Soo confused about math!

[rheannaprutzman]

I am driving myself crazy researching and shopping for a math curriculum for 1st grade. This is my first year homeschooling and I'm just overwhelmed by all the choices. I thought right start sounded awesome, but expensive. I don't like math u see. My daughter did saxon in public school kindergarten and loves it. She likes worksheets, but I don't feel like she's understanding the concept, just counting. We printed a few of the free math mammoth worksheets and I had to hold her hand all the way through, she didn't get it. I don't know what to do. It's bordering on obsessive! somebody please help me!!! :confused:

[*lifeoftheparty*]

We're doing Horizons Grade 1 for first grade. We switched from Math-U-See. DS LOVES it and so do I.

[Dmmetler]

If she likes Saxon, why not do Saxon? It's a solid programs, has a lot of supports for the teacher, and works well for many kids.

[monalisa]

If you want a traditional but conceptual program, you might look at BJU. It is very manipulative driven in the teaching. It is colorful, and my dd has done well with it (she's now using 2, used 1st and K too). It has worksheets for each day, but not overwhelming. Most of the lesson is you teaching her with the manipulatives and explaning the concept. The TM is very scripted, though not as much so as Saxon. It also has a story theme through the book, that you can skip if you don't want to use it (for first grade, it was about a clown and his pet seal); however, this has made it fun for my dd. It is a Christian curriculum, though you could deemphasize that aspect if you wanted to.

 

To maybe make you feel a little better, I have been obsessive about math also. I have read reviews about and looked at almost every available curriculum more than once and bought several (some that I have then sold). I still have the urge to look at math more than anything else for some reason, even though my dd has done well with BJU.

Edited February 23, 2011 by monalisa

[ChandlerMom]

Another which compares favorably to Saxon is Sadlier-Oxford's "Progress in Mathematics". You can find those workbooks for around $20. I have my 5yo DD doing S-O and MM, and a few other workbooks here and there.

 

IMO K-2 math is all about exposure and developing number sense. You can't go too wrong and most kids will benefit if encouraged to WALLOW in it -- don't be in a rush for them to progress thru it. Do number games or gams with dice, count ALOT, play with "I have 5 and gave 2 to your sister, how many are left for you?" :D

 

Math is about THINKING in an organized way. Instead of viewing it as a (dry) subject to be taught, try to think of it a language they are already using, but don't know it.

 

One study found preschoolers spend ~80% of their playtime doing "math" (counting, comparing, sorting) so build on that!

 

Deep breath and good luck!

[Prairie]

I know it sounds funny. When I was going through this delima for my Ker I was bombarded with choices. My daughter who is 11 is doing Saxon and well, math is not her best suite so I got the Dive cd to go with it. There is NO way I could teach from her Saxon book. IMO it's written for those who 'get math' or can have someone explain it to them.

 

For my little guy, sorry for the tangent there, I chose 3 different math programs to work out of, all at a slow leasurly pace. One WTM gal talked me into McRuffy math, which I really, really do like. There are games and a workbook and manuplitives and tangrams to do. It's a neat math program. He also does Earlybird Singapore, Standard's version. I didn't get the instructor's guides, just the 2 workbooks and we've enjoyed them as well. THEN, a friend gave me an old Right Start 1st grade book. Gee he picked up the abacus thing just like that and even though it's for 1st grade, he totally gets everything they are teaching.

 

So don't stress too much about it. Maybe order a Horizon's workbook and the Saxon stuff. Or get Singapore and McRuffy. You can find lots of this kind of stuff for sale here or at homeschool classifieds dot com too.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Well, dd8 started with MUS with MEP as a supplement, then we switched to MEP with MUS as a supplement. Then we switched to MM with little teacher supply store workbooks (ones that are Disney themed), games and computer math games as supplements. She is very good at math and does most of it mentally right now so I don't think switching has been a bad thing right now. I would say that after this year I need to find something and stick with it so we don't end up with gaps, but really, I wonder if, as long as you stick with either a mastery or spiral program, it really matters too much that you switch around occasionally. It is so hard to determine the right fit when your dc are just starting school. I think switching programs a bit to find that right fit is inevitable in the beginning.

 

I know that doesn't help much with choosing specific programs, but just know that you aren't alone in not being able to settle on just one in the beginning.

[BBG580]

I was also completely overwhelmed with the choices and knew that I had to find something that had worksheets and manipulatives, even better if the manipulatives varied. I finally settled on McRuffy Color Math 1 with Miquon Orange as a supplement and it has been great! I hardly see anyone posting about McRuffy Color Math here but it is a great program, the IG is clear without being too scripted and my kid really likes it.

[kim.4dogs]

I have definitely been in the same position, obsessing over a math curriculum. I try to remember what they say in TWTM: pick one and if it's working stick with it. I switched around a lot with my oldest dd, and although she is a fine math student now, I wish I'd stayed with one program. That being said, with my youngest two kids, I use Right Start and we love it. You may be able to find it used to save on the cost.

[abrightmom]

I am driving myself crazy researching and shopping for a math curriculum for 1st grade. This is my first year homeschooling and I'm just overwhelmed by all the choices. I thought right start sounded awesome, but expensive. I don't like math u see. My daughter did saxon in public school kindergarten and loves it. She likes worksheets, but I don't feel like she's understanding the concept, just counting. We printed a few of the free math mammoth worksheets and I had to hold her hand all the way through, she didn't get it. I don't know what to do. It's bordering on obsessive! somebody please help me!!! :confused:

 

How old is your DD? She is young and having to "hold her hand all the way through" isn't a bad thing. :001_smile: It probably means that whatever you were working on with her was either very new & challenging OR she isn't ready for it. Math is a subject that takes on a life of its own with many children . . . how they learn, WHEN they get a concept, IF they get a concept:D, etc. I do think that she is probably going to be fine starting anywhere! You choose what appeals to you . . . what you would like to teach and then give it a whirl. Experience really is your BEST teacher. If it "bombs" right out of the gate don't blame the program. Give your DD some time to mature just a little. Then try it again. Eventually, you will figure out what math works the best for your sweetie and for you. Give math time. It's a tough subject for some kiddos and sometimes it's just timing . . .

 

I have a sweet dear son who learns this way in math: One day he will stare blankly at the page. No light bulbs will turn on. He will simply say to me, "Mommy, I don't know what they mean!" Or, "Mommy, I don't understand this." I will painstakingly work with him, demonstrate with manipulatives, make a fool of myself trying to explain it to him to no avail. We get NOWHERE. But, IF we put it away and pull it out another day (sometimes one day, sometimes several days) it is like I'm doing that same math sheet with a different kid!! He blows through it and asks for more! :lol: He seems to get math concepts in spurts . . . but when he gets it he gets it and when he hits a wall I am learning to let it be. He's only 6 for goodness' sake!

 

I wish you the best in choosing. I understand how challenging it is!

[kristin0713]

If your only reservation about RS is the price, I would look into it more. It is really an incredible program. You can get it cheaper through the homeschoolbuyersco-op and it is not as expensive the next year if you already have the kit. You can also look to buy it used.

[AnointedHsMom]

If she did Saxon for K and loved it I highly recommend you just do Saxon 1st with her. It's manipulative based but also with worksheets. You can't go wrong with Saxon in my opinion.

[AnneGabe]

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Edited October 24, 2023 by AnneGabe

[applesing]

If your only reservation about RS is the price, I would look into it more. It is really an incredible program. You can get it cheaper through the homeschoolbuyersco-op and it is not as expensive the next year if you already have the kit. You can also look to buy it used.

 

:iagree:We use RightStart here, and it truly is an amazing program. The level of understanding my children have gained through it far exceeds the mathematical understanding DH and I possessed at their ages. I am constantly impressed by the clever ways RS teaches concepts, and we all enjoy the games which reinforce skills. It has been worth every penny, IMHO.

[applesing]

One thing I especially love about RS is that the teacher's manual guides the parent in helping the child "discover" the mathematical concepts. The reasoning behind this is that children will remember "discoveries" better than direct instruction, and they will find the process fascinating. This has certainly been true with my dc.

 

Being able to help my children enjoy mathematics and recognize the beauty of it is priceless to me. Seeing their "lightbulb moments" just gives me goosebumps!

[FairProspects]

One thing I especially love about RS is that the teacher's manual guides the parent in helping the child "discover" the mathematical concepts. The reasoning behind this is that children will remember "discoveries" better than direct instruction, and they will find the process fascinating. This has certainly been true with my dc.

 

Being able to help my children enjoy mathematics and recognize the beauty of it is priceless to me. Seeing their "lightbulb moments" just gives me goosebumps!

 

Yes, but the longer I teach ds, the more I think this can happen with a number of math programs depending on how your child connects with them. For example, ds has not had these moments once that I can recall during our 18 months with RS, but since starting MM in December, he has had several. I'm not sure that any one program can claim to have the market on math discoveries.

[Sophie]

If she likes Saxon, go for it! Do you like Saxon at all? I think it's very important that the child likes what he/she is doing, but just as important if the parent likes it.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Much of it depends on how "mathy" you are. Horizons is a great math program and very academic (does well with state testing), but in my opinin you have to have the knowledge of how to explain certain things to a child. For instance I usually tend to overexplain because I have a hard time bringing myself to a childs level. We have been using horizons math for almost three full years now and I have used the teachers guide but I still have a hard time explaining things. So we are switching. We will be using mainly singapore math with games from the RS games book added in. I agree with others on RS though. If I had the time to use it I definately would.... for some reason when we tried using it math was the first subject to get set aside if time limits got cut short.

You can find both Singapore and the RS games book very inexpensive used on here sometimes.

[SnowWhite]

I love BJU here. It's manipulative based, solid, colorful and fun and gentle but thorough.

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

Yes, but the longer I teach ds, the more I think this can happen with a number of math programs depending on how your child connects with them. For example, ds has not had these moments once that I can recall during our 18 months with RS, but since starting MM in December, he has had several. I'm not sure that any one program can claim to have the market on math discoveries.

 

This is a good point to keep in mind. We need to find what works in our own homes which isn't guaranteed to be the same thing that proved a god-send to someone else. I've heard similar stories from the users of about every curriculum out there. :D make an informed choice but be realistically prepared to reevaluate next year.

 

Meanwhile, I'm going to represent the often unheard Professor B crowd and say "Yeah! Go Professor B Math!" *Waves pompoms* :D

[myfatherslily]

Oh my goodness, I STRESSED about 1st grade math, too! I read every math thread, I poured over websites and samples, I made lists galore. I finally decided to just pick something. I'd boiled it down to a few that I was drawn to, then I just picked. There's a long list of well respected math curricula. Which one won't drive you batty to teach? What one will your DD like? Many have sufficient samples to give a decent feel for it.

 

We're using Horizons (with the teacher's manual!) and I like it for us, so far. Have you see Saxon yourself? If not, there's a big sample booklet that you can get from them. I just can't deal with the way they are laid out - I don't do well with scripting. Plus I have a chip on my shoulder against them (from high school;)). However, Saxon is very well respected and seems like a great choice.

 

I'm sorry, I'm not really sure what my overall point is... I'm trying to stay awake cause there's bad weather headed toward us. I think my point, as a non-mathy person who's not trying to give curric. advice, is to just say been-there, done-that on the stressing, and to encourage you to relax and NOT WORRY:)

[In2why]

If she did Saxon for K and loved it I highly recommend you just do Saxon 1st with her. It's manipulative based but also with worksheets. You can't go wrong with Saxon in my opinion.

 

 

I agree. I used Saxon last year, and my son loved it, but I found some of it tedious and repetitive, because it doesn't fit MY learning style. I switched to MUS this year, and I loved it and but my son lost his math facts until I retaught them, and he isn't really progressing, we are going back to Saxon next year. It might not be my favorite thing to do, but it is solid and it works.

[hmschooling]

I am driving myself crazy researching and shopping for a math curriculum for 1st grade. This is my first year homeschooling and I'm just overwhelmed by all the choices. I thought right start sounded awesome, but expensive. I don't like math u see. My daughter did saxon in public school kindergarten and loves it. She likes worksheets, but I don't feel like she's understanding the concept, just counting. We printed a few of the free math mammoth worksheets and I had to hold her hand all the way through, she didn't get it. I don't know what to do. It's bordering on obsessive! somebody please help me!!! :confused:

 

I didn't read the other replies....so bear with me.

Hand holding all the way through for this age isn't abnormal ;) Math Mammoth is an excellent program, and if she isn't yet in first grade, then she may have just not been ready for the material you printed from Math Mammoth. I would give her some time, read the advice Maria Miller (author of MM) about Kindy math, and then try it again in the fall. That's a lot of time between now and then. MM is an EXCELLENT program, and far from the non-conceptual math she was using and "just counting"...yet, it will be worksheets that you already know is something she enjoys. You will have to teach the math and guide her and hold her hand through it to help her get it...otherwise, it's just as you said-- doing the pages and not truly getting it. We have had so many lightbulb moments after switching to MM, and it's so easy for me to teach in a way my kids get. It's like have a tutor in my home bc the explanations are so clear and so concise, that honestly, my kids could likely do it without me if one didn't need me to do the reading. Give her some time to get ready for 1st grade math, b/c this is a strong program, and do lots of real life math for now. Let her play with a simple abacus and help cook and measure furniture and count cars on the way to the park, sort silverware, pair and count socks by 2s, count money, etc. She'll be super ready for whatever math you choose!

[jewel7123]

I too want to give another thumbs up to Right Start. :thumbup: I could have written one of the earlier posts on this thread, where someone said they went from tears to absolute joy after switching to Right Start. I started my K'er in Singapore Earlybird Math, which is worksheet based, and it was like pulling teeth to get her to do even one page! Now that we've switched to Right Start, she LOVES to do math, and has even told me it's her favorite subject! What a difference the right program can make. I highly suggest you search for it used if that's the only way you can afford it (it was for me). Check the for sale board here, Homeschool Classifieds and Ebay. Just make sure you're purchasing from someone with positive feedback.

[Robin's Song]

If my daughter liked Saxon then I would go with it in a *heartbeat*.