socody Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Someone please explain to me what I need to buy for Singapore Math Kindergarten? The website says you can use Essential Math & Earlybird together. I get that. Then I go on Amazon & they have both a Textbook and an Activity Book for Earlybird. What is the difference and which are essential for just starting out?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I just used the Essential Math K workbooks. I add in Cuisenaire rods. I got the workbooks at Rainbow Resource for $7.50 each. We're halfway through book B, and I've been very pleased with the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 We used the Essentials books alone as well. There are many (many many many) resources online for supplimenting (for freeeee). I did get their math readers. Not something you have to have, but they're nice. IOW, just the essentials workbooks is fine. Cuisine rods are nice as manipulatives, but you can use just about anything as math manipulatives ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karensk Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Someone please explain to me what I need to buy for Singapore Math Kindergarten? The website says you can use Essential Math & Earlybird together. I get that. Then I go on Amazon & they have both a Textbook and an Activity Book for Earlybird. What is the difference and which are essential for just starting out?? The Textbook is softcover non-consumable, and the Activity Book is a workbook for the student to write in and includes cut-&-paste activities. I believe the two books were designed to go together, where you do a lesson together in the Textbook and then do a corresponding exercise in the Activity Book. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socody Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 The Textbook is softcover non-consumable, and the Activity Book is a workbook for the student to write in and includes cut-&-paste activities. I believe the two books were designed to go together, where you do a lesson together in the Textbook and then do a corresponding exercise in the Activity Book. I got that part, but then there was something totally separate, the Essential Math books. I didn't know if they were the same thing as the Activity Book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Essential Math is basically a different program, AFAIK. It's more like the Primary Math series. Most people prefer EM vs EB. It's also a whole lot cheaper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karensk Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I haven't looked closely at the Essential Math books. I believe they could be used instead of the Textbook/Activity Book combination, as a cheaper alternative. The pages are black-and-white instead of color, making the price much lower. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison of the Essential Math and Earlybird, to see how their exercises compared. My guess is that they're pretty similar as far as concepts and teaching approaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 The Essential workbooks can be used independently as a stand-alone program, but it doesn't feel meaty enough to me. I use the HIG, the Activity book and the Earlybird book. I bought the math readers but really, I find them to be a waste of time and I rarely use them. Ok, I never use them. I've considered buying the essential workbooks to supplement, but probably won't. I'll likely be buying a separate math program that spirals to supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sillyandgoofy2 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Was the HIG helpful? I was thinking of just buying the textbook and activity book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Ummmm....for me it has been somewhat helpful, particularly in keeping things organized. That said...I have not been overly impressed with their explanations of how to teach concepts. For example, my son is working through the solid shapes chapter. I would have liked the HIG to explain to me exactly how to describe to my son what each specific shape actually is. Because when he asked me, "Mommy, how is a rectangular solid different from a cube?" I found myself stumbling a little. I should actually clarify...I'm not using the HIG...I had actually purchased the teacher's guide that was intended for the classroom. I hadn't been aware that there was a separate HIG specifically for homeschoolers. I will be trying that next time. But I suspect that the organization and descriptions and lessons are similar. For organization, it's done well. For clarity and overall teachability...eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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