4maybabies Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I'm thinking about trying McRuffy color 1st grade for dd. 2nd grade looks a little too advanced for her. Please fill me in on your likes/dislikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 We just finished McRuffy 1 last spring. There's a strong emphasis on memorizing math facts (add/sub) and understanding place value. The lessons are short, fun and easy to teach. There isn't a lot of writing. My non-mathy DD has made a lot of progress with minimal whining or tears. :001_smile: The only thing I don't like is that there's very little work with fact families and the relationship between addition and subtraction. I also don't remember any work on using subtraction to find the difference between to groups (e.g. if group A has 6 and group B has 2, write a subtraction sentence to find the difference: 6-2=4). McRuffy is a very traditional, hands-on, but not very "conceptual" approach to math. Overall, we like it. But, I am feeling the need to supplement with Miquon and Math Mammoth, to give her more help with her conceptual understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4maybabies Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Thank you! It really sounds like it will be perfect for her! I do plan on using Singapore with it as well....probably 2x a week. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed this works for her!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoon Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 We have used McRuffy K, 1, and 3. We like it because: it is colorful has games is lightly scripted (not overkill like Saxon) has just one, one-sided worksheet per lesson uses manipulatives is open and go doesn't take forever to finish a lesson We have supplemented some with Math Mammoth. My boys have not done well with timed tests, so we don't do that part of McRuffy. We do flashcards instead and/or use this website. (The activity is timed on the website, but they do better with it anyway. I think it's because it is sort of open-ended. There isn't a worksheet telling them how many they "should" get done in a certain amount of time.) I don't think McRuffy does well with teaching mental math tricks (like any number + 9 is the same as (that number + 10) - 1). I'm currently looking into ways to add that in. When I just tell my ds how to do it he says, "Mom, you're making my brain hurt!" I'm thinking we will spend some time working on just mental math for awhile before getting into McRuffy grade 2. McRuffy is also light on geometry (at least compared to Saxon). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4maybabies Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Thanks! Would you consider their grade levels to be advanced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I used McRuffy math for ds during K, 1st and half of 2nd. What I like is that it makes math fun by using lots of manipulatives and reinforcing what they learn with games. I liked the program, but for third grade, I wanted something more conceptual, so we switched to Math Mammoth halfway through 2nd grade. Ds really enjoyed the program. Don't let the ease fool you; it is a very solid program. I don't think it is an advanced curriculum, very on grade level. IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Thanks! Would you consider their grade levels to be advanced? After finishing McRuffy 3, my son took placement tests for TT and Saxon. He placed into TT 5 and Saxon 6/5. Does that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.