Ok, LOVING Math Mammoth

[Haiku]

Or, as my ds calls it, Wooly Mammoth Math. :D

 

We are using the MM blue topic books this summer to get some extra practice on certain concepts. I have to say that as much as I have always been a Right Start junkie, I am loving MM! The explanations are so clear, and I feel like my kids are covering more in 20 minutes than they would in 45 minutes of RS.

 

I have loved RS, but I am starting to weary of the amount of time it takes (I read about people who get an entire RS C lesson done in 20 minutes, and I am always left scratching my head ...), and MM is starting to look more and more attractive ...

 

I'm thinking switching ds7, who just finished RS B, over to MM light blue in the fall, and switching dd8, who is halfway through RS C, to MM light blue after she finishes RS C.

 

Tara

[PeterPan]

Well that's so exciting to hear!!! I'm always on the lookout for what might be a good path with my little one. We too were RS junkies, but I don't think I'd have the heart to continue past the middle of RS C (where they learn the 4 digit subtraction). So did you compare MM and Singapore? I haven't seen MM, just heard about it.

[Ummto4]

Exactly.

 

Back in mid 2008, my son who was then 6.5 years old, was sort of struggling with place value via RS. I switched him to MM light blue 1 in Aug 2008, and the minute we hit the place value, he understood it. COMPLETELY.

 

I guess he needs the pictorial stage more than the abstract stage. MM has been working wonderfully well in our family and we're planning to continue with that till 6th grade.

[Ummto4]

Well that's so exciting to hear!!! I'm always on the lookout for what might be a good path with my little one. We too were RS junkies, but I don't think I'd have the heart to continue past the middle of RS C (where they learn the 4 digit subtraction). So did you compare MM and Singapore? I haven't seen MM, just heard about it.

 

OhElizabeth, there was a thread in the past looking at MM vs S-pore. Find posts by Corraleno (aka Jackie). She's the one who compared MM with S-pore.

 

Basically, they're the same in terms of rigor, but the scope and sequence is rather different. MM wins in ease of use and it doesn't require logical leap from the student. Everything is laid out step by step, so the process is pretty painless.

[Haiku]

So did you compare MM and Singapore?

 

I did Singapore (1A to either 2B or 3A, forget which) with my oldest dd, who is now 16, and I HAAAAATED it.

 

I keep hearing that Singapore and MM are similar, but I don't see it. Singapore seemed weirdy-weirdy and didn't explain things well, whereas MM makes perfect sense.

 

We are just about to get to 4-digit subtraction in RS, and I think I may go ahead and hang it up after that and go into MM 3 with dd after that. Ftr, dd8 says that she thinks that MM gives her better instructions on what to do, but she doesn't want to give up the RS games.

 

Tara

[Haiku]

Dh just sent me a text and said he doesn't think we should change. He rarely has an opinion on what we do.

 

Tara

[PeterPan]

Dh just sent me a text and said he doesn't think we should change. He rarely has an opinion on what we do.

 

Tara

 

Well that's no problem. HE can teach the rest of RS C. :D

 

Seriously, RS is awesome through the middle of C. Then it became one big teethpulling session for us, not because it is bad but simply because it didn't fit what dd needed. It IS good, and the ideas are neat. But if they don't fit, they don't fit. There are so many good options, it just doesn't make sense to stay put. And yes, that was how I sort of felt about Singapore. After RS, Singapore was a little weird, not as careful in methodology. It was just little stuff that irked you as a RS junkie, not stuff that would bother other people.

 

Do you have the Games book for RS? Nothing says you can't play the games just because you're doing MM, mercy. You could do MM as your daily work and play through the *games* in RS C. As I recall they had quite a few going at any one time. (I always kept a list in the front of my manual!) So you play through the games in RS C to do RS, and you do the pencil pushing in MM, hehe... Then your dh can be happy, right? ;)

[Corraleno]

Well that's so exciting to hear!!! I'm always on the lookout for what might be a good path with my little one. We too were RS junkies, but I don't think I'd have the heart to continue past the middle of RS C (where they learn the 4 digit subtraction). So did you compare MM and Singapore? I haven't seen MM, just heard about it.

 

Similarities between MM and Singapore:

* both teach math the "Asian way"

* strong focus on mathematical concepts and mental math

* use the bar diagram model for word problems

* problem sets are challenging, with good multi-step word problems

 

Differences:

* Singapore was designed to be used in a classroom by trained math teachers; MM was specifically designed for homeschoolers

* The format of MM is all-in-one worktexts, whereas with Singapore you have separate texts, workbooks, and Home Instructor's Guides

* The explanations in MM are written directly to the student in the worktext, while the explanations in Singapore are written to the parent in the HIG. In order to teach a lesson "the Singapore way," the parent needs to read the HIG, understand the explanation, and teach the child; with MM the child is "taught" directly by Maria Miller (a Finnish mathematician and teacher).

* MM breaks mathematical concepts down into smaller pieces, and teaches them step-by-step, one concept per lesson, whereas Singapore tends to make more conceptual leaps, which can be difficult for some kids to follow.

 

Because MM was designed specifically for homeschoolers, it's incredibly easy to use. Some people print out a section at a time (e.g. a weeks worth, a month's worth), and keep it in a binder. Others print a whole book out at a time and have it comb or spiral bound into a worktext. I also print out the TOC and keep it at the front of the binder, then as we complete each lesson I just mark the date and any comments next to the lesson on the TOC. We do one lesson per day (which covers about 1.5 grade levels per year) but you only "need" to do 1-2 pages/day (roughly 1 page/day in 1st, up to 2 pages/day in 6th). 1-2 pages can easily be done in 20 minutes or less.

 

Jackie

[Corraleno]

Dh just sent me a text and said he doesn't think we should change. He rarely has an opinion on what we do.

Did he say why? :confused:

 

Jackie

[Melenie]

We completed RS A and DD did not like it (understatement!). I changed to SM, MM and a bit of Miquon for the summer to see what we liked and MM is a BIG hit with us both. I am thinking of doing MM only in the fall with her. This is the first time that DD has looked forward to doing a math program.

Edited July 20, 2010 by Melenie

[Sugar Fly]

I just visited the MM website. It looks like a great program! I was thrilled to find Blue Series books on European Money and Metric Measuring :hurray:

Thank You for posting this, Tara, it was very helpful.

[TracyP]

We have been using MM as a supplement to CLE but after a lot of thought and my dd's .02 I took the plunge and bought the light blue series for next year. We have used Singapore, CLE and MUS here. I think I finally found what I've been looking for.:D

[Haiku]

Did he say why? :confused:

 

 

And I quote, "Personally, I feel like the kids have learned an astounding concept of how math works from Right Start, so unless there is some great advantage, I don't see any reason to change."

 

I told him that I thought MM was a good curriculum that's less expensive and less time-consuming to teach and would be less scattered in than RS C, which I just don't see working well for ds7.

 

Tara

[King Alfred Academy]

The same thing happened for me! :001_smile:

 

I, too, LOVE RS and sing it's praises, however, I got the MM Blue Series for practice and LOVE that too! We made it through RS levels A-C, but the subtraction just wasn't clicking. *I* was having a hard time figuring out how to teach it and that only frustrated all of us! My boys have learned so much with MM (including subtraction) that I think we'll just stick with it this coming year and keep RS D close by.

[I.Dup.]

Can someone explain what is so great or different about MM's workbook pages? I mean that's all there is to it, right? The workbook pages themselves that we print off? I had dd take the placement test and she did terribly on it, but it gave me a good sense of the way the pages are laid out and I guess I'm not seeing what everyone else is seeing? It seems like a very thorough program, but what exactly is so great? I was expecting it to sing and dance from all the reviews it's getting :lol:

[Haiku]

For me the greatness of MM is not anything specific about the worktext pages, it's the that explanations of things are So. Clear. Far more straightforward than Right Start, and far more common-sense than Singapore (the only two other math curricula with which I have experience).

 

Tara

[txhomemom]

We had the same problem with RS. We hit a wall or just plain got bored with using the abacus around the midpoint of level C. At that point, my dd learned subtraction better by using a Mastering Mathematics book (if I had known about Math Mammoth at the time, would have used that instead). Then we used a multiplication program called Math N More Math Facts in a Flash and it teaches multiplication facts in a multisensory method which works well for all types of learners. Wish I would have found it earlier because it worked so well. After that we went back to Mastering Mathematics books along with K12 Math. This year, I needed to make things simple since I have a 4 month old in the house. We are doing a combination of Key To math books and Math Mammoth (mainly using MM for those topics not covered in Key To books). If I could start teaching math over again I might just go with MM all the way through or maybe combine it with RS games and other manipulatives. I tend to like MM better than Singapore for reasons others have stated...MM is an all in one book and easier for child to self teach. Just wish MM had more high school topics! I will have to start deciding on what math to use for Algebra and Geometry soon.

[shinyhappypeople]

For me the greatness of MM is not anything specific about the worktext pages, it's the that explanations of things are So. Clear. Far more straightforward than Right Start, and far more common-sense than Singapore (the only two other math curricula with which I have experience).

 

Tara

 

 

:iagree:

 

The explanations are right on the workbook pages. For the levels I'm using with DD1 (she's a young 2nd gr.), it teaches directly to the student most of the time, but there are sections that are for me (games, non-pencil & paper activities to introduce or practice concepts, etc.)

 

It's easy to use, it takes small steps rather than big leaps (yes, Singapore, I'm talking to you ;) ), and it seems to teach mathematical thinking in a way that makes sense to my not-very-mathy brain.

 

We've done a little here and there over the last year, but we'll be doing it full-time with older DD for the upcoming school year. I'm excited :D

[TracyP]

For me the greatness of MM is not anything specific about the worktext pages, it's the that explanations of things are So. Clear. Far more straightforward than Right Start, and far more common-sense than Singapore (the only two other math curricula with which I have experience).

 

Tara

:iagree:

 

I know MM is not the only one to do this but I love how it "stretches" what has already been taught. For example, we know addition and we know greater than, less than. MM put 8+1 ___ 4+3 and dd has to use <,>,= to answer. It seems like a small thing but it really stretched what she could do and she went from saying this is to hard to really enjoying it. That became one of her favorite exercises over the next few days. That would be another benefit (over SM at least). She actually could spend a few days on a topic. I know you can buy extra practice books with SM so then you can have 8 books for the year instead of 6 but it is all included with MM.

 

You may have said it best with "it seems like a thorough program". It really has everything I could want in a math program. It is conceptual, with plenty of review (but not overkill), challenging, strong on mental math and word problems, clear directions (written to the student so easy for them or mom to understand) all for a very inexpensive price. Okay, can you tell I like MM?:tongue_smilie:

[King Alfred Academy]

Then we used a multiplication program called Math N More Math Facts in a Flash and it teaches multiplication facts in a multisensory method which works well for all types of learners.

 

Could you link this program for me, please? I tried googling it and came up with a bunch of stuff I don't think was it.

 

Thanks!:001_smile:

[I.Dup.]

Thank you all! Still looking into this...trying to decide between this and RS now, I think. :tongue_smilie:

[txhomemom]

I bought that Math N More multiplication program from Little Giant Steps at a homeschool convention a couple of years ago. I just looked on their website and I am not even sure if they make it anymore. I noticed they still have another Math N More program on their website but it is more basic intro math like counting, etc. I would contact them and see if they are still making the multiplication one. The author was Jan Bedell. Here is an old review of it on The Old Schoolhouse Magazine http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/reviews.php?rid=1447

 

Just to explain the program more, basically the program came with a CD to listen to audio tracks for each lesson. The student would listen to the multiplication facts, you would initially show the flash cards with the answers, and you would have the student write the answers on a worksheet as they listened to the answer on the CD. You would also drill with the flashcards without showing the answer to further cement the facts. Once one track or worksheet was mastered then you would move on to the next one. What I liked about it was that the multiplication facts were mixed up rather than in families of everything (for example 1x3, 2x3, 3x3). On one sheet you might have 4x3, 5x6, and 7x2. Whenever I would try to teach my dd multiplication facts by fact family she would just try to do fast addition in her head, but then never really learn the harder facts. I also like that this has a kinesthetic component where the student is writing down the answers, the audio component of listening to the facts, and the visual of seeing the flashcard with the answer.

 

Anyway, hopefully they didn't stop making the program, because it really was a well-designed and efficient program.

[King Alfred Academy]

I bought that Math N More multiplication program from Little Giant Steps at a homeschool convention a couple of years ago. I just looked on their website and I am not even sure if they make it anymore. I noticed they still have another Math N More program on their website but it is more basic intro math like counting, etc. I would contact them and see if they are still making the multiplication one. The author was Jan Bedell. Here is an old review of it on The Old Schoolhouse Magazine http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/reviews.php?rid=1447

 

Just to explain the program more, basically the program came with a CD to listen to audio tracks for each lesson. The student would listen to the multiplication facts, you would initially show the flash cards with the answers, and you would have the student write the answers on a worksheet as they listened to the answer on the CD. You would also drill with the flashcards without showing the answer to further cement the facts. Once one track or worksheet was mastered then you would move on to the next one. What I liked about it was that the multiplication facts were mixed up rather than in families of everything (for example 1x3, 2x3, 3x3). On one sheet you might have 4x3, 5x6, and 7x2. Whenever I would try to teach my dd multiplication facts by fact family she would just try to do fast addition in her head, but then never really learn the harder facts. I also like that this has a kinesthetic component where the student is writing down the answers, the audio component of listening to the facts, and the visual of seeing the flashcard with the answer.

 

Anyway, hopefully they didn't stop making the program, because it really was a well-designed and efficient program.

 

Thanks for the information! :001_smile: It sounds similar to Times Tables the Fun Way.

[txhomemom]

Okay...I feel dumb today. I just looked on the Little Giant Steps website again and they changed the name of the Math N More program to Rapid Recall System. It looks like you will need to contact them to see how much each individual program is. They have addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Hope this helps.

[King Alfred Academy]

Okay...I feel dumb today. I just looked on the Little Giant Steps website again and they changed the name of the Math N More program to Rapid Recall System. It looks like you will need to contact them to see how much each individual program is. They have addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the updated information. I'll check it out! :001_smile:

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

Thank you all! Still looking into this...trying to decide between this and RS now, I think. :tongue_smilie:

 

I have not used RS, but went from Saxon into MM. The reason we did this is because Saxon was not a good fit for us. Here's what I like about MM:

 

1. My daughter prefers to do things on her own, so the worktext factor is a biggie for us. She will let me know if she doesn't understand directions or doesn't get a concept. Then I can step in and show her another way to look at it.

 

2. It has lots of mental math strategies. Just the other day I heard her adding with her father for fun. 10+10, 20+20, 40+40... At 80+80 she paused for a few seconds and then said 160. I thought it was because she finally remembered 8+8 was 16. Nope. She took the 20 from the 80 to make the other 80 into 100 and then added the 60 that was left. We just recently finished the section about adding to 10 and then adding more, so it was great to see her applying that concept.

 

My daughter has been using this program probably for about a year, maybe a little more. We're about midway through 2nd grade. We do one page per day, and when all the pages for each "lesson" are complete, I grade them. Most "lessons" are 1-3 pages long, at least from what we've seen so far. It really is an outstanding program, and it has worked very well for my oldest. I am SO not mathematically gifted, so most of what she is accomplishing is due to her own gifts and the MM curriculum.

[Lostinabook]

I used the Division books for dd over the past year with dd b/c I felt like RS didn't do enough with that skill. I have loved them too. It's SO nice to just hand her the worksheets & have her figure out what to do on her own.

 

I am *really* looking forward to the fall when she starts MM 5.

[Corraleno]

Can someone explain what is so great or different about MM's workbook pages? I mean that's all there is to it, right? The workbook pages themselves that we print off? I had dd take the placement test and she did terribly on it, but it gave me a good sense of the way the pages are laid out and I guess I'm not seeing what everyone else is seeing? It seems like a very thorough program, but what exactly is so great? I was expecting it to sing and dance from all the reviews it's getting :lol:

The placement tests are just that — tests. They're totally missing the conceptual explanations and examples that are the heart of Math Mammoth. Judging MM as a program based on the placement test would be like looking at the final exam for a course and saying "I don't see where this teaches you anything." There are lots of samples of the actual worksheets on the MM website, although I have to say I don't think Maria chooses very good examples of what makes MM different. Most of her samples look quite similar to other programs — maybe that was her point, trying to show that even though it's new and a bit different, it still covers the normal topics. IMHO, the samples don't really show what's special about MM, though. (Kinda like the samples of MCT LA.) Once you start using it, and you start to see the light bulbs going on over your kids' heads, you start to get what's special about it.

 

Jackie

[ALB]

Has anyone begun MM in K? We will have finished MEP Reception year before we officially begin K5, and I really like MM. I don't know if we should do MEP year 1 and then do MM, or if it is okay to use MM with a 5 year old.

[crazyforlatin]

Has anyone begun MM in K? We will have finished MEP Reception year before we officially begin K5, and I really like MM. I don't know if we should do MEP year 1 and then do MM, or if it is okay to use MM with a 5 year old.

 

We did! Actually we started a few months ago when she was almost 5 and will be moving on to MM2 in a few weeks. It's really a great program because as everyone has said, it teaches concepts incrementally. We didn't face any frustration (except for the "comparison by subtraction" word problems, which reminds me I need to review again - do they have extra word problems in the light blue series in a separate file?) I go back and forth with different math curricula, but just last week, Singapore 1B made a huge jump in a concept that DD didn't grasp well. I went back to MM to have it taught a bit more slowly so that we can go back to Singapore later to finish up. So yes, I think it's fine for a Ker, since my own is not gifted in math.

 

Isn't Spy Car using MEP1 with a Ker? I really would like to use MEP1 more, but it's really so different from MM and requires more work from the parent - that's just what it seems to me.

[Annabel Lee]

I don't have much to add, but in my research comparing MM to Singpore, I noticed that MM has built-in fact practice (to the point of memorization, or near memorization). In Singapore math you'd have to pause after they introduce each fact family (for the ones they do go over) & do something separate for this like flashcards, worksheets, or just tons of extra practice - if you wanted it.

 

I want the best of both worlds; have your facts down pat and have conceptual/mental math strategies, so this is important to me.

[DarlaS]

Has anyone begun MM in K? We will have finished MEP Reception year before we officially begin K5, and I really like MM. I don't know if we should do MEP year 1 and then do MM, or if it is okay to use MM with a 5 year old.

 

Print out some samples of level 1 and see how your child handles the small lines (That's my only issue with MM in K or gr 1.). Depending on her fine motor skills, it could work, but at this age may not be worth the frustration since you could just as easily wait.

[TracyP]

Has anyone begun MM in K? We will have finished MEP Reception year before we officially begin K5, and I really like MM. I don't know if we should do MEP year 1 and then do MM, or if it is okay to use MM with a 5 year old.

 

Print out some samples of level 1 and see how your child handles the small lines (That's my only issue with MM in K or gr 1.). Depending on her fine motor skills, it could work, but at this age may not be worth the frustration since you could just as easily wait.

 

I am starting MM in K this year. I have been using the snapshot tool on adobe. You click and drag to highlight 1/3 to 1/2 the page and then print. My printer automatically defaults to enlarging to fit page and voila - big spaces to write. Also for my Ker this is nice because I can stretch the year out by just giving him one of these enlarged pages or give him two if I think he's ready to move faster.

[DarlaS]

I am starting MM in K this year. I have been using the snapshot tool on adobe. You click and drag to highlight 1/3 to 1/2 the page and then print. My printer automatically defaults to enlarging to fit page and voila - big spaces to write. Also for my Ker this is nice because I can stretch the year out by just giving him one of these enlarged pages or give him two if I think he's ready to move faster.

 

Neat! I never even realized adobe had this capability. I won't need it for MM, but thanks for pointing that out!

[TracyP]

Neat! I never even realized adobe had this capability. I won't need it for MM, but thanks for pointing that out!

 

I learned about it on this board and it made my day.:D

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

I LOVE the look of MM and had thought about going to MM1 after MEP Reception also but I just showed DS the samples and asked him what he thought of it and he wasn't impressed .. he even said he might have to run away and I have NO IDEA where he even picked up such a concept from. :confused:

 

Granted, he's not near ready for MM1 and can't necessarily be trusted to know what he's talking about but although I was hoping from reading this thread that we might go with MM1 rather than RS B next year after all, I'm now thinking I may have to at least postpone MM until after at least a year or 2 of RS. I'll test him again when he's older, let him do some of the samples, and decide then. :tongue_smilie: (if it's noteworthy he enjoys MEP Reception and Miquon Orange and he doesn't mind Horizons K but Horizon's lessons are really short for him right now)

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

Neat! I never even realized adobe had this capability. I won't need it for MM, but thanks for pointing that out!

I learned it here too and thought I'd have to use it because my dd (almost 7, started 1st grade last week) is visually impaired but she hasn't had any problems.

[Beth in SW WA]

I have not used RS, but went from Saxon into MM. The reason we did this is because Saxon was not a good fit for us. Here's what I like about MM:

 

1. My daughter prefers to do things on her own, so the worktext factor is a biggie for us. She will let me know if she doesn't understand directions or doesn't get a concept. Then I can step in and show her another way to look at it.

 

2. It has lots of mental math strategies. Just the other day I heard her adding with her father for fun. 10+10, 20+20, 40+40... At 80+80 she paused for a few seconds and then said 160. I thought it was because she finally remembered 8+8 was 16. Nope. She took the 20 from the 80 to make the other 80 into 100 and then added the 60 that was left. We just recently finished the section about adding to 10 and then adding more, so it was great to see her applying that concept.

 

My daughter has been using this program probably for about a year, maybe a little more. We're about midway through 2nd grade. We do one page per day, and when all the pages for each "lesson" are complete, I grade them. Most "lessons" are 1-3 pages long, at least from what we've seen so far. It really is an outstanding program, and it has worked very well for my oldest. I am SO not mathematically gifted, so most of what she is accomplishing is due to her own gifts and the MM curriculum.

 

OK, I took the plunge. I just bought 5 downloads of the Blue Series:

 

Addition 1

Subtraction 1

Place Value 1 & 2

Multiplication 1

 

For $21, I had to try it.

 

Thank you, MM fans, for sharing your thoughts on this program.

 

I just bought RS B for dd 6/first grade. MM looks like a fun addition to our ever-growing math regiment (RS, Singapore, Horizons, etc). :001_smile:

[sibbis]

Just wanted to chime in that I love all the free resources Math Mammoth makes available. I subscribed to the "MathMammoth" youtube channel and it's pretty awesome. It's just Maria Miller (the author) and a whiteboard but she goes through concepts very thoroughly and thoughtfully. Just search "math mammoth" on youtube.

 

I recommend signing up for the math teaching emails and the tour on the website as well.

 

I test drove Singapore and Saxon and just was not excited like I was when we tried Math Mammoth. I have this strange feeling I've never felt before like I would actually be looking forward to teaching math!

[abrightmom]

We have moved over to Math Mammoth as well . . . Right Start has just about killed me (although I can sing its praises and credit the approach for giving my boys "lightbulb" moments and for helping me to understand math better). I cannot imagine teaching math the Right Start way to all of these children . . . Math Mammoth is wonderful and we're trying a CLE/MM hybrid this year . . . not sure if we'll stick with that or not but I think my boys need some sort of spiraling review (concepts seem to fade more quickly than I'm comfy with). It's just an experiment though . . . two math programs may do me in just like RS did! :D

 

Anyhow, we're another satisfied Math Mammoth loving family (we have used Blue and recently purchased Light Blue for this new school year).

 

:001_smile:

[Beth in SW WA]

We have moved over to Math Mammoth as well . . . Right Start has just about killed me (although I can sing its praises and credit the approach for giving my boys "lightbulb" moments and for helping me to understand math better). I cannot imagine teaching math the Right Start way to all of these children . . . Math Mammoth is wonderful and we're trying a CLE/MM hybrid this year . . . not sure if we'll stick with that or not but I think my boys need some sort of spiraling review (concepts seem to fade more quickly than I'm comfy with). It's just an experiment though . . . two math programs may do me in just like RS did! :D

 

Anyhow, we're another satisfied Math Mammoth loving family (we have used Blue and recently purchased Light Blue for this new school year).

 

:001_smile:

 

I have a hodge-podge of math to choose from. RS B is here and we start Monday. MM is printed and we'll give that a go. Singapore has been wonderful, although we are only a few lessons in on 1A & 2A. I like what I see but we certainly couldn't do that as a stand-alone. The girls love Rainbow Rock.

 

I'm willing to explore the different types of 'Asian' math for my Asian girls. Seems logical enough to me. :)

 

Plus, MM is so affordable. It's almost comical. Clever marketing plan on her part. Volume selling at lower prices. Brilliant.

[Murphy101]

Has anyone begun MM in K? We will have finished MEP Reception year before we officially begin K5, and I really like MM. I don't know if we should do MEP year 1 and then do MM, or if it is okay to use MM with a 5 year old.

 

I decided my standard MCP math was not going to work for my son and bought the bundle CD from homeschool buyers coop. So far it's great. RS and Singapore and MEP would be overwhelmingly complicated and time consuming for this mother of 9.

 

Just wanted to chime in that I love all the free resources Math Mammoth makes available. I subscribed to the "MathMammoth" youtube channel and it's pretty awesome. It's just Maria Miller (the author) and a whiteboard but she goes through concepts very thoroughly and thoughtfully. Just search "math mammoth" on youtube.

 

I recommend signing up for the math teaching emails and the tour on the website as well.

 

Oh wow! Did not know that! Thanks!

[truebluexf]

OMG, thank you for this thread! I think I'm making the switch!!! We have been using RS, and overall we really like it. Except now in C, with the crazy subtraction that even I can't really make sense of. We made it to lesson 100 last year, and it's just getting harder and harder for me to teach with 3 kids. My second starts this year, and the time involved for teaching RS C and B was worrying me in my planning. I think I am going to switch DS to this program this year. He'll be in 3rd grade and ready for independent work, something which I really feel our curricula lack (though it was by choice, I think it is time he start doing more on his own.) I will still do B with DD1, because I LOVE the way it REALLY teaches math for understanding...even I learned a lot from it (DH too). Plus, with more time freed up for me, we can continue with RS math games more. I had all but stopped these last year, I just couldn't figure out how to get the time with a toddler in the house. Plus we moved. Yeah, it was fun LOL. I feel like a load has been lifted off my shoulders!!!

 

Can I really just give him the sheets and he learn it independently for the most part? I mean I expect to teach him of course, but the idea of not spending 30 min with him on math daily is so foreign...

[ALB]

 

(if it's noteworthy he enjoys MEP Reception and Miquon Orange and he doesn't mind Horizons K but Horizon's lessons are really short for him right now)

 

That's interesting! My dd actually has the same birth month as your ds and are doing similar things (we'll be using HOD as well). I think I'll just keep on with MEP and our own version of Miquon, and save MM for when I'm more sure we're ready, too.

[Haiku]

I have decided to jump ship from RS to MM ... sorta. I am going to order MM2 light blue series for my son for this coming year. My dd8 has enjoyed RS C and done well with it, and as we are 2/3 of the way through I plan to finish out C with her and then decide whether to go into D or make the jump to MM. But as I was reviewing the early lessons of RS C while trying to decide what to do with my son this year, I realized that it's just too scattered for him, and the drawing lessons would be a complete disaster. I think that the straightforwardness of MM will suit him better at this point.

 

A friend of mine has RS D, and, after dd and I finish C, I will browse through it and see whether I want to continue in RS or not.

 

Tara

[In2why]

Does it use maipulatives and if so what type. My son is sick of MUS blocks already and we haven't been doing Beta for long. In fact he most of his worksheets without them and groans when I use them to teach him something. Hopefully it is just because it is review, but since MUS uses the blocks a lot...uggh

[KJsMom]

MM uses drawings instead of manipulatives for most things, but you can always use manipulatives too. We use pennies, craft sticks, blocks, etc. You aren't required to use a certain thing, just whatever works for you.

[Corraleno]

Does it use maipulatives and if so what type. My son is sick of MUS blocks already and we haven't been doing Beta for long. In fact he most of his worksheets without them and groans when I use them to teach him something. Hopefully it is just because it is review, but since MUS uses the blocks a lot...uggh

MM doesn't use manipulatives (although you can certainly add them if you want); the lessons include very good illustrations of the concepts. In some lessons the child might draw additional shapes for addition, cross out shapes for substraction, divide up shapes for fractions, etc., but it's all done on the worksheets.

 

Jackie

[Lovedtodeath]

We sometimes use a clock and an abacus with our lessons.

[babysparkler]

We sometimes use a clock and an abacus with our lessons.

 

We do this too... we moved from RS to MM this year and after only a couple of weeks the lightbulbs are coming on. I'm SO GLAD we made the switch! The kids are doing more math per day than we ever have with RS because of the independence it allows for... and they are really getting the concepts. The worktexts are very stepwise and clear. And, as a bonus, I feel less frazzled with 4 kids to teach.

 

I have the complete set of manipulatives (and some MUS blocks too), so I pull them out for reinforcement. My 3yo and 5yo love using the math manipulatives in their playtime too :)