cseitter Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have twins that will be doing K. I am trying to decide on a math program for them as I am NOT very good at math or explaining it. I have looked at Singapore, MUS, rightstart and Saxon. I like the looks of Singapore and have heard that if you start with Singapore then it is a good program to keep up. I have one DD that is Very mathmatical like her father and my DS is more like me and booky (wants to read). What would be a good balance for both of them with a 3 year old little sister tagging along behind? We are also doing FIAR, HOP and OPGTR, HWT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Saxon K is light, fun, has lots of manipulatives, little writing, and a script for you to follow. It's not colorful on the page, but you can use colored pencils for the minimum writing that's done-- Or you can skip right into Saxon 1 (we did, continuing to use Saxon ahead by one year, until dd went to 5th this year). The wonderful advantage I found in Saxon is that the script (which can be followed exactly or paraphrased to feel more "natural") gives you all you need to teach concepts that you might have a hard time finding words for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 My kindergartner is using Rod and Staff's grade 1 arithmetic. It's gentle and fun. She loves all the farm animals and the little felt duck pond we made to go with it. Each lesson has "class time" spelled out for you in the TE, where they'll practice older concepts and learn the new ones. Then you give them a worksheet to do on their own, which reinforces the class time. The TE gives you the actual scripting if you want it, and lays out exactly how to teach the concepts. Instructions for the duck pond and other manipulatives are in the TE too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I do RightStart with my 5yo and my 3yo tags along. I really love the approach and the kids enjoy it. I think they are getting a really excellent foundation and I am even learning to think about math differently. After we finish all the levels in RS, my plan is start Singapore with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccabillington Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 i love Rod and Staff too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I am doing McRuffy Color Math for kindergarten next year. I am really excited about it because it uses a lot of manipulatives. My son was really excited when he saw them and wanted to start math right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Loving Right Start here with my K'er. Love how it teachers her (and me!) to think! Very hands-on; not workbooky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 We use MUS Primer for K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobynN Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I like BJ kindergarten math. My 4 yr old loves it and is learning a lot. I also used it successfully with my now 2nd grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I love RightStart A for Kindergarten. We also used RS for Grade 1, but now will be switching to Singapore. So far, we had a great experience with both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepymommy Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Rightstart and Saxon are totally scripted so you wouldn't have to worry if you feel unsure about teaching math. They are completely different types of programs though. Saxon is more 'worksheety' and RS is very hands-on, minimal writing. I've not seen or tried Math U See, but I've that it is pretty easy to teach. There is a video that the child watches first that explains the concept and then the child does the worksheet. But if the child doesn't 'get it' you would need to teach it. But I'm guessing the video would be good at giving you ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Rightstart and Saxon are totally scripted so you wouldn't have to worry if you feel unsure about teaching math. They are completely different types of programs though. Saxon is more 'worksheety' and RS is very hands-on, minimal writing. I've not seen or tried Math U See, but I've that it is pretty easy to teach. There is a video that the child watches first that explains the concept and then the child does the worksheet. But if the child doesn't 'get it' you would need to teach it. But I'm guessing the video would be good at giving you ideas. Just want to say that, at the K level, there aren't worksheets (well, just a few) for Saxon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepymommy Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Just want to say that, at the K level, there aren't worksheets (well, just a few) for Saxon. Thanks for the correction. I may have been thinking of Saxon 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsutsie Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 RightStart is nice for little ones, but I think Singapore is more rigours. Especially the Intensive Practice and Word Problem books. RightStart has a lot of games and manipulative which little kids like. In a perfect world, I would like to combine the two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 My K'er is using MM Grade 1 this year. We just take it slow and it's going very well. The instruction is right on the sheet so it's very easy to implement. Your mathy child could go faster and your not-so-mathy one could go a bit slower... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakarimom5 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I am doing McRuffy Color Math for kindergarten next year. I am really excited about it because it uses a lot of manipulatives. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 McRuffy Color K Next time I have a Ker, (in a couple years). . .that what we're using. I have a Ker this year and we didn't discover it soon enough. It's fun, hands on, has short lessons, is teacher friendly, and covers all the basics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cseitter Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 I think I have narrowed it down to either rightstart or singapore earlybird. Singapore is cheaper but they are just workbooks. What do I REALLY need to buy for rightstart to work? The samples only ask for tally sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Think about Essential math over Earlybird. I have a post showing some samples from both. You may also want to throw in an abacus and have your child thinking in groups of 5 like RS does. The only other thing that I wish Singapore would copy from RS is the amount of geometry that is introduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I did Saxon K with DD when she was 4, it was o.k., it was pretty easy though and I think we could have skipped it. DS is 5 and I just started doing K with him, we're doing Right Start A and I think it's REALLY GREAT. I will do A and B with him and I think I will pull DD(7) in for some lessons too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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