who wants to talk to me about 1st grade math?

[mamamoon]

hi!

i have 2 that i am homeschooling, a 4th grader and a 1st grader~

 

the 4th grader in the past has used shiller, 2 years of singapore and am planning on moving her to saxon this year.

last year for kinder i used singapore, and was not thrilled~

wanting to use something FUN. shiller was fun, but it was bugged me because there seemed to be all kinds of random lessons on things i did not really think were too important. (but what do i know? lol)

 

thanks in advance!!

lisa

[H_Household]

We love Bob Jones.....our 3rd year of using it. My boys love the story that flows through the whole text. It's very colorful and covers chapter topics instead of different things each day. You might want to check it out.

[In2why]

We used Saxon last year and I thought it was a very complete Math program, but it took way longer than I wanted to sepnd on Math, with the meeting book and the lesson. I also found myself needing to tailor it too many times, speeding through some parts and printing worksheets for review in other areas. I also bought miquon because I got a great deal on it and heard raves about it, but my son didn't catch on and want to 'play' with the rods, but it looks amazing and I am going to use it with my 4 year old next year. I think it works best for a child that has never done 'serious' math before.

This year we chose MUS since I wasn't 100% with Saxon and so far I like it and my son seems to like it. We watch the DVD together, and then he does the lesson. We need to do a lot more before I decide whether we will continue with MUS next year or go back to Saxon, but it will be one of these two because I dont' want to keep hopping around with math.

[Mommy to monkeys]

OY. We tried Singapore for a few months. It. did. not. go. well. Then we tried Math Mammoth, and we didn't do well with that one either. CLE is the one that has STUCK for us, but I wouldn't call it fun.

 

For more hands on, Right Start and Math u see come to mind. . .with Math u See being the less teacher intensive of the two.

[Peaceful Isle]

We are using Bob Jones Math this year , and loving it as well! My daughters have definitely excelled and no more sad faces when it comes to math time! :)

[Ellie]

My first choice would be Rod and Staff's Beginning Arithmetic. Don't have a clue as to what my second choice would be, lol.

[Mama2two]

My son is first grade and he loves Rightstart. He definitely considers it fun. I would highly recommend it.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

We're enjoying BJU too.:)

[plain jane]

RightStart definitely gets my vote for fun.

[nmoira]

My 6yo and I are having a blast with MEP.

[Crimson Wife]

If you basically like Shiller, why not just skip the lessons you found to be random? Just because a lesson is in the book does not mean you need to do it, KWIM? If you don't see the point to doing a particular lesson, move on to the next one. Larry Shiller is not going to come to your house and beat you up for adapting his curriculum to meet your needs ;)

[bbsweetpea]

I use a mix of Horizons and Singapore and love it. Well ... I did for Kinder and hope we do for 1st grade.

 

This is after trying Saxon, MEP, MUS, and Right Start. None of those clicked with my oldest. The mixture of Singapore and Horizons clicked with her.

[Guest CarolineUK]

DS5 and I are having lots of fun with Rightstart B too.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I have a 4th and 1st grader too. We began Rightstart B in the second half of kindergarten last year and will finish it up the first part of this year. DD enjoys it and she gets it. My 4th grader is another story. He did RS B, C and part of D. He had problems recalling things though and seemed to need more review. We seem to have settled into CLE. The review he needs but not quite the amount of work in Saxon. I may switch dd to CLE after RS B just for simplicity. We'll see.

[Closeacademy]

Some things I like for 1st grade:

 

A Little Garden Flower's Math stories

 

Gnomes and Gnumbers Math stories and ideas--page down to the first lesson

 

Links and pictures from my blog file-folder games & links, Montessori ideas and links, etc.

 

If you want Montessori then go to my blog. I've got links to Math albums and groups where you can get downloads to make your own materials. They are under math tag and also my tab at the top for hands-on/visual learning.

 

I use Rod and Staff for review/written work.

Hope this helps.:001_smile:

[Mom25girls]

I have in the past used a combo of Horizons and Singapore. This year, my first grader is using Math Mammoth. It's going REALLY well! In fact, this summer we've started using MM grades 1,3,4 and 5 and it seems like a great fit for all.

[MissKNG]

:DI like Singapore and Horizons or Singapore and MEP.

[JMDRAD]

We are in our third year of MUS and my dd absolutely LOVES it. It's an open and go curriculum. I don't study or plan in advance. We added MM this year as a supplement, not because I thought she needed it though. She started BETA level several months ago; I am trying to keep her near grade level instead of getting so far ahead. MM adds a little twist to what she has already learned and makes her think a little harder.

[mamamoon]

thanks for the suggestions everyone~wonderful!

 

~close academy, love your blog, and would love to do all the fun waldorfy stuff with her, in the past i have just never been able to stick with it. i even made the gnomes!

maybe if it was scripted somewhere......

:001_huh:

[Kipling]

We are in our third year of MUS and my dd absolutely LOVES it. It's an open and go curriculum. I don't study or plan in advance.

:iagree:I started my dd on alpha last year, and she loved it. She enjoys building with the blocks and and I really like the focus on mastery. The teaching videos have been great. Like the previous poster, I don't spend any time in preparation, and she enjoys having a different teacher for at least one lesson a week.

[SilverMoon]

.

Edited June 7 by SilverMoon

[Chris in VA]

Personally (and as a Saxon fan), if I had one using Saxon, I'd use Saxon for the other one, too.

I love the way Saxon is so intentional--for example, you skip count by 4's for a couple weeks, THEN that particular set of math facts is introduced. You don't spend more than one lesson on it in the main teaching section, but it comes up every day in the worksheet and fact sheet. Or, you find out the temperature for many days, then, because you are so familiar with what is essentially a vertical number line, you have no qualms about its use in the coordinate plain.

Using one program seems easier to me than switching back and forth, even as I switch grade levels for different kids. Once I know the philosophy and method behind a program, it's easier for me to teach other levels of that program than to go to a different one.

 

But that's just me! :D

[Closeacademy]

thanks for the suggestions everyone~wonderful!

 

~close academy, love your blog, and would love to do all the fun waldorfy stuff with her, in the past i have just never been able to stick with it. i even made the gnomes!

maybe if it was scripted somewhere......

:001_huh:

 

I put together my schedules for grade 2 and 3. You could just follow the concept order and work from there. Basically what we do is work on a concept using the Waldorf method while she is working through the work in order in Rod and Staff. I don't match anything up but believe that they reinforce each other.:001_smile:

[RahRah]

I'll add another Singapore and Horizons combo.....we started with Saxon and simply needed something different.

[TKDmom]

Miquon!!

 

Am I really the first one to suggest it? It may not "click" with some people, but we love it and use it when we need a break from Singapore. My dc like to play with cuisinaire rods and fill out the worksheets.

[birchbark]

Another vote for Miquon. And I really like the Waldorf suggestions too.

[babysparkler]

RightStart and Math Mammoth get my vote... we use both and love them. My kindergardener is using MM 1A right now and he never wants to put it down. We use the RightStart materials along with it for a change of pace here and there from the workbook. The RS Math Games are awesome!

[Guest]

We're 3 weeks into Saxon and my son is really enjoying it. I think because I'm more comfortable with it, we're all having more fun. And, my son asks to do his speed drills first thing in the morning. :confused: :lol:

[Create Your Ritual]

I also have a 1st grader & 4th grader this coming year. I got Math Mammoth for them and have been doing their sample lessons all summer to try them out. I like her approach, I like how clear it is for the child and how everything is on the page in front of them. So far, so good!

[BatmansWife]

I didn't have time to read all the responses. Did anyone mention McRuffy Color Math? It's colorful and fun. :001_smile:

 

http://mcruffy.com/1st-grade-math-lessons.htm

[thepoteetteam]

We liked BJU for the younger years in math, but when it hit 3rd grade, I hated it! Blech! We switched over to Saxon after that. This year dd is first grade and we are starting off with R&S. I researched a lot and came to find many good things about 1-2 grade R&S math. :001_smile:

[savoybrwn]

This will be the 3rd 1st grade math I've taught and the 3rd program! lol I've used saxon, my dd(10) loved it - ds(6)not. Abeka dd(12) loved it, dd(10) not and MCP which my ds (6) loves! He just wants the problems! Hope this helps.

[Satori]

Fun? RightStart. (I love it that it's also very effective for us.)

 

We're on RS B now, but I want to also introduce some math that she can do by herself, so we're going to try out Math Mammoth this year.

[Aurelia]

Right Start and MEP are fun.