Poll of Sorts: Math K-5 - What's your Favorite and Why?

[...................]

Thanks!

[TracyR]

Hmm.

My two favorite so far have been BJU and Saxon math .

Why I like them ?

Basically because they worked well for my daughters .

We are going to give CLE math a try just because its less expensive then these two programs ( even used ) and I think we'll like it too .

The math we haven't liked is : Calvert . Not for us at all .

[nukeswife]

We have only been hsing for a couple of years but have found that Saxon is our favorite math curriculum.

 

We also tried Horizons, McRuffy and TT5.

 

Horizons moved on too fast. McRuffy was nice but my kids grew tired of the games, TT5 is working ok for my 3rd grader, but he says it's more like a game. He asked if we could try Saxon 5/4 (he used Saxon 2 last year) we're going to start in on Monday.

 

My dd was using Horizons K after a bad start with McRuffy. McRuffy is a nice curriculum but she didn't care for the games and all the cards. We switched her to Saxon after a trip to the local curriculum store (we're lucky enough to live right by one) and she looked through quite a few things, Saxon, BJU, Abeka and one other I can't remember. She liked how Saxon looked and she remembered her older brother liking it. We've been using it since Jan and she couldn't be happier.

 

I think we'll just stick with Saxon as it seems to fit us best and I enjoy teaching it.

 

But now that I've said all that...

 

That's just our family. So even though it's our favorite it may not be the best or favorite of others.

[Wee Pip]

Mine: BJU and...well...we *did* like Developmental Math. A lot. But after a year and going through 4 books, I discovered that dd was missing lots of stuff for her age. Which, I knew going into it that it wouldn't cover everything. I tried to use a lot of math in everyday life, and I *thought* we could take a relaxed, real-life type of approach. It didn't work according to plan, and I decided I just wasn't comfortable with missing this much, and seeing that gap grow everyday. So I put her in BJU 2. I think if we had stuck with Dev Math, eventually she'd have had a good understanding of the things she needed for pre-algebra. But I just wasn't comfortable waiting it out, and seeing if that theory played out:) So, I'm going to take Developmental Math out of my list of favorites, for now - though I think its awesome for those that want to go through the series quickly for a foundation in math, or for unschoolers, or for those that need to supplement with something, or for short term remedial work.

[womenfly]

Singapore is our favorite.

It is inexpensive.

It is concise, yet has great methods for teaching children (and moms) to understand math, do math mentally, and to apply math knowledge.

My son will finish 6B this year. :)

[Guest]

My opinion is limited as we've only used two curriculum, MCP and Math-U-See. My ds and I both like it and plan to continue with it. Ds loves to manipulatives and I like the many ways Mr. Demme makes math concepts understandable (why we do certain problems certain ways).

[Shasta Mom]

after using Saxon also. I think Singapore does a better job teaching concepts, and the drill is a piece of cake to supplement. I'd like to stay with it so I can reap the full benefit....

[...................]

I didn't expect BJU to be listed as a favorite. It's so expensive and I've read so much about it being teacher intensive that I figured many homeschoolers wouldn't be all the excited about it.

 

This year we used Horizons and I really loved it until about lesson 108. it's really dragging now, and where I figured we'd have some more interesting conceptual stuff popping up, it's just getting to be a lot of busywork. Of course I have, and use, my freedom to cut out the busywork, it's starting to suck the excitement out of math for me and my son.

 

I've been looking a lot at Miquon, and my son did like it when we used it but I worry that we won't be covering some important concepts. I've looked pretty closely at Singapore and it's probably on top of my list, but I'm still interested to hear what math programs people are really excited about.

[Karen in CO]

My favorite for math skills at an early age, before they are ready to write the answers. And my favorite for learning to think about math: RS A

 

My favorite for churning away at daily math to make steady progress without terrible resistance: BJU

 

My favorite thinking and word problems: Singapore IP and CWP

[Lori D.]

We have an older, math-minded son, and a younger math-struggler son, so we've tried a number of math programs throughout 1st-5th grades just to get something to fit the younger son. Standout points on the math programs that have worked for us:

 

- Miquon:

*love* the discovery approach and math connections the child makes!

 

- Singapore:

*love* how it really teaches math thinking; *terrific* variety in the story problems

 

- Math-U-See:

*love* how the manipulatives visually show the concepts and the explanations of "why it works" are right at the student's level

 

- manipulatives and accompanying booklet

Geoboards, pattern blocks, and linking cubes, along with a booklet working on a specific math topic such as geometry, fractions, or place value were very much enjoyed by our boys -- and made a great break from the main math program when they would hit a mental roadblock with a concept. We'd just pull out one of these and use it for a few days or a few weeks and then try going back to the main math program. The "Math Discoveries with..." series of books (gr. K-4) were good, as well as the Learning Resources "MathLink Cubes" activity book (gr. 3-6).

 

 

Saxon flopped for both boys for different reasons -- too much review and broken into too many bits for the math-minded son, and too much on a page and too abstract (starting in the Saxon 54 level) for the math struggler. However, it is a solid program and has worked well for many students, and continues to be a "standard" for many homeschoolers. Alas, it did not work for us.

 

Ah, the memories! We're in the thick of Pre-Algebra/Algebra, and Geometry now. : ) Enjoy your math journey with your little ones! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[riada]

Our personal favorite has been Christian Light (CLE). My daughter has liked this the best, but she prefers workbook approach. It is a no frills program that incorporates everything in a spiral manner. We are sold on it after three years!

 

My second choice (if I get one, lol) would be Math U See. I think the manipulatives make this very easy for children to understand.

[mom2abcd]

I didn't expect BJU to be listed as a favorite. It's so expensive and I've read so much about it being teacher intensive that I figured many homeschoolers wouldn't be all the excited about it.

 

.

 

We used BJU 3 this year and I plan to continue with BJU. It wasn't expensive-- I used only the student book and the TE for checking answers and sometimes to figure out what how they were approaching something.

 

The student books are $17 at cbd.com. They're so colorful, the amount of problems isn't overwhelming, and I love their approach.

 

Ds8 has been doing it pretty much on his own so there's no way we would call it teacher intensive;o)

 

I've used Saxon, Singapaore, Horizons, and BJU in the younger grades.

[nmoira]

Singapore is our favorite.

It is inexpensive.

It is concise, yet has great methods for teaching children (and moms) to understand math, do math mentally, and to apply math knowledge.

My son will finish 6B this year. :)

And it's flexible enough that it will adapt to a range of abilities.

[April in NC]

I am a huge RightStart Math fan. We've used Moving With Math, Miquon, and Singapore also. RS is the only one that we stuck with, and I can't imagine changing to something else at this point.

 

I actually think Singapore is pretty good, too, but I've been amazed at how our RS lessons have come together to help both me and my daughters think about math. I had actually planned to use MUS after we finished MWM K and a few months of Miquon, and I'd even picked up the MUS manipulatives, along with a Mortensen Math teacher's manual (MUS is based on a Montessori math program called Mortensen, and I wanted to see the big picture of how they taught math K-12.) Then I found RS, and I couldn't for the life of me decide which way to go. After reading through, I realized that the thing I was most impressed about with MUS was the way Mr. Demme demonstrates the quadratic equation with blocks on the demo DVD. That just blew me away. So I decided to use those concepts when we got to algebra, but to use the RightStart method for teaching elementary math.

 

My friend and I were talking a couple of weeks ago about how embarrassed we were that our mental math was drastically improved after working with a kindergarten/first grade math program. And I am far from being phobic about math - quite the opposite. I only missed 6 questions on the whole SAT, and I am learning from a 1st grade math program???? Unexpected, to say the least! (And, of course, I'm not trying to brag at all, but rather to provide some background/context :blushing:, so I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way . . .)

 

The reason we tried Singapore is that about 30 lessons into RightStart we hit an area where my children were not quite developmentally ready to proceed. In a weak moment, I decided to try a program where hopefully we would just open a curriculum, look at the next lesson, and be able to do it, rather than have to cultivate a deeper understanding of what we were doing. After going halfway through the Singapore book, I realized that being able to check off that we'd done a lesson every day was not going to necessarily translate to the really basic understanding of math that we were getting with RS. (And Singapore is much better with that than most standard math programs, in my view) Singapore has many things in common with RS, but it does teach counting up and down when adding and subtracting, which is not necessary in RS. So we backed up a bit in RS, covered a few lessons they were shaky on, played a few games, and after that we never looked back.

 

Suddenly in the past couple of months our patience is starting to pay off hugely. My kids shocked me by learning to add two digit numbers mentally (with carrying, sums over 100) without batting an eye. Only a few months ago, they still hadn't memorized all the ways to make ten, so I couldn't believe they turned a corner that quickly. It is like once they have internalized that number sense, understanding how numbers fit together, everything else is coming easily.

 

That said, there are some types of people who I think might find RS to be a less than perfect fit. If you really need a curriculum with an absolute minimum of teacher involvement, you might be better off with a more standard text. Also, RS lessons are laid out carefully, in order, but if you are uncomfortable speeding up or slowing down a curriculum to meet your child's pace, then you might be more comfortable with a program that doesn't hinge on your child's developmental readiness quite so heavily. With RS, we've had better success if I don't move on until they get the concepts, at which point we can usually move along at a good clip. RS has many games that you can play to help the child gradually internalize the concepts if needed, and now that I have had the experience I've had with RS, I'm now thrilled to move at whatever pace is required for my children.

 

RS is very unique, and a bit difficult to explain to people who aren't using it, which is a tad frustrating, but I've found that the powerpoint presentations on their website do a great job of explaining how the program works and why. At http://www.rightstartmath.com you can look at the Resources tab, and then click on the presentations section.

 

Good luck finding what will work great for your children!

[jail warden]

Right Start hands down. The way it teaches is just plain brilliant! Yes it is teacher intensive, but it's so worth it for such a great foundation!

[MamaChristina]

MUS and Singapore are our favorites. They both really teach the student to think and understand math. I would love to try RightStart, but I have been told that it would be too time consuming with so many little ones.

[Cindy in NY]

Our favorite is Professor B. It presents math contextually and my kids just get it. It is big on "telling the truth" about why you are doing whatever you are doing, so they really understand it.

[Kay in Cal]

We started with Singapore (which I liked and will use with younger ds) and supplemented with Miquon... but EPGY has been a huge hit with my son. I originally checked it out because of recommendations on the old accelerated board. While ds was fine with Singapore, math wasn't a favorite... now he begs to do math every day, often will do multiple lessons a day if I let him.

 

EPGY math is online through Stanford. My ds loves computers, so I think that is a big draw... but it doesn't look like a video game. There are no cute decorative illustrations or animations, no frills, and the voice is obviously a math professor, not an actor. Other than the "math races" that pop up every time you log on, which are pretty primative graphically, there isn't a game aspect at all. Just challenging math problems that move at his own pace. I never would have pegged my ds for a math head, but EPGY has really allowed him to find his own comfort zone, far ahead of what I would have thought.

 

I love that it automatically adjusts to his ability. If he is successful with problems, he moves on. If he isn't, he has to practice more. He's done almost two years of math this year, and has learned amazingly much... even with us taking a lot of time off. If we hadn't switched, we'd probably still be plodding along worrying whether or not he had "covered" everything if we were teaching him using any textbooks.

 

It is thorough, deep, and he is learning so much. It isn't cheap, and we aren't rich... but we do get good financial aid and the results have really been worth it. If you have a child who is mathematically inclined, EPGY is just fantastic.

[Closeacademy]

For K to 5 I like:

 

Singapore

 

For extra resources I like this site:

http://ebeth.typepad.com/serendipity/ It has great activities and stories to introduce math topics.

 

And the book Mathematics in Rudolf Steiner Schools by Ron Jarmon has a lot of great ideas on mixing up math, learning math facts and making math fun for each level.

 

For extra practice in math I like:

 

Rod and Staff

Singapore Challenging Word Problems

[...................]

Looks like I'm going to see about Right Start, and take a better look at it. When we get our stimulus check we will have 200.00 to spend on curriculum, and really math is the only thing I really haven't covered. So actually I could spring for RS, according to dh's calculations on the budget yesterday.

 

Kay- I checked out EPGY and it looks great! When you say financial aid, do you mean loans, or grants? I wouldn't want to take out loans for my kids' education at this stage in the game, but grants would be another matter.

 

My dh makes a good income but we are totally in debt to our eyeballs and our house is upside down. Does that count towards grants?:bigear:

[SnowWhite]

Just FWIW, CLE does not have a K Math program. They start off with first grade math. CLE K consists of Rod & Staff ABC preschool books.

 

I have used MCP K and it was OK, fine even, though not very advanced.

 

I am switching to BJU Math 2 this year (after doing Singapore which is fine but makes me nervous because it's so nontraditional, and CLE which I hate with a passion). I plan to buy BJU K5 for my younger ds and hopefully be a BJU Math only family.

 

As for teacher intensiveness, I've read the program works great without using *All* of the activities, but I love that the activities are there for me when I want/need them.

 

In my experience, the most successful curriculum programs we have used in any subject area involved a lot of teacher interaction. Maybe when my ds is older he will want more to study on his own but I doubt it. He has always been a highly interactive child. I would personally not choose math as a subject to spend less time and energy addressing.

[Jumping In Puddles]

I think I'll be going with RightStart... I'm really torn between that and Singapore. People who use RS usually say its amazing how they "get math" so this is what really sold me on it.

 

I haven't ordered either yet so I'm interested in these math threads!

[Sarah CB]

I'm homeschooling three so far and here's what their math choice has looked like:

 

Dd (12): currently using Singapore's NEM and doing really well. I used Singapore with her from 1A to 6B. She finished 6B early and we flip-flopped around for a while until finding Rusian math 6. After she finished that we moved into NEM.

 

Ds (8): he recently finished Singapore 2B. We're spending some time working on thinking strategies of basic facts so that he really has his facts down before moving on to 3A.

 

Ds (6): he's partway through Right Start B plus he is also working on Singapore 1A.

 

One of the reasons I stick with Singapore is because of the further understanding of math that I've gained since using it. I did quite well in math in school, but it was always frustrating to me because I didn't know why the formulas worked. Working through Singapore has caused so many math epiphanies for me - it's truly been amazing. And now that I really understand those concepts I'm beginning to appreciate and enjoy math more.

 

I also see the results in my kids. My dd can do all kinds of crazy mental math that I'd never even think of. She has a very natural understanding of how numbers work together so it's easy to manipulate them mentally. She's also able to excel with Singapore's word problems. I've compared the word problems to other programs and Singapore is way out ahead in terms of what they require of their students.

 

We will continue using Singapore because I think it provides the best understanding and ability in mathematics.

 

Sarah

[TracyR]

BJU math is as teacher intensive as you want it to be . I just used the student book , skimmed through the night before as to what I wanted to teach and never spent more then 5 or 10 minutes teaching a concept .

I like BJU math because it has the right amount of work on each page for each grade level . I have used the K, 1, 2, and 3rd grade with my oldest . We skipped the 4th grade ( big mistake ) to use Calvert and my daughter is in 5th grade Calvert math and is begging for a 5th grade BJU math book .

 

I like to say that BJU is the American version of Singapore math . It teaches very similar the only difference is they don't teach number bonds like Singapore math ( we gave Singapore a try one year with my 2nd child ) . BJU math though is MUCH easier to teach because it is more familiar to me . It does an awesome job at teaching math .

Ugh , now I'm really rethinking on what I want to use for math .

 

It is too bad that CLE doesn't have a K math program though . I do like the way they present math . Very comparable to Saxon math but in workbook form .

[Kay in Cal]

Basically, we pay only 40% of the published tuition. The application "process" was to send in financial info (I think I faxed a pay stub), and we were approved the next day. If you had other circumstances besides income and really want to give them a try, you could call and ask--I've found them to be super nice and helpful. At the elementary level, each child has an advisor who emails them weekly with comments and a list of any problems they didn't get correct, etc.

 

EPGY does require an admissions process in advance, and you need some sort of test results to demonstrate your child's math "giftedness" or acceleration, so that's the first step. You can check their web site to see what they accept.

 

It isn't for everyone, but EPGY has been such a blessing here!

[Arch at Home]

Singapore in combination with Miquon. The kids like the color of Singapore but occassionally need a break when it get hard. For that reason we switch to Miquon. As each approaches topics at different level it gives them a nice mix.

[Storm Bay]

Singapore Math is the best we've tried. Why? It's the best one we've used for helping kids develop their abilities to think mathematically.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Singapore here also. I love the way it teaches mathematical concepts and encourages mental math. We use it in combination with Miquon through grade 3 to make our math more hands on and help build a solid foundation.

[Heather in Neverland]

My opinion is limited as we've only used two curriculum, MCP and Math-U-See. My ds and I both like it and plan to continue with it. Ds loves to manipulatives and I like the many ways Mr. Demme makes math concepts understandable (why we do certain problems certain ways).

 

We love MUS too!

[kimmyandgracie]

We are planning to use RightStart math and maybe supplement with singapore

[Another Lynn]

MUS has been working well here. I considered supplementing or switching when I realized the different "sequence" might cause some stumbling on standardized tests. But, I came back to MUS because: 1) I knew homeschoolers with olders who rave over their older children's *understanding* of concepts even later after having MUS. 2) when I even glanced at a *page* of most other curriculums I was immediately *overstimulated* - and *I* already understood the concepts. I love the simplicity of MUS pages - not to mention it's approach.

 

I did consider supplementing with singapore, but it has so many components now (teacher's book, textbook, workbook, CWP) that I felt I would spend too much money just to supplement. I may add in CWP in another year or so. Of all that I looked at (at homeschool conference), I think singapore is the only one I would consider leaving MUS for.

 

Not that you asked, but if rightstart is that expensive I would look long and hard before I leap. I would be tempted to save some of my homeschool funds for later in the year when *something* else might not be working, or we are just getting the doldrums and need a change of pace or something fun.

[sweetbaby]

My favorite so far, although I have only tried three, has been Rod and Staff. It's mastery, which we love, thorough and inexpensive, which we really love. :D

[chiguirre]

I was going to post that it depends on the child, and of course it does. I thought my dd was a conceptual kid who would love to explore concepts with manipulatives and discover things for herself. Ummm, I was wrong. She hates RightStart A and actually told me so. Since she's such an eager to please kid and doesn't complain often, I've decided that the best route to go is Rod and Staff. She loves joining her brother for the warm-up activities and she loves worksheets. I love to teach R&S, too, so I'm hoping we'll all be happy. It just goes to show, the best laid plans of hs moms...

[kangato3]

We like BJUP for 1st grade and up because it focuses on conceptual development, includes concept review and skill drill (in the teacher manual and materials), has colorful work pages with a reasonable amount of exercises, includes many application type problems, and has a thorough scope.

 

That said, I like to start my K off with RightStart Math A because it really develops mathematacal thinking. Having used RightStart previously through all levels, I also like to supplement BJUP with RightStart games and manipulatives.

[JoyinWI]

We're big Horizon fans here. I've tried a few others, but we're headed back to Horizons next year. Seems to be the best fit for our family.

[Sunshine Mama]

Hands down...RightStart Math. It has even helped me to add faster in my head!

[Carmen_and_Company]

Miquon & Singapore because each go from conceptual to concrete to abstract.

[Mama Lynx]

For K-5, it's Right Start, with some Singapore for supplementation. After 4th grade, we switch to Singapore full-time (after finishing Right Start).

[TundraAcademy]

We've done Singapore, Saxon, Moving with Math, and Math Mammoth. We're sticking with Math Mammoth (through Winterpromise). I love it, they don't mind it, and I can see how the mental math is paying off.

[KidsHappen]

I don't have time to write reviews right now but I will try to come back and do it later. In the mean time, we like:

 

Mastering Mathematics - Three children have used this and they all liked it and did well with it.

 

Math-U-See - Steve Demme just blows me away with how intuitive he makes math. There are things that I knew how to do but never understood why. He brings everything into focus in such a way that it makes everything so obvious that you wonder why you never saw it before.

 

Singapore - Several children have used this as well and I would have to say that this is our favorite.

 

It is really hard to choose just one for each child.

[Malenki]

DS loves both Singapore and Rod & Staff. Talk about different programs!

 

He loves the clean look on R&S and knowing what to expect; we've used it as our only program and now as a supplement. It does have too much writing for him so I write the answers. We tried doing all the problems since he wasn't always "getting it" but I changed our approach so as not to overwhelm him and spaced it out more since there is a lot of built-in review and that has worked better.

 

He adores Singapore since we play games and do the textbook orally. It makes a ton of sense to him but I think it's partly because we grounded him with R&S first.

 

That, and he needed to catch up developmentally. He wasn't ready for a lot of math at age 6 but had a big leap in thinking at age 7.

 

We'll do both programs with him for the remainder of elementary school and then see.

[ABQmom]

Math U See. Because it is super easy to teach with the DVD's and TM. Concepts are taught well. My dc understand what they are doing. It's easy for my dc to follow. They concentrate on one skill at a time until mastered, yet there is plenty of review. MUS offers good support--website is helpful.

 

My first two dd's are not math oriented at all, but they have done very well with MUS. I am not math oriented and have struggled only occasionally with the teaching.