newbeee Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Brand new at this and all the abbreviations and lingo are way over my head. I need a math curriculum for my 6 year old son. When I looked at singapore 1 it said for 2nd grade. I need some real input for first grade math. I notice very few people seem to be using saxon math, and I am curious why as I thought this was the "standard" for homeschool math. Thanks for any advice.:bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlmom Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 My dd is 6 and in first grade as well. We had started with Singapore 1A and just today I ordered Math U See. Singapore seems to be a little too abstract for her. She needs to see why something works and use manipulatives more than Singapore uses them. I don't know why it said that Singapore is for grade 2. The material itself in 1A was at her level, it just wasn't presented in a way that worked for her, or for me. Sorry-I'm not much help, we're new at this too! I don't know much about any other math programs. It's all about finding what works best for you. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I don't see why Singapore 1 would be 2nd grade. Now it does introduce multiplication in 1B, which is earlier than most programs, but it seems to be a simple introduction, not full fledged multiplication. Look at the samples. If they look too hard, look at something else. :) When I looked at the addition/subtraction stuff, it looked similar to other programs of the same level. It is a bit more advanced program, moving faster than some, but I would totally use 1A for a first grader. I'm using Math Mammoth with my first grader (we're quickly moving through grade 1 and will probably be in 2A in February sometime), and supplementing with MEP 2. My son used Saxon K and 1 in private school, and it bored ME to death just looking at the homework that came home. It was so incremental that it was torturing my son who gets math easily. Now some kids need the incremental spiral of Saxon. It's not a horrible program or anything. The K-3 levels are S-L-O-W moving though, and that's one of the reasons why many here don't use it. Also, many here like to go the Asian math route, such as Singapore (Math Mammoth is similar in method to Singapore also). That type of math isn't necessarily right for every kid (or parent who has to teach it), of course. A quick rundown of typical math abbreviations: SM = Singapore MM = Math Mammoth RS = Rightstart MEP = that free program that I just call MEP because I don't know what it stands for - just google "MEP math" and you'll find it :D CLE = Christian Light Education R&S = Rod & Staff That's all I can think of off the top of my head at the moment... Saxon, Horizons, etc. seem to not be abbreviated much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Brand new at this and all the abbreviations and lingo are way over my head. I need a math curriculum for my 6 year old son. When I looked at singapore 1 it said for 2nd grade. I need some real input for first grade math. I notice very few people seem to be using saxon math, and I am curious why as I thought this was the "standard" for homeschool math. Thanks for any advice.:bigear: Well, Saxon is too traditional, non-conceptual, and boring for many of us. We used it for 3 very loooooooooooong quarters before switching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Dd7 loves CLE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 If your son understands math concepts easily, then Saxon will likely frustrate him because it moves too slowly. If he needs frequent review, however, it may work well for him. How does your son learn best? Does he need to hear things, talk about them, see how they work or use his hands to fully understand a concept? Every program has it's strengths and weaknesses, and once you know how your child learns best, and how you like to teach, you can find a program to match that. I've tried a bunch of 1st grade math programs, and here's my list based on my experience: RS: very hands on, spiral (introduces a topic and reviews it while simultaneously presenting new ones) few worksheets, good for kinesthetic and visual learners R&S: slow paced, mastery based (doesn't jump from topic to topic), has a 2 sided worksheet with every lesson, very traditional, like the math you would expect to see in your grandparent's schools MM:totally worksheet based, excellent for "do it myself" kids or workbook lovers, all instruction is in what is called a worktext, may require limited presentation of the skill MEP: short for Mathematics Enrichment Programme, a British program that's free, but you must print the practice book, and possibly the TM unless you want to read it off the screen. It is a spiral program, and my current favorite because the lessons don't take quite as long as the ones in RS (my 2nd choice), and it really stretches the child to think mathematically Miquon: discovery based math program that requires cuisinaire rods to use. It is very flexible, so can be spiral or mastery, depending on how you want to work on the topics. It's a great program, but perhaps a little intimidating for a newcomer. I highly recommend reading the lab notes and first grade diary to understand the program before attempting to jump in or it will not make sense. I looked at, but elected not to use CLE because it requires too many worksheets (my child needs social interaction and hands on activities - which is why we use MEP) for my kiddo. It's very traditional, like R&S, but more spiral. Saxon is the "standard" for homeschool math because for years it was basically the only option homeschoolers had for math curricula. In recent years there has been an explosion in the amount of materials available, and people are able to make choices that fit their children better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbeee Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 Thank you all so so much for your input. It has been tremendously helpful. I can see this is the first place to ask for help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Saxon is used more often for older children than younger ones. It really is not practical to judge a 1st grade curriculum by a calculus curriculum, or vice versa, but people seem to lump all grades of Saxon together when they judge it :-0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 We've used a ton of different math curricula. Rightstart and Math Mammoth would be my favorites for providing a very firm foundation of teaching a child to understand the math concepts needed to lead them into algebra with a great foundation. For us, I found that Saxon, R&S, BJU, and even MUS didn't teach my kids to think about math in the same way as these others have. Reading Liping Ma's book may help you understand the difference in approaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Saxon is used more often for older children than younger ones. It really is not practical to judge a 1st grade curriculum by a calculus curriculum, or vice versa, but people seem to lump all grades of Saxon together when they judge it :-0 We dislike the incremental method with focus on rote memorization intensely and didn't judge it by 1st grade. I've not seen any of the lower elementary grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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