Mom25girls Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Planning for next year and I'm a bit unsure if I should supplement MM for a second grader. My current first grader uses MM as a stand alone math program. I do supplement MM with Saxon for my third (she uses 54), fourth (65) and fifth grader (76). Do most of you second grade MM users supplement? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm really happy with MM, the kids LOVE MM and I only supplement because it adds consistent practice of previously learned skills. Thanks for any feedback in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplemama Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I did not supplement, merely because I felt my daughter got a thorough understanding the first time through. We use the cumulative reviews and I give her the tests. If there was any doubt she mastered the topic, I would supplement. There is a place in my saved MM materials where you can generate your own new worksheets. I guess I could use that, if necessary. We do Family Math or other games every once in a while with her brother and they will both do Math Olympiad with our homeschool group next year...so perhaps that is going to be our supplementing. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I'm using MM 2A with my ds right now, and we find that it's just fine like this, no supplementation necessary. Check out the many extra review pages you could just print out as needed, or do the math games. Ds loves those, and gets extra practice that way. MM is very complete. I do want to eventually review and supplement with Miquon Red Book during the Summer just to do something quite different (exploratory math), but I don't want to bog him down with too many problems. He doesn't need an excessive amount of review. I like that MM does recycle old subjects, but doesn't spiral constantly (which would drive me bananas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Wizards Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I don't supplement MM at all (except with math games, etc... which I would do with any program). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 We don't supplement at all and I'm running 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade and 5th grade levels. None of them IMO need supplementation. We are stopping to make sure my 3rd grader has all her multiplication facts down better before we move further in division as she was struggling. I'm just printing extra sheets for that using the worksheet generator and using the process Maria has outlined for memorizing the facts. So far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom25girls Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 :D AWESOME!!!!! I was hoping that we didn't have to supplement. I love MM, but wish that it had come out 14 years ago when I first started homeschooling! Thanks everyone for your prompt responses. I really appreciate it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I don't plan on supplementing after looking through all the pages for MM2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewpeaceful Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I did not supplement, merely because I felt my daughter got a thorough understanding the first time through. We use the cumulative reviews and I give her the tests. If there was any doubt she mastered the topic, I would supplement. There is a place in my saved MM materials where you can generate your own new worksheets. I guess I could use that, if necessary. We do Family Math or other games every once in a while with her brother and they will both do Math Olympiad with our homeschool group next year...so perhaps that is going to be our supplementing. Jennifer :iagree: same here. MM2 is beefy enough on its own. If you want more of a spiral approach so you are reviewing more often, the author suggests doing some of lesson 1 today and lesson 2 today and then some of lesson 1 tomorrow and some of lesson 2 tomorrow. You don't have to complete a lesson in 1 sitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 No supplementation needed. I did just start adding some things in, but that's because DS is "mathy", plus I like to break things up a bit. He also was asking for more word problems. I haven't needed to add anything for review purposes. MM reviews things within the chapter, plus we do the cumulative reviews for each chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenKase Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 My girls are currently using will be doing MM3 and MM5 and I agree with previous posters that MM does not need supplementation. I have been extremely happy with this program and it suits both of my dc's learning styles and ability. However, I do supplement for various reasons. My dd7 has been using and will continue to use CWP alongside MM and my dd11 will be doing LoF with MM this year (I plan to phase in LoF as our main curriculum once done with MM). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I used MM for 2nd grade. I thought it was very thorough and provided plenty of practice. If the child does not have full mastery (either through memorization of or speedy calculation) of math facts, I'd supplement with basic fact practice. We use Times Tales and XtraMath.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Another person not supplementing MM (5th). Whenever I'd like more practice or an alternative layout, I simply use the worksheet generator or the cumulative reviews or chapter reviews or chapter tests. I have come to adore the worksheet generator :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I actually use MM as my supplement! :) My 2nd grader learns very well from RightStart, but I wanted something with repetitious worksheets to go along with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I actually use MM as my supplement! :) My 2nd grader learns very well from RightStart, but I wanted something with repetitious worksheets to go along with that. :iagree: Same story here. We're using MM to review concepts, via independent rote work, that my little man has already learned from RS. @ OP: If you're using the Light Blue series and don't necessarily want or need to supplement, then perhaps you could just use the Blue series to add review (more of the same) if/when needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 We're in our second year using MM and I agree that it does not need to be supplemented. We switched from Saxon and Singapore last year and it's been a really great fit for us, so much so that I went ahead and bought the entire light blue series when HSBC had an amazing deal on it (cheaper to re-buy grades 1 and 2 along with the package then to buy the 4 remaining grades by themselves). I only hope that when we get through grade 6, Maria Miller will have added some more to the series :D My 1st grader will be doing 1B/2A this year, and my 3rd grader will be doing 3A/B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 :D AWESOME!!!!! I was hoping that we didn't have to supplement. I love MM, but wish that it had come out 14 years ago when I first started homeschooling!Thanks everyone for your prompt responses. I really appreciate it!!!! I'm not a Math Mammoth user, so take it for what it's worth, but I would supplement it. If what I believe about MM is true, Maria Miller does a very good job explaining the basic concepts and procedures of whole-parts math. But, not unlike the "core" Singapore Textbooks/Workbooks, the MM materials I've seen don't seem to have that extra brain-streching challenge that's needed to make a very good program into a great one. Were I using MM I'm pretty sure I'd do the same thing I'm doing with the core Singapore books, and that is to at least supplement them with the Singapore Intensive Practice books, some Mathematics Enhancement Programme (MEP), and (for strong students) Zaccaro's Primary Grade Challenge Math. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I'm not a Math Mammoth user, so take it for what it's worth, but I would supplement it. If what I believe about MM is true, Maria Miller does a very good job explaining the basic concepts and procedures of whole-parts math. But, not unlike the "core" Singapore Textbooks/Workbooks, the MM materials I've seen don't seem to have that extra brain-streching challenge that's needed to make a very good program into a great one. Were I using MM I'm pretty sure I'd do the same thing I'm doing with the core Singapore books, and that is to at least supplement them with the Singapore Intensive Practice books, some Mathematics Enhancement Programme (MEP), and (for strong students) Zaccaro's Primary Grade Challenge Math. Bill As is true with any program, if you have only seen bits and pieces, you can get a skewed perspective. Also some people will want more challenge no matter the program. Our experience has been that MM has more stretch than the basic Singapore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 As is true with any program, if you have only seen bits and pieces, you can get a skewed perspective. Also some people will want more challenge no matter the program. Our experience has been that MM has more stretch than the basic Singapore. I admit I have a limited perspective having seen only bits and pieces of the program (which impress me, don't get me wrong). I just have not seen many (if any) of the "challenge" level type questions in the preview materials and have read posts from more than a few parents (who like MM) that they felt it (like the core Singapore books) was somewhat light in the challenge department. I don't know. If it is the case, I would look to supplement. I will freely admit to being one who wants a good deal of brain-stretching in my child's math program(s). I think developing critical thinking, mathematical reasoning, logic, and creative problem solving skills are vital to a great math education and that it is natural that a "core" math curriculum, no matter how good it might be, might need supplementation to meet those goals. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I only hope that when we get through grade 6, Maria Miller will have added some more to the series :D She specifically does NOT plan to add to the series. She believes you should use a textbook written by math loving professors for pre-algebra on up. I'm not a Math Mammoth user, so take it for what it's worth, but I would supplement it. For the average math student, I don't believe supplementation is necessary at all. She stretches the brain more than base Singapore does. Does she have diabolically hard problems like the challenge problems in IP? No. Do all children need diabolically hard problems such as those? No. I'd say most do not. If you have a math loving student who needs a real challenge (as Bill and I both do), then yes, you would want to use IP and/or PCM to add some challenge. CWP is handy for teaching bar diagrams sooner, as MM doesn't get into that much until 4A. We've learned them in CWP2. Some of the more interesting bar diagrams used in the challenge sections of CWP are harder than the MM problems, but the base CWP problems are roughly the same as MM problems. My son hasn't been particularly challenged by CWP, as he's already been doing some of the same types of problems. There are just a few types in there that I haven't seen in MM (like if you have a 5L bucket and a 3L bucket, how do you measure 4L of water). So I believe MM can certainly stand alone. If you have a student that is gifted in math and is flying through it, you'll want to add all the challenge you can, whether you're using Singapore or MM. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Ds7 is challenged by the MM puzzle problems. I don't believe he'd be able to handle the Singapore challenging problems. As it is, we're starting third grade in Fall (right after he turns 8) and he's going to be beginning at 2B. We're not "caught up" yet, so to speak. I am happy with his progress, and we stay with it until he understands the problems well. I wish I had started MM from the beginning. I didn't know this would be a perfect fit for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 The only way I supplement MM for any of my kids is with computer games "for fun". I think MM is more than enough in and of itself. My dd did need some extra time mastering her multiplication facts before we started division. I just printed off some extra fact sheets and we used Maria's method of memorizing the tables. Worked great!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I don't supplement MM at all (except with math games, etc... which I would do with any program). This. We've used grades 1-3, and are about to start on 4a. My kids have a very good grasp of math concepts from MM and talking/playing with math in everyday life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 She specifically does NOT plan to add to the series. She believes you should use a textbook written by math loving professors for pre-algebra on up. Oh boo :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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