MyLittleBears Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 We use MUS, and is a good fit for his highly visual learning style,but my son seems to forget easily concepts learned in the previous years. He seems to loathe the spiral methods of Abeka and Saxon. Now I'm looking into MM for a supplement or perhaps the whole program. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 We switched to MM from MUS. We like it better because: 1. MM covers more than one topic per level. My girls were literally bored to tears with pages and pages of the same skill over and over in MUS. 2. MM is a worktext, which makes it really easy to use. We don't have to flip to a separate teacher book or watch a DVD. 3. MM is less expensive. I bought six levels for less than $90. I do have to add the cost of printing the pages, but it is still less expensive. We kept our MUS blocks and use them occasionally. MM teaches with pictures. Another option to consider if you want more review is CLE math. One of my dds switched from MUS to CLE math, which is a spiral program. Like MM, CLE is a worktext. Worktexts make my job easier! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I have the Light Blue series. Here's what I like: - the all-in-one worktext with no separate teacher manual, textbook, workbook. I believe this kind of set-up is what y'all mean by open-and-go! - the instruction is as clear as I can imagine it being in a text without being overly wordy - something about the way the English is phrased is easier for me to understand than Singapore, though I can't quite put my finger on it. I don't know if it flows easier, is less awkward, or is just less formal. I do know that I noticed something about the language being different the moment I looked at the placement tests (I happened to have just printed out Singapore's placement tests that same day). I may well have imagined this point, so if anyone else feels this way, please post :D - it's more mastery than spiral, which suits us. - I'm in the middle of filling in holes in dd9's knowledge before we move forward (we just pulled her out of school over winter break), and I love how easy it is to print out just a few pages here or there on discrete topics. Her teacher was trying to do something similar with Saxon - using that as a supplement on topics - but it was the wrong tool for the job, as he was unable to pull out discrete topics from the massive knot of topics there, and ultimately he decided his only choice was to go through that entire book from the beginning, covering each and every lesson. In contrast, with MM, I can just skip right over the major topics she already knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 We switched to MM from MUS. We like it better because: 1. MM covers more than one topic per level. My girls were literally bored to tears with pages and pages of the same skill over and over in MUS. 2. MM is a worktext, which makes it really easy to use. We don't have to flip to a separate teacher book or watch a DVD. 3. MM is less expensive. I bought six levels for less than $90. I do have to add the cost of printing the pages, but it is still less expensive. We kept our MUS blocks and use them occasionally. MM teaches with pictures. :iagree: These are a lot of the reasons we switched... but beware! My children do not always like the fact they have to "think" more with MM! :DWith MUS they could pretty mindlessly fill in the pages. With MM they are required to use the info they learn in many different ways. We made the switch this past year and haven't looked back. I really really like MM and wish I had learned math this way as a kid! The placement tests were very helpful for me to use to figure out where to place them. Because MUS is such a different sequence we had quite a few holes to fill... mostly in time and geometry. (My kids had a good grasp on money from real life so that wasn't a big deal for them). We worked for a couple months to fill holes, then got down to business in the level appropriate for them. Just letting you know it took a little time before we really settled in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Here are some more threads on MM: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195462 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213505 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217673 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215160 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190849 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180976 I've used MM Blue for 1st & 2nd, and Light Blue for 3rd-6th, and it's my favorite curriculum in any subject we've ever used. I've also tried Singapore, MUS, TT, and several others, and I think for conceptual depth, clarity of explanation, ease of use, and affordability, MM is hard to beat. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Dd7 is using MM blue (addition, subtraction, mult, div, place value) in combination with other materials this quarter (Singapore 3A & TT 4). I am trying out Fractions 1 this week from the free samples on the MM website. Today dd7 was introduced to lowest common denominators & equivalent fractions. Definitely her toughest concept thus far in her math journey. I like the way Maria spells it out, step-by-step, within the worktext. Maria also has videos to explain these concepts. I will most likely purchase MM 4 A/B light blue. I will not use MM as a stand-alone program, though. Others have great success with that route, but I like what many different programs have to offer. We start TT 5 in Feb and I think the MM supplemental worksheets will continue to be a great fit. You really can't go wrong with MM. The small print does not bother my dds. HTH! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I'm not familiar with MUS, but we switched from R&S math to MM light blue series 5. I like the idea that it teaches the why (conceptual) of math, not just blindly following the steps. I also think the work text is extremely efficient. This program is no slouch, my son is definitely learning, and he remembers it later.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwilliams Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 We used MUS for 6 months in Kindergarten. The reason I decided against MUS was I felt that if you only learned math with the same manipulatives it would limit your ability to generalize and really understand the concept. I like the idea of mental flexibility in learning math.....MM really makes my child think! When he gets finished is really understands the concept forwards, backwards and sideways. I felt that MUS always lacked this aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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