HappyGrace Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Asking because I'm thinking about switching to just MM for ds8 who is great in math. Singapore is great but $$ and I hate switching between all the books including the HIG. I used some MM in earlier grades w/ older dd and it was just seemed, I don't know, "light" compared to Singapore. The word problems didn't seem as intense, and there was not as much stretching the child to think. Please don't get me wrong, I think MM is wonderful. I've never seen such excellent explanations. I just feel somehow worried about ditching SM due to rigor. I'd love to hear from people who have used both! (I asked a similar question years ago but not many people were using MM yet.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 If you do a search on 'math mammoth vs. singapore' you'll find a plethora of threads discussing this question. Here are two to get you started :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I just switched from SM to MM, as you know. There were particular reasons we switched, however. One, looking ahead, I could see my son knew at least 75% of the material that we were going to be covering in SM5, and I didn't want to invest the amount of money in SM when we really weren't going to be using it all. Two, I have gotten really tired of juggling multiple books and HIG. Three, my son was always very independent with SM. I can count on one hand the number of times he has needed assistance understanding something. Four, he much _prefers_ to work independently. Five, I knew that we would continue using the IP and CWP regardless of whether we switched, and as these two books were already a big focus of our math, I knew that wouldn't change. The only thing that would change would be how the concepts were initially explained, and I had heard MM did that quite nicely. Given that my son gets concepts quickly, I didn't think it would be any trouble to use MM. I have only been using MM for one week, so take what I have to say with a big grain of salt, but it seems to me that if one combines MM with SM CWP and IP, the rigor would be the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I've used MM 1A-4A and part of 4B, then we switched over to Singapore 4A (and I have 4B on the shelf, which we'll be in pretty soon). My thoughts are... - MM is thorough. - MM has some challenging problems, but not AS many as Singapore. - Singapore IP and CWP have more challenging problems (in the take the challenge sections). The regular sections will often be similar to those questions in MM. MM is more challenging than Singapore TB/WB alone. - MM is more incremental in its instruction (this can be good or bad, depending on the student ;) ) When I was using MM, I also used Singapore's IP and CWP. You may have to go back a semester or year, depending on where you are, because of scope and sequence differences. For example, Singapore 3A has long division, and MM didn't do that until 4B. Yet MM does some things earlier than Singapore. Thankfully, IP and CWP are both listed by topic, so it's easy to just pick what you have done and save the rest for later. :) I recently switched to Singapore because a) my son likes the presentation much better, b) my son doesn't really need the incremental instruction. I'm really glad I used MM first though! We flew through several levels, and that would have been $$$ with Singapore! As it is, we'll probably only use grades 4 and 5 of Singapore. I may pick and choose some topics from MM6 after that and then start either a pre-algebra course or slowly do the early parts of an algebra course. In your situation, I suggest going with MM and using IP and CWP to keep that extra challenge in there. I think that's an excellent combo, and it's inexpensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Look at the MM samples for the higher grades and that should make it easier to decide if you want to switch. My oldest daughter switched to MM from SM. She was getting bored/frustrated with Singapore and just needed a change, I guess. She is able to do MM entirely on her own. All I do is check her answers. I like that it's pushed her to work independently. When we first switched, we were laughing, because MM seemed to have the exact same questions as SM. :rolleyes: Supposedly, both programs end at the same place. We're going to do another year of MM and then find a Pre-Algebra course. You could always add the CWP workbook to MM. My daughter also does CWP (when we have some extra time) and some living math stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 IME, MM is equivalent to SM's textbook and workbook. If you want an extra challenge, add in the IP and CWP. Of course, that will bring the price up to around the same as SM but it will allow your child to work more independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 IME, MM is equivalent to SM's textbook and workbook. If you want an extra challenge, add in the IP and CWP. Of course, that will bring the price up to around the same as SM but it will allow your child to work more independently. It's a lot cheaper because you can get MM grades 1-6 for $65 from HSBC (two times per year), making it roughly $11/year. Add in CWP and IP for another $30 (a little less, actually). Meanwhile, Singapore TB/WB/HIG/IP/CWP runs about $120, so 3 times the cost of MM + IP + CWP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 IME, MM is equivalent to SM's textbook and workbook. If you want an extra challenge, add in the IP and CWP. I've used both SM & MM, and compared them extensively (had a full set of each) and :iagree: Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 nm here too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lluv Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks for this! I've been pricing our new school year and I've been trying to figure out how to make it more "budget friendly" since we use both Miquon and SM. It's good to know that we can switch to MM without sacrificing all the things we love about SM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 I love the idea of adding in the IP and CWP (which we do with SM anyway). Thanks! Halcyon and Bosco-go ahead and say it! lol! Maybe it would help us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Halcyon and Bosco-go ahead and say it! lol! Maybe it would help us! :lol: No, she had misread my post, and I clarified, but then after I posted, I noticed hers had changed to "nm", so obviously she figured out what I was meaning to say. Nothing helpful to you. :D Well, she did say that the IP and CWP are available on Ebay, and that might be helpful to you. I usually order from RR or CBD, but if I had to order just those and didn't have enough stuff to get free shipping elsewhere, Ebay is the cheapest place. There some seller on there that has new copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Oh, I get it now-ROFL! And it is helpful about Ebay, thanks-never thought to ck there. I usually do the same thing-get it on RR for free shipping. But glad to know about Ebay too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Yes, that's all I was saying lol but ebay is generally only cheaper if u need a single book. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 It's a lot cheaper because you can get MM grades 1-6 for $65 from HSBC (two times per year), making it roughly $11/year. Add in CWP and IP for another $30 (a little less, actually). Meanwhile, Singapore TB/WB/HIG/IP/CWP runs about $120, so 3 times the cost of MM + IP + CWP. This would help me a lot because SM set of books plus shipping is pretty expensive. So, I didn't start the thread but thanks for the idea anyway.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 It's a lot cheaper because you can get MM grades 1-6 for $65 from HSBC (two times per year), making it roughly $11/year. Add in CWP and IP for another $30 (a little less, actually). Meanwhile, Singapore TB/WB/HIG/IP/CWP runs about $120, so 3 times the cost of MM + IP + CWP. Any idea what times of the year that sale runs? I'm happy with SM for my oldest and youngest but my middle seems to do better with the more incremental and independent MM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Any idea what times of the year that sale runs? I'm happy with SM for my oldest and youngest but my middle seems to do better with the more incremental and independent MM. I think the sale is in the summer, but I could be wrong. She also has 25% off sale pretty often; I know one is coming up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 IIRC, the sales have been February and August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Thanks for this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I think the sale is in the summer, but I could be wrong. She also has 25% off sale pretty often; I know one is coming up soon. IIRC, the sales have been February and August. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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