Math Mammoth questions....

[Hebrews3:13]

I have questions about MM for 2 of my children.

 

First of all I was going to supplement the CLE with MM so that my DS can do more mental math. He is a year behind in math from his LD's, so he is in 2nd grade CLE doing simple multiplication. What should I buy? It looks like her second grade full set would work, but will he be missing something from the first grade set since he is jumping in?

 

Also I know I cannot start it with my K-5'er yet. She will "officially" start K this fall. What can I do with her until first? Should I do Singapore or what? She wants to do math pages too, otherwise I would appease her with Math games until then. That has gotten old with her and she can do simple addition and subtraction from the games we have played so far.

 

Thank you for your advice,

Laurie

[tntgoodwin]

There is a K level for MM, seems nice and basic...

[Farrar]

I think many, if not most, 5 K'ers could do MM, if maybe at a slowish pace.

[TracyP]

I had no problem starting my dd with 2nd grade MM. She had finished CLE LU 106??, I believe. You should have no problem.

 

I like Essential Math from Singapore for K. There are two books at $8 a piece. Book A is a bit more pre-schoolish IMO. You may just want to buy Book B unless you think your dc could use something a little lighter. I agree that you also could just start slowly with MM 1 as pp suggested. If you go that route, you can use the snapshot tool on adobe to turn 1 page into 2 pages. This will slow the speed and give lots of white space for 5yo.

[Aconnolley]

You might want to look at the end of year tests to see what year to place your DS into. I bought the 1-6 grade Light Blue Series when it was on sale at Homeschool Buyers Coop. When I started my kids, I looked over the end of year tests and had them take the one I thought was appropriate. I then went back to the previous years MM work to touch up any problem areas that needed work before starting their grade level.

 

My 7 yo dd did MM 3rd grade this year. Multiplication was introduced part of the way through. The part that was challenging for her was all of the mental math. It started at the beginning of the year with mental addition and subtraction. This was new to her and was pretty difficult. I had pulled some of the 2nd grade book for her. This helped a little since it was introduced in a more incremental fashion in 2nd than 3rd.

 

As far as K for my youngest (5yo), we just started the MM 1 book. I knew that I could slow it down or even stretch it into two years if I needed to, but she has done great. She had previously done several little workbooks, including some of the MUS primer and Abeka K. She knew her numbers and understood basic addition and subtraction, but didn't have any facts memorized. She is more mathy than my other two, but I think that they could have managed most of it at her age too. The Singapore Earlybird books looked good, but I never got them ordered. MM has worked out well so far. I can always print extra worksheets if necessary. (using the worksheet generator)

 

Angela

[MeganW]

Why not, since it is just a supplement and not vital, give your son the 1st grade book and let him fly through it? Would probably be good for his confidence as well as reviewing all the basic skills.

 

I have gone round and round the math programs for my K-ers. Here's the current plan.

Main: RightStart A

Supplements: MEP Reception, Miquon Orange

 

I plan to do RS A & B with them, then move to Math Mammoth. Whatever MEP & Miquon gets done is just a bonus! :)

Edited April 25, 2011 by MeganW

[mohsmom23]

We are using MM1 this year for my K'er. I started her off slowly at the beginning of the school year doing only 1/2 of a page per day, but now she can do a whole page without a problem. She did the Singapore Earlybird math books prior to starting MM.

[linguistmama]

We're doing MM 1A with my K'er. It's been fine since we just do less than a page at a time or more if dd wants to.

[skueppers]

I think Math Mammoth 1A is a reasonable fit for Kindergarten, but that 1B would be too much for many kids. We use the Blue Series, and have been doing the equivalent of 1A and 1B this year. My daughter is an older Kindergartner, and is pretty good at math, otherwise I think 1B would have been too much.

 

You might also take a look at MEP. My 4-year-old has been asking for math lessons lately so I've been giving him some of the stuff from MEP Reception. My daughter used MEP Year 1 soon after she turned 5. I think it's more "fun" than Math Mammoth -- it has a greater variety of activities, and contains interesting puzzle sorts of problems. I would still be using it if my daughter hadn't decided she preferred Math Mammoth.

 

MEP is available for free at:

 

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm

[Hebrews3:13]

Why not, since it is just a supplement and not vital, give your son the 1st grade book and let him fly through it? Would probably be good for his confidence as well as reviewing all the basic skills.

 

I was actually considering this anyway, so I think I may go this route. He will love those lessons I am sure!

[Hebrews3:13]

We are using MM1 this year for my K'er. I started her off slowly at the beginning of the school year doing only 1/2 of a page per day, but now she can do a whole page without a problem. She did the Singapore Earlybird math books prior to starting MM.

 

I think she could handle the MM at this point, but just to be safe I think I will get the Singapore for this spring and the summer, then move to MM 1A in the fall if she is doing alright. Her Kindergarten year will "officially" start then, so that should give her lots of wiggle room.

 

Also, I do not want her doing MM 1 while my DS is flying through it. He would be destroyed if she were in the same Math. :confused:

 

Thank you all for your wisdom!

Laurie

Edited April 25, 2011 by Hebrews3:13
typo

[hmschooling]

I think starting him at MM1 is a great idea :) We jumped in at 3 after using some of the topical books to fill gaps (so some from level 2) and due to some medical/pregnancy issues and more, we didn't get far into it in third grade and are completing it this year for 4th. MM is a strong program obviously b/c I had to enroll my DD into the public school, who had to assess her reading and math skills since she was coming from home school in order to place her. They were shocked with her math skills and said she could go right into mid-year of 4th grade with no problems. And we had done half of MM3 (parts of both A and B, since you have some control over the order of some of the chapters). She did fantastic! In fact, they had a test the week she got there and she made one of the best grades in the class. Math is her weak area, so I thought. The teachers there wanted to know what program we were using since it obviously worked so well...so, in this late hour after being up for WAY too long and now rambling, that was all to say, he will be fine with MM even a year behind his grade. It's strong and I'd be more comfortable starting him at 1, than at 2. :)

 

For your DD...I'd s l o w l y do some of MM1... perhaps use the worksheet generator that comes with the full grade level pack to make her some to keep her at a nice, leisurely pace.

 

Oh, and if you decided to have your son take the placement test, email Maria (MM author) the results of exactly what he missed on which level tests, and she'll help you fill in any gaps with the topical books and then help you decide on which level to start him with after that. She's fantastic!

 

She also has YouTube videos where she teaches some of the concepts. my DD really benefited from the subtraction with regrouping/borrowing video.

[Aconnolley]

I think she could handle the MM at this point, but just to be safe I think I will get the Singapore for this spring and the summer, then move to MM 1A in the fall if she is doing alright. Her Kindergarten year will "officially" start then, so that should give her lots of wiggle room.

 

Laurie

 

That sounds wise. Though my (5 yo dd) has done very well with MM 1, the last few pages (latter part of 1 B) have been pretty challenging. I think that if I had put her in it last year, before doing the workbooks she did, it would have been much more difficult for her. Even though you can always slow down, having a good foundation first is not a bad thing.

 

Angela

[robsiew]

For your child doing 2nd grade math I would not put him in MM1. I'd go with 2. Especially if he's doing multiplication.

 

For your K'er... I've been doing MM1 with my young K'er this year and he's been fine. We started at 1/2 page, like a PP, and now are up to 1 page. We just take it slow and it's been fine. My ds was adding as well and the other K programs just seemed too basic. He had all of the "pre-number" concepts down and needed more. At a slow pace MM1 has been perfect.