acurtis75 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm interested to know what everyone thinks about the difficulty level of the Beast Academy samples they've put on facebook so far. I was considering using it as a supplement along with MUS and LOF which we are already doing. DD loves to read and LOF has made math a little more enjoyable for her and I'm sure she will like the cartoon format of Beast Academy. I'm wondering if it will be challenging enough. What are the rest of you thinking about what you've seen so far. DD is currently racing through MUS Epsilon after finishing Delta in a few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I plan to purchase it for my youngest along with moving her to Singapore Math. She loves the samples! Because of her age, I am not sure if she will get everything about Beast Academy yet which is why I'm using Singapore. I 'think' and hope that BA will work out for us. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 I plan to purchase it for my youngest along with moving her to Singapore Math. She loves the samples! Because of her age, I am not sure if she will get everything about Beast Academy yet which is why I'm using Singapore. I 'think' and hope that BA will work out for us. :) What leve is she on in MUS and where did you plan to start with Singapore? I'm curious about where the Beast Academy level is going to be compared to the other curriculums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I think it looks great. I will be using it for ds7, he will be 8 by then, in the Fall. It will be a good switch from Right Start that we have been using and he loves the cartoony characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 :drool5: Can't wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm curious about where the Beast Academy level is going to be compared to the other curriculums. No one really knows for sure, but I'd guess (based on their higher level books) that it will be deeper than anything else out there, though comparing difficulty level due to depth is different from comparing difficulty level due to scope-and-sequence. This post from Crimson Wife might help, from the BA thread on the other board: The BA 3A sample chapter on area & perimeter was definitely harder than the Singapore 3B and 4A chapters, similar to the level of the 3B & 4A IP books or the 5A text. A few of the problems were beyond anything found even in the 5A IP books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 No one really knows for sure, but I'd guess (based on their higher level books) that it will be deeper than anything else out there, though comparing difficulty level due to depth is different from comparing difficulty level due to scope-and-sequence. This post from Crimson Wife might help, from the BA thread on the other board: Thanks. I did see that thread and read through it. I think part of my problem is I'm only using Singapore for CWP so I'm not very familiar with the scope and sequence for each level of of the regular curriculum and most of the threads I'm reading make comparisons using Singapore. Math has been one subject where we've only changed our spine once and I'm happy with it so I haven't spent a lot of time looking at other stuff. This kind of handicaps me when reading all the threads because I have no idea what MM, MEP, Right Start, etc cover in each level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 :drool5:Can't wait. Are you considering it more of a fun supplement or are you thinking your girls will learn a lot of new material using it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Are you considering it more of a fun supplement or are you thinking your girls will learn a lot of new material using it? Dd7 will learn new content. Dd8 will love the review. Did you see the new samples on FB this morning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Dd7 will learn new content. Dd8 will love the review. Did you see the new samples on FB this morning? I did and that's what prompted my question. My impression was that what I've seen so far is interesting but I'm not sure dd would be getting a lot of new content. The presentation is great and she will appreciate the format so we'll probably buy it anyway. I also like the way the problems are presented. I'm a sucker for cool stuff.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I thought it was funny; I was considering buying it as review for my son, since he is blitzing through Singapore so fast. I figured since he is loving the silliness of LoF so much, he would eat it up. I showed him the samples from the website this morning, and he revolted, unequivocably. "MOM! How could anybody even learn anything from that nasty stuff??? Those guys just look like stupid space aliens, and there is too much going on with all those colors on the page and the talk balloons everywhere . . . I could never concentrate on the math in that book!" I was shocked-- he loves the "scattered" approach of looking at and reading all the pictures in the Usborne encyclopedia, he is enjoying one of the Time Traveler's books about medieval history, and as noted, he loves the silly Fred stories and is actually learning math in Fred. But he had a nearly physical reaction against the BA samples. I thought they'd be a shoe-in for him. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks. I did see that thread and read through it. I think part of my problem is I'm only using Singapore for CWP so I'm not very familiar with the scope and sequence for each level of of the regular curriculum and most of the threads I'm reading make comparisons using Singapore. Math has been one subject where we've only changed our spine once and I'm happy with it so I haven't spent a lot of time looking at other stuff. This kind of handicaps me when reading all the threads because I have no idea what MM, MEP, Right Start, etc cover in each level. I think that by and large, the scope-and-sequences will be similar - for example, I believe that Maria Miller was in the process of re-aligning the curriculum to the "Common Core" standards, which she said would not involve a lot of changes, and mostly at the 6th grade level. AoPS has said that Beast Academy will also conform to the Common Core standards. SM (keeping in mind that there are two different editions) has a slightly different scope and sequence than MM, but not hugely different. The difference with AoPS, as far as I can guess, will be depth of learning mathematical concepts. Curricula can differ from each other a lot with regard to depth, and my guess is that AoPS will be at one end of the continuum, with MM and SM (in its various forms) leaning toward the deeper end but not quite that far over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I thought it was funny; I was considering buying it as review for my son, since he is blitzing through Singapore so fast. I figured since he is loving the silliness of LoF so much, he would eat it up. I showed him the samples from the website this morning, and he revolted, unequivocably. "MOM! How could anybody even learn anything from that nasty stuff??? Those guys just look like stupid space aliens, and there is too much going on with all those colors on the page and the talk balloons everywhere . . . I could never concentrate on the math in that book!" I was shocked-- he loves the "scattered" approach of looking at and reading all the pictures in the Usborne encyclopedia, he is enjoying one of the Time Traveler's books about medieval history, and as noted, he loves the silly Fred stories and is actually learning math in Fred. But he had a nearly physical reaction against the BA samples. I thought they'd be a shoe-in for him. Go figure. FWIW, we received the sample chapter whenever that was - last summer or last fall - and my then-ds8s did not like the looks of it either. My ds5, however, is interested, LOL, so one of my comments to the BA people was the issue of appealing to a particular age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I also received the sample last fall. My math struggling daughter loved it and worked hard on even the most challenging problems. I'll have to be careful to go at her pace, but she was learning great concepts. My older boys also loved it and even picked up a few new ideas. I've used SM for years and use AoPS with my oldest. I found the teaching (of the sample) to be better than SM, though the format might be distracting to some. I thought the challenging problems were tough, but followed more logically than some of the SM challenging word problems. I am very excited to buy Beast Academy soon for my daughter, and I'll have my older boys read it for "fun". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Just looking at the posted samples, I'd say that it looks right for my kid who just started MEP 3a. She's already done multiplication and division, but I think that a fresh, novel presentation will only strengthen her understanding. Some of the examples of "challenge problems" given in other threads by people who saw the sample chapter make me think that we are going to have our brains stretched inside out by parts of the curriculum. That's what I want. I want hard and fun. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Just looking at the posted samples, I'd say that it looks right for my kid who just started MEP 3a. She's already done multiplication and division, but I think that a fresh, novel presentation will only strengthen her understanding. Some of the examples of "challenge problems" given in other threads by people who saw the sample chapter make me think that we are going to have our brains stretched inside out by parts of the curriculum. That's what I want. I want hard and fun. :D :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I thought it was funny; I was considering buying it as review for my son, since he is blitzing through Singapore so fast. I figured since he is loving the silliness of LoF so much, he would eat it up. I showed him the samples from the website this morning, and he revolted, unequivocably. "MOM! How could anybody even learn anything from that nasty stuff??? Those guys just look like stupid space aliens, and there is too much going on with all those colors on the page and the talk balloons everywhere . . . I could never concentrate on the math in that book!" I was shocked-- he loves the "scattered" approach of looking at and reading all the pictures in the Usborne encyclopedia, he is enjoying one of the Time Traveler's books about medieval history, and as noted, he loves the silly Fred stories and is actually learning math in Fred. But he had a nearly physical reaction against the BA samples. I thought they'd be a shoe-in for him. Go figure. The textbook is the one in comic-book format while the workbook is B & W, straightforward problems. My kids liked the sample chapter in the textbook but if it's expensive (which it probably will be since it's full-color) and the workbooks are available separately, I'll probably just get those since DS would be using them as a supplement to Singapore. I'm not all that familiar with MUS, so I can't comment on how it compares to BA. MUS has the reputation of being one of the easier math programs, so it wouldn't surprise me if BA would still be worthwhile for a student who has been introduced to the topics via MUS. But that's just speculation on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Some of the examples of "challenge problems" given in other threads by people who saw the sample chapter make me think that we are going to have our brains stretched inside out by parts of the curriculum. I went back and found the quote I meant. This is from boscopup: They show pentiamonds with perimeter of 7 and have the kid add a pentiamond of the same shape to make the perimeter 10, then 8. Eight regular heptagons with side length 1 are attached a certain way (not shown, but they showed how to attach 2 and 3 earlier on the page). What is the perimeter of the shape they create? A 3x5 rectangle is shown. Find a way to split the shape into 3 polygons so that all there have the same perimeter, but each has a different area. This is what makes me think that the problems posted to the FB page aren't even beginning to scratch the surface of what will be taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nov05mama Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Just looking at the posted samples, I'd say that it looks right for my kid who just started MEP 3a. She's already done multiplication and division, but I think that a fresh, novel presentation will only strengthen her understanding. Some of the examples of "challenge problems" given in other threads by people who saw the sample chapter make me think that we are going to have our brains stretched inside out by parts of the curriculum. That's what I want. I want hard and fun. :D :iagree: DS will be starting Singapore 3A in just a few short weeks, and we won't start BA until August (when he will be in Singapore 3B/4A, so I am hoping it will be perfect timing. I want it to be a bit more challenging than Singapore for sure, but still fun. DS has looked over all the samples on FB and has really liked them. My main concern is the price at this point... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Here is another example from the sample chapter: "Rectangles with areas of 3, 10, and 12 squares can be arranged to form a square. What is the perimeter of the square?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm wondering if there will be a PRAYER of being able to afford BA as a "Review" math curriculum? I want it for me, even if it IS all review for DD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Personally, I'm hopeful! We have plans to do MEP Y2 and then hop to BA. Just looking at the posted samples, I'd say that it looks right for my kid who just started MEP 3a. She's already done multiplication and division, but I think that a fresh, novel presentation will only strengthen her understanding. Some of the examples of "challenge problems" given in other threads by people who saw the sample chapter make me think that we are going to have our brains stretched inside out by parts of the curriculum. That's what I want. I want hard and fun. :D Rivka, I've got my eye on you and your daughter as it seems like Abby is a year behind Alex. It will be interesting to see how BA works out for you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Thanks for all the replies. I was in a conference all afternoon so I just now logged back in. The problems posted from the sample chapter recipients seem more interesting and challenging than what has been on facebook so far. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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