Can you tell me how you implement Singapore math? With IP? CWP?

[melissel]

I've been reading some of the recent threads about Singapore (we're relatively new after moving over from RightStart D), and some things people said started me wondering.

 

How do you implement Singapore in your homeschool? I've been teaching the concepts, then going over the textbook problems, then assigning the associated workbook exercise as independent work. Is this not the best way to do it?

 

Also, my DD9 is math-capable, but I wouldn't call her mathy (e.g., it only took a few lessons for her to master the concept and methodology of long division, and she enjoyed the challenge, but she doesn't want to do MORE of it just for extra practice/fun, IYKWIM). Just learning the concepts and doing the independent workbook portion seem to max her out, mathwise. So I'm also wondering if most of you manage to use the IP and CWP parts? If you do, how do you work them in without derailing your daily lessons and overwhelming your student?

 

TIA!

Edited March 3, 2012 by melissel

[Penelope]

If a concept is very simple for ds9, we skip the workbook and just do the IP.

If it is something completely new to him and he needs more practice, we do the WB and then the IP, either at the time or later as amped-up review.

 

Either way, we work through the CWP book through the course of the year, either one page/day added on to whatever else is done, or sometimes a bunch of pages assigned one day/week (I give him flexibility on which he prefers).

[melissel]

If a concept is very simple for ds9, we skip the workbook and just do the IP.

If it is something completely new to him and he needs more practice, we do the WB and then the IP, either at the time or later as amped-up review.

 

Either way, we work through the CWP book through the course of the year, either one page/day added on to whatever else is done, or sometimes a bunch of pages assigned one day/week (I give him flexibility on which he prefers).

 

So how much time do you spend each day on math, do you think? I feel like we're already spending 45 minutes on math as it is, plus her independent work. I hate to add to that for just one subject *sigh*

[amyrjoy]

I do several programs- Singapore CWP and IP as a supplement. We do those once a week, and actually, my dad goes over those with my kids! LOL! He is a retired Chem teacher but has experience with math too and it's nice to have him do those with the kids. So, I don't pull those books out all the time- actually, not even every week! It's more like 3 xs a month. We are almost through them, though! We have what I think is enough to last til the end of May.

[Dana]

I end up spending an hour or a bit more per day on math. That does count the time on workbook pages or IP work.

 

We use Standards edition and do the textbook together orally. If he gets a problem wrong, I often make him write out work, but much of it he can do aloud.

 

He does the Workbook pages and then I check them.

 

We do CWP and IP on level - a bit behind where we are in the texts.

I sometimes do the supplemental material in the HiG but not always.

 

We move as quickly as we can. Some days it'll just be textbook/workbook material and some days it includes IP and CWP and some days it may just be IP (some of those get tricky!)

 

We do sometimes need extra practice (either in the Extra Practice books or Spectrum workbooks) on a topic.

 

My son is good at math, but he doesn't do extra problems for fun. :lol:

[boscopup]

We do TB/WB daily (I teach from the HIG, go over TB problems orally, then assign the WB pages). Whether we do IP or CWP depends on how much time we've spent on the daily lesson(s). If one lesson takes 45 minutes, then that's probably all we'll do, unless we decide to spend another 15 minutes later in the day to do IP or something. If 2 lessons takes 30 minutes (as happened earlier this week because the topic was something DS was already familiar with), I can add in other stuff (we didn't do IP/CWP this time, as I pulled out LoF Fractions and Zaccaro PCM instead).

 

DS is mathy, so lessons don't take him long. I know I've heard of many people using IP and CWP as "summer math", so that might be an option for you if the TB/WB take up your whole math time (and I think 45 minutes is sufficient for the age, especially if the kid isn't gung ho about math). DS likes IP and CWP better than the regular WB problems because they are more challenging and different. They're not just all "do long division ad nauseum".

 

Also, I don't assign ALL the IP problems. We do about half of them on the pages where there are 2 columns of a type of problem. We do all the Take the Challenge section problems (again, DS is mathy - you don't have to do that if your DD doesn't enjoy them).

[Rosie]

We've gone through 2B in the US edition. I go over the HIG on the weekend to see what's coming up. Then I use ideas from there to teach if I need to, we go over the textbook lesson, and, if there's time, I assign the workbook exercise. Sometimes the workbook will be done the next day. We also did CWP 2 (about 1-3 problems per day) while doing 2A and 2B. At the beginning we did all the problems together, but by the end of the book I had her do only the "challenge" problems and she could do it half the time on her own and needed me the other half. I see now, though, why many people do the CWP a level behind... because 3A looks like it teaches the bar diagram method which we learned on our own through the CWP 2 book!

 

I was planning on switching to Standards edition at 3A (and, in fact, I already own everything for 3A and the 3B-4B textbooks) but we will most likely be switching to Beast Academy and will only use Singapore as a supplement if we need to fill in time between BA books being released. But if I were going to stick with Singapore as our main program I would probably only use the HIGs and texbooks from here on out because there seems to be more practice in the SE textbooks than in the US edition. I would also continue to use the CWP. Every child is different, though, and some may need extra practice with the workbooks.

 

We have the IP for 1B and 2B. I didn't find them all that helpful. The challenge problems were good, but I didn't think it was worth it just for those. But, if my child needed more practice, I'd be more inclined to use the IP than the Extra Practice workbook.

 

I would call my dd8 math-capable, too, and not necessarily mathy. My 6yo I consider mathy, not because she would chose to do math in her spare time but because she sees connections and patterns on her own out of the blue whereas my 8yo has to be specifically taught.

[heart'sjoy]

I've used 3 different methods and may adjust more as each child changes.

Bold is the main work load 30 minutes+/day.

1. Tb and Wb 4/5 times a week. After 4a is complete added in CWP4 one page a day or 2 of challenge problems a day 4 times a week. Needed more work in fractions and decimals and alternated days between IP and Wb. This child I would have easily overwhelmed and had to build up the amount and difficulty slowly.
   
2. Wb 5 times a week. IP 3/4 times a week running about 3 sections or 2/3 of a book behind 4 review. Tb only reviews and occasionally a practice page if needed. After 4a is complete added in CWP4 one page a day or 2 of challenge problems a day 4 times a week.This child needs lost of practice, learns by physically working the problems, needs hard problems to see why a better method/ teacher instruction is needed.
   
3. Tb practice and review pages only, IP 4-5 times a week, Wb reviews only and occasionaly practice pages if needed. After 4A CWP 4 about 3 times a week. This child gets bored easily and needs plenty of challenge. After 4A supplement with Khan Academy.
   

[zoo_keeper]

We combine several programs, with SM as our main program. In total, the girls probably average 45-60 min/day on math. Four days a week, they do their review problems from one program (maybe 10-20 min) and 1 SM wb lesson. The other day is our teacher-intensive day (I WOH so this is the day where I'm home) where we spend a good 2 hours on math - going over the tb to see if there's something new, doing 4-6 pages of IP and 4-6 pages of CWP. We also do LoF Elementary a 2-3 nights each week.

[threedogfarm]

I use the HIG and I go over the textbook with dd but usually ds works out of the workbook on his own. I also do CWP for a change of pace. We have MM to use if a concept needs more work. dd needed it for a few things. I thought that was the most cost effective way to go and it also gave me a different way to present the material when necessary.

 

That being said I did order Life of Fred because I thought ds might enjoy math from a different perspective. Some days he just doesn't want to be faced with a whole series of problems. . .we'll see how that goes.

 

BTW--we went through 1B and 2A this year and are going onto 2B right now. DS is a bit ahead of DD.