, anymore than I think all dc are going to get totally into the great books in high school, but it is for those who are into math. Our society in general has a huge problem with innumeracy despite basic math educations, and, what many don't realize, graduating mathematicians start in the top 10 pay scales for new grads (I just learned this this year, so it wasn't my motivation.) But regardless of what my dc pursue.

 

That said, there are other areas we haven't done as much in as some other homeschoolers on these boards do. My dc do need time to play, etc. But one of the beautiful things about homeschooling is that we can customize our educations. However, I think a good test of a dc's math understanding is to see how they do with a word problem or test from another program. That can be tough with tests, due to different scope and sequences, but it's quite an eye opener. One advantange mine have is that they can do that quite well.

Edited May 17, 2010 by Karin

[nmoira]

With DD the Younger, I started out with two because she's on the young side and I wanted to keep things moving at a comfortable pace. However, she's doing fine with MEP and greatly prefers it. There's not much need of Miquon at this time so we've shifted into Right Start Math games to help cement facts instead.

[MissKNG]

There are a couple of reasons I choose to implement more than one math program. Mainly, I want to give my big girl different approaches to mathematical thinking/reasoning. Another reason is that she is young so right now, we are dabbling in a bunch of programs to find the best fit. Finally, I discovered she is a pretty advanced math student so I need plenty of resources to satisfy her math "sweet tooth" and keep her challenged. I'm trying not to just advance with grade level but also trying to give her some depth and meat in the grade level she is at.

 

We are using Singapore and Horizons right now. I recently printed MEP Year 1a for the summer and I have an AL Abacus and workbook coming in the mail and we also dabble with C-rods and soon, possibly Miquon. And I have the 2nd grade Japanese workbooks and CWP 1 for later on.

[radiobrain]

We have only ever used one math program. I never understood why people used multiple programs either. I see this with language arts a lot as well.

 

Susan

 

 

Well, I have always used several different things for each subject... I never understand why anyone would put all their eggs in one basket, so that type of thought can go both ways. ;)

 

Honestly, I see no problem with either choice. It is all based on personal preference. I like many different points of view, so that my kids can make a decision about what makes the most sense to them. With math, you would think it would be simpler... 2+2=4, but I have found that having a few different presentations can get the neurons-a-poppin'!:D With ALL of my curriculum, I have a MAIN component, and then some alternatives. No one program is perfect for everyone, or else there would only one choice! I am sure that most people who list more than one curriculum do not do each and every page of all of them. That would be overkill. But even then, I could care less... whatever floats your boat!

[Violet Crown]

We have three levels of math going on at one time, which we call Daddy Math, Mommy Math, and Arithmetic.

 

Daddy Math is the exciting concepts you get to do with Daddy in the morning or evening, whatever he thinks would be most interesting to that child at that point: Pascal's triangle, or a few Mathcounts problems, or a Sam Loyd puzzle, or some basic probability perhaps. Basically it's math at a level at which the child couldn't solve problems, but can begin to grasp or at least glimpse new and exciting things. For our oldest, it became sitting in on math courses at the local univ. and getting extra tutoring from Daddy.

 

Mommy Math uses a proper curriculum. For the middle child it's Key To... right now; for the oldest, it's actually done with Daddy (I got a 3 on my Calculus AP, so dh is handling it). Basically it's math at the child's "real" level: what she can sit down and do problems in by herself after we discuss the lesson.

 

Arithmetic is just that: practice in number-crunching, with some tips for doing it faster and more accurately. There's no new math here. We use Standard Service Arithmetics, from the 1920's when there were no calculators and 3rd-graders had to do timed drills with problems like "678x9=?" without copying the problem onto their paper.

 

So three different math curricula (if you can call dh's eclectic mix of math sources a "curriculum") because we believe each child should be working at different levels simultaneously.

[FO4UR]

...b/c I have yet to find *1* curric that fits like a glove, covering all the bases, keeping ds interested and THINKING, that puts in just the right amount of practice and review at precisely the moment ds needs it.

 

I've spent a lot of time and $ finding what works in K and 1st...I'm pretty confident planning for 2nd grade math with Miquon, Singapore CWP, and RS games. Miquon covers mathematical thinking through concepts, CWP is well...word problems, application, and more THINKING, and RS games are there for drill mainly. My bases are pretty much covered, in the best method for ds7, and we can easily take a break from parts of math w/o neglecting the subject altogether.

 

I would love it if Math Mammoth would work for ds. I'm going to try it with my dd. My ds7 has some VT issues and probably dyslexia so I'm having to be more creative to get to heart of math w/o getting hung up on worksheet page lay-out issues.

[Lightly Salted]

I think most people would say it is to fill in any gaps. Most programs differ in their scope and sequence yet the standardized testing that the majority are required to take each year do not. I'm sure some also do it to practice more of one concept.

 

The reason I'm doing this next year is to a) fill in gaps and b) to combat boredom.

 

That's the majority of our reason. That and it seems to help cement those difficult-to-break-through concepts. I consider MUS our main program but supplement with Math Mammoth. I could be happy with either as a standalone program, but we like each program for different reasons, so it works for us.

[Doubleblessings]

We are using several, because I like having different ways to approach the same topic. We love math and my kids enjoy it. I want them to understand the why's of math and I find that seeing it presented in different ways helps.

[susankenny]

Well, I have always used several different things for each subject... I never understand why anyone would put all their eggs in one basket, so that type of thought can go both ways. ;)

 

Honestly, I see no problem with either choice. It is all based on personal preference. I like many different points of view, so that my kids can make a decision about what makes the most sense to them. With math, you would think it would be simpler... 2+2=4, but I have found that having a few different presentations can get the neurons-a-poppin'!:D With ALL of my curriculum, I have a MAIN component, and then some alternatives. No one program is perfect for everyone, or else there would only one choice! I am sure that most people who list more than one curriculum do not do each and every page of all of them. That would be overkill. But even then, I could care less... whatever floats your boat!

 

I definitely agree that one curriculum isn't necessary across the board. We use multiple resources too. In reference to the OP's question though, it's fair to point out that "overkill" can be the result in some instances of incorporating too many things. In my opinion, using multiple math programs doesn't equate to better, nor do multiple language arts programs and so forth. Sometimes it is simply creating more work and not necessarily a better understanding. Not to say this is in reference to you or anyone else here by any means, but in reference to the OP, I think it's worth mentioning that sometimes more than one program can be too much.

 

Susan

[Storm Bay]

Well, I have always used several different things for each subject... I never understand why anyone would put all their eggs in one basket, so that type of thought can go both ways. ;)

 

Honestly, I see no problem with either choice. It is all based on personal preference. I like many different points of view, so that my kids can make a decision about what makes the most sense to them. With math, you would think it would be simpler... 2+2=4, but I have found that having a few different presentations can get the neurons-a-poppin'!:D!

 

 

Right. Plus, there's the word problem, mind thinking part of it that can make all the difference. Thinking about math enters a whole new level with the addition of certain things (such as how you can get to knowing when to use 2+2=4 :)). Being able to approach a problem more than one way. But it is personal choice--hurrah for that!