Help me decide on math for my youngest, please

[ssexton]

Okay, well my youngest is much more mathy than my older two. This little guy walks around saying things like, "I know what 20+20+20 is..." He seems to enjoy thinking about numbers and how they work together. For my olders, I've used BJU (grades 1-4) and CLE (grades 5-6), and they have done well.

 

So, what to do with the little guy? I have a complete set of old edition BJU grade 1 that I could use. I also have the entire MM set purchased from the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. We've been working through 1A with this, and it's just so tedious and repititious. I understand that may change at some point, but it's really taking all the joy away from a subject he loves. Maybe I just need to skim through some of the materials, but that makes me uncomfortable.

 

He recently saw an abacus, and seemed fascinated with it. That inspired me to learn more about Right Start. From what I can tell from the placement info on the website, it looks like he would go into Level B. But, since I'm completely unfamiliar with the program, I don't know if I could jump into Level B and understand it well enough to teach it. Purchasing levels A and B are out of the question.

 

And then there is Singapore. Does it use manipulatives? I don't think my guy necessarily needs manipulatives to understand, but I think they might hold his interest. Any thoughts?

[BearLair]

RightStart is one of two programs we have ever used in our accidental homeschool journey (the other being OPGTR for reading) with clear purpose... help teach arithmetic. It has been extremely successful for our family. My children enjoy math but each learn differently, RS has worked for all of them.

 

Level B can be taught without learning the method of instruction from using Level A. It's a scripted program (the script is easy enough skip over if you wanted) so it can be started easily at B. I do not recall any RS specific methods taught only in Level A.

 

RS has been our one steady component for arithmetic and would work well on it's own. We've added other resources in at random just to make sure each child is pushing their challenge level along... but I guess we could have just increased the speed at which we did the program. RS has a lot of variety so boredom was not an issue for us.

 

Enjoy!

[Satori]

He might prefer RightStart B (don't start with A for him) or Singapore Primary Math. RightStart is heavy on manipulatives, minimal writing, and lots of teacher interaction. Singapore is more flexible, it's strongly suggested you start the lesson with hands-on manipulatives (we do this), and then you look at examples in the textbook, and then the child does written workbook work. The written work is not overwhelming. If he needs more practice, you can get Extra Practice; if he loves the challenge, there is Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems. As for manipulatives, we sometimes pull out the RightStart abacus for Singapore, but more often we're using some sort of Base-10 set.

 

We've used and love both. Right now we're using Singapore 1B (starting 2A next week) and it is our favorite math ever.

 

Math Mammoth also sucked the joy out of math for us. Many families really love it, but if your child is rapidly losing interest in math, I'd definitely use something else.

[ssexton]

Thank you Angela and BearLair! Hmmm...I guess I'm leaning toward Singapore. His handwriting is weak, and he continues to write some numbers backwards, so I'd really like him to get more writing practice. But I'm still drawn to the abacus. Is there any way for me to learn how to use it so I can incorporate it in the Singapore lessons? Other than buying all of Right Start that is? Maybe just a used RS teacher's guide? Any recommendations?

 

Or, any one else have other thoughts? Maybe RS is the way to go. Arg! Wish I could just buy them both and be done with it. :)

[ssexton]

Oh, and that brings to mind another question: which manipulatives are good to have on hand for Singapore math?

[ChrisB]

I'd start him with RS level B or Singapore. Since he is 6, I think RS level A might be too young for him.

 

We use and love RS. It has been highly effective in our family. I love how RS introduces mental math and the general understanding of numbers. No matter what math program we use, I'd incorporate the RS abacus, the math games, and the place value cards. Singapore would be my second choice if RS didn't work.

 

My kids like to work through MM worksheets very occasionally. I personally don't love MM.

[BriannaG]

Since you're leaning towards Singapore for your math program, you could just add in the Abacus from Right Start using the Activities for the Al Abacus and/or the Worksheets for the Al Abacus. Here is the link:http://activitiesforlearning.com/rightstartmanipulatives.aspx. The Al Abacus packet on the first page doesn't include the Worksheets for the Al Abacus Manual. You can purchase that separately if you wish to use it.

 

The Worksheets for the Al Abacus manual are just worksheets for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Answers are in the back and pictures of the abacus for the first problem are often on the worksheets. You definitely don't need this Worksheets manual as you can easily create your own worksheets...there are enough problems in the Activities manual for you to get an idea of what to create. Here is the link to the Worksheets for the Al Abacus: http://activitiesforlearning.com/search.aspx?find=worksheets&page=2&log=false&high=25.00

 

You might also want to consider the Math Card Games Kit: http://activitiesforlearning.com/elementarygames.aspx. It does contain a small Al Abacus with the kit since she uses in the number sense section and for even/odd. Oh, I just checked the index, the abacus is also used for two games in the addition section and one in the subtraction section. So not a lot of abacus use.

 

This is what I'm using with my dd and I plan to use Math Mammoth - similar to Singapore. My dd also likes the Abacus.

[ssexton]

Thanks for all your help! I just placed an order from RR with both RS Level B and Singapore Primary 1a and 1b. I just felt like I needed them both in my hands to look at in order to decide which direction to take. I appreciate all of your thoughts!

[zenjenn]

I am in a similar boat. I have a dd6 who just finished MM1 for Kindergarten.

 

She is very proficient but I don't think she finds MM itself very fun, kwim? She sounds just like your son wandering around announcing math problems to me.

 

I have decided to put her on Teaching Textbooks 3 for 1st grade. She loves the computer and I think she will really enjoy the colors and sounds and really learn a lot and let her build an enthusiasm for math.

 

I know there are a lot of TT nay-sayers. My husband and I are both reasonably mathy and we really looked long and hard at the criticisms before choosing the program for our oldest child. Our oldest is dyslexic and started to really struggle with MM, but she has excellent audio-visual skills (PHS listening skills on the SAT) and this has worked well for her, though we did have her do Math 3 for 2nd grade, not because she is an advanced math student, but because we think TT grade levels are inaccurately labelled.

 

And yes, TT is *technically* behind grade level (about 1/2 a grade level behind, IMO) and doesn't require as much repetition as most math programs, but it is engaging, simple, and makes basic math concepts very accessible. Also, it allows kids to learn independently.

 

I know people see that as a bad thing but news flash, elementary school math is NOT something that involves a lot of critical thinking and it CAN be taught by a computer! I do review the math lessons and have her do some problems for me outside the context of TT just to keep tabs on her comprehension and I have not been disappointed. She scored slightly above grade level on her SAT (keeping in mind she was doing TT3 and was tested on 2nd grade)

 

I can't comment on TT's High school math but after seeing the program, myself and my DH (who is a physicist) think it is a good program for elementary that does not unnecessarily belabor math basics. If a child needs to have more drills for basics it is a simple matter to supplement, and I keep MM on hand just for that purpose. If a child does not need to belabor math basics, TT makes a lot of concepts accessible very quickly, which is why we decided to go ahead next year and try it with our accelerated 6 yr old (operating 2 years ahead on their curriculum (which we think of as standard accelerated) instead of 1 (which we think is average).

 

So again, just coming to the defense of TT which I think is a fun, engaging, and accessible math program for elementary - though probably needs to be used 1-2 grades ahead of the packaged grade level. Ultimately the goal in elementary math is to have a positive experience with math and to feel (and be) capable with the basics so that math does not become intimidating as it does for SO many young students who then develop math phobia for life. I think TT accomplishes this, and also enables an accelerated young math students to explore all the basic concepts quickly - it is easy to move ahead, skip repetition, and new concepts are always there and ready for the accelerated young math student who has an interest.

Edited June 20, 2011 by zenjenn