momma aimee Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm MEP Math who has used it? I am 99% set on useing it for kindy for our main math. I am just unsure about the 'jumping in point', Is the Receptive Year where i should start, or year one? Did anyone have trouble useing it one on one at home, the note in the lesson plans are written for a classroom. I am planning to jsut start at the start and let him 'fly' for as far as he can, and then allow him to gradually slow as the material becomes more challangeing -- he has some talent for math, but i fear it is hit and miss and want to start at the start and just be sure we cover everything. I was planning to print it out, sections at a time and put it in a binder for use. what did you do? Thanks. Aimee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Reception is pre-K level, and Yr. 1 is Kindergarten. My November birthday K5er wasn't ready for Right Start A back at the beginning of this year, so I shelved it and switched to MEP Reception. He flew through that and is now working through Yr. 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I'm doing year 1 with my 6yo dd in conjunction with mammoth math. I really like it. I will say that I ordered the real textbooks recently from England as well as the posters and the dvd of sample lessons. I'm liking the DVD so far and the posters are big and of great quality. I wish I had the textbooks sooner as they do seem to add more to the program than simply the bw printouts, though they just arrived and I have not used the current one yet. I had them mailed to someone in the UK who was traveling to see me here. They were very nice to communicate with. I really like the different angles it comes from to hit a concept. I like the variety of thinking and the challenge it provides. I even had a dream about it the other night lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I have used reception and am currently doing year 1. I started with reception in september and my son was 5. His birthday is in January so he is now 6. I had done some earlybird Singapore and some miquon with him. He was really resistant to doing 'big boy' math for some reason. We had a great time with reception. We did it every day and were done by the end of November. Reception was made to be done only a couple times a week. If you do it 5 days a week you will breeze through. Then we started with year 1. For some reason it didn't click with him then. he was doing a lot of work in reading and piano so I think it was just too much. We switched back to earlybird in Singapore and finished that. Then, in early March we went back to MEP year 1. Well, now he complains it is too easy. I bumped it up to some later lessons and now he is really happy with it. He doesn't complain any longer, lol. I am guessing I should have just stuck with MEP and not moved to earlybird Singapore and it would have been fine. MEP in these young years is really slow and incremental. But, I want to assure you that there is a LOT going on with these little numbers. He may only be working with 1-5 but he is adding, subtracting, making groups, understanding quantitity, bigger than and smaller than etc. Good work is happening! I have been very happy with Singapore and used MEP reception on a whim. I have a son finishing year 5 in Singapore right now and have never thought of changing programs. However, here I am wondering if I should just keep on going with MEP. I don't change curriculum easily so that is a big deal for me. I print out the lessons and the worksheets. I put them in a binder with the teacher lessons up front and the worksheets in the back, separated by a divider. I just open to the days' lesson and pull out the worksheet for each day. When the lesson is over, I put the lesson and the worksheet in the back of the binder. When I am all done, I print out the next set on the back of the pages I just used. That way, I save on paper. For reception, I printed out all the posters and we used them all. With year 1, there seems to be some confusion about the posters and the lessons? I guess they don't all match up or something? I didn't print them out and I skip that in the lesson. Oh, that is worth noting. There is a lot to do in each lesson. If we are pressed for time, I don't feel guilty if I skip something. I also don't make my son do all the questions. Don't forget, this is made to be done with a classroom of children. There are 5 or 10 problems and the idea is that a child does one and watches other children to some at the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana B Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 MEP in these young years is really slow and incremental. But, I want to assure you that there is a LOT going on with these little numbers. He may only be working with 1-5 but he is adding, subtracting, making groups, understanding quantitity, bigger than and smaller than etc. Good work is happening! :iagree: The program is amazing. I didn't find it until DS was in 1st, but we are now 1/2 way through YR 2 and loving it. It's given my son an amazing base in math. I love how things are introduced without much explanation, and then a couple weeks later it's thrown in again. It's like sneaking little things in, and by the time they are formally introduced it's not a big deal. Also, don't stress about whether he gets the one problem on one page. Because the same concepts are repeated over and over again. In YR 1, they introduce the numbers slowly using the different terminology and signs. And if he doesn't get < > in the first few lessons, it'll be covered again, and again, and again.... DS is still doing < > problems in YR 2, just with bigger numbers. (But it's not in a boring way! So it doesn't get tedious - most of the time.) Be sure and join the Yahoo! Group if you do use it. They are super helpful. They can help you explain things, help you figure out how to adapt problems to one-on-one. (We used LEGO men for our pupils!) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mep-homeschoolers/ Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I am just unsure about the 'jumping in point', Is the Receptive Year where i should start, or year one? Did anyone have trouble useing it one on one at home, the note in the lesson plans are written for a classroom. Reception is designed for pre-writers. If your son can write and knows the numbers 1-10, you could start with year 1. Reception is a lot of fun, though. You might want to spend a month or so fly through it. I have no problem using it one-on-one. I substitute toys or household items for classmates. We do all sections, including interludes. We complete most lessons in 20-30 minutes. If a lesson is taking longer, we stop after 30 minutes and continue it the next day. I was planning to print it out, sections at a time and put it in a binder for use. what did you do? I printed all of Reception and year 1. I put the student pages in one binder and everything else in another. I read ahead a few weeks to allow time to get or make necessary supplies. I improvise if the item is not readily attainable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 We have been plugging along with MEP for several years now. We love it. I use the teacher's lesson plans with every lesson. They are the *meat* of the program, and are easily adjusted to one-on-one instruction. We've never had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I sent the PDF of Reception year to be printed and bound for me. I think that cost $20. I keep the teacher portion on my iPad. Reception year is very easy-mostly counting and positional words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 We jumped in to Y1 and completed it without a problem. My husband had the TM printed and spiral bound as 2 different books and all the worksheets were bound in a separate workbook. I modified the activities that required multiple students. Y1 does have some challenge from the beginning, since it doesn't cover a single topic at a time, but the time it takes is well worth it, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Also - reception has many fewer lessons than the later years (60 vs. 175). I think the assumption is that in Reception, math is done 2x a week or something. So you could pick and choose topics in reception, and then go to Y1. Reception has more motor skills development, but even Y1 teaches writing of numbers slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 After using MEP as part of our math with ds8, I'm starting my little guy off in Reception year for his "Kindy." (We use Miquon too...as well as whatever else I can't resist.:tongue_smilie:) I think MEP is one of the most challenging maths if you do it on grade level (Year 1 starting in K). Placement really depends upon your child, but I would err on allowing your dc to be "behind" level in MEP. 60 Reception lessons are not going to hurt anyone... My favorite use for MEP is as a review, a systematic (catch anything I may have missed) kind of review for a dc who flies ahead with the concepts (but needs some systematic practice with things he knew last year...). Jump in. Tweak as needed!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 thanks eveyone, this is making me feel really confident about my choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Already Gone Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 We've been using it since August of last year, with a few breaks. I don't have much experience with other math programs, but both I and my son love it. We've been in Y1 and didn't do Reception. Based on my limited experience, I totally agree with the advice above about a) joining the Yahoo group, b) using the lesson plans and not just the workbooks, and c) not worrying about doing every single problem or spending as much time on something as a classroom would. BUT I would also caution against dismissing individual activities, especially in the lesson plans, as being too easy or not worth the time. I've found in many, many instances that a very easy maneuver will be introduced in a new context--and I'll be asking myself, "huh. What was that all about?", only to find in another two or three lessons that context revisited in a much more challenging way. The easy problem gives my son (and for that matter, me) a chance to wrap our minds around how new approaches work so that when we get to the meaty problem we can focus on the math and not the context. I don't think I'm making much sense, so if anyone else knows what I'm talking about and can put it more articulately, please help me out! Also, did anyone notice?--the "Textbook 1a Referenced Activities" is up on the site now. I'm not sure how long it's been there; hope they get to the others soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 so for receptive year you would print both the "lesson plances" and the "copymasters" ?? that was my plan -- ? do i need to print the transparinites -- or are more for the classroom? then in year 1, print the lesson plans, the copy masters and the Pratice book -- all 3? I appercipate all teh help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I print only the practice book, then the copymasters as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 The copy masters are generally bigger versions of what's in the practice book. Some kids need more space. I rarely use them, but occasionally, they are very handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 The copy masters are generally bigger versions of what's in the practice book. Some kids need more space. I rarely use them, but occasionally, they are very handy. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh that you -- that makes sense -- :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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