Another question for those that use multiple MATH curricula...

[alisoncooks]

For those that are using two complete math programs, how do you do it?

 

Week on, week off (alternating the 2 programs)

Mixing both programs during the school week

1 program as the dominant curriculum, with 1-2 days supplementation from program 2

Completely finish a "grade level" in Program 1, then do a "grade level" in Program B (then repeat w/ next "grade level")

 

I'm trying to wrap my brain around using a possible 2nd curriculum for math this upcoming year and I'd love to hear how you manage it.

[Rosie]

We don't have a set way of doing it, but we do both programs fully (occasionally skipping pages where they know how to do it already). Sometimes we do each one every other day (opposite each other). Sometimes we do one for a few months and then switch to the other for a few months. If we get bored or if the kids get frustrated with one program, we switch to another. Whatever works.

 

For K-2/3 we do Miquon and Singapore. Both programs are equally important to me so I don't view one as a supplement. We don't worry about doing one level per year or anything. We just get done what we get done. As long as they are learning, I'm happy. I don't let the curriculum rule me. This has worked out VERY well for us.

 

For about 3rd on up we will be using Beast Academy along with Singapore CWP and Primary Grade Challenge Math. I view BA as our main and the others as supplements because, well, they are obviously made to be supplements, not complete programs! I may also supplement with either Singapore or Math Mammoth on topics we need more practice with.

 

HTH!

[Cynful]

For our family, I like to choose one mastery type program and one spiral type program. Then we choose one to be our "main" math and the other to be a backup/review type math. This can depend on the child and I recommend choosing the type that works best to be the main math. We currently are using CLE Math as our main math and Singapore as our supplementary math. We do CLE Days 1-4 and Day 5 we work on Singapore. This is just where we are now though and we've changed how we've done it throughout the years.

 

Good luck,

[LMD]

Mostly a mix of these two options:

 

*1 program as the dominant curriculum, with 1-2 days supplementation from program 2

 

*Completely finish a "grade level" in Program 1, then do a "grade level" in Program B (then repeat w/ next "grade level")

 

I do 3 days a week on our main program, 1 or 2 days a week on our other programs. Then when we finish our main program we'll go back and finish off our other programs until we're ready to move on.

 

At the moment we'll do 3 lessons a week with singapore, 1 lesson a week with Miquon, and often 1 lesson with living maths. Once we finish singapore we'll finish up some more of the Miquon level (3 or so times a week), and probably add in review with something else (like MEP 1 day a week) before moving up.

[BakersDozen]

For our family, I like to choose one mastery type program and one spiral type program. Then we choose one to be our "main" math and the other to be a backup/review type math.

This is what we do as well. Singapore is our main program which we spend an hour/day doing. Horizons is our review program that gets 15-20 minutes/day. The dc can skip problems they know how to do or only do a few of a certain set of the Horizons book. Right now my 7yo is testing her way through a Horizons level so she will "complete" the level in about 3 weeks (they all have loved doing this! Great encouragement boosters!).

 

I didn't do this with my first 3 dc and see the difference it has made in my next 3 dc as far as retention and mastery of topics.

[MeganW]

I had a grand plan in the beginning of introducing topics via Miquon, then following up with RightStart. Aligning was a humungous time sucker that didn't last long.

 

Then I tried scheduling 2 days a week with Miquon, 2 with RS, and 1 with MEP. That didn't work either, b/c we are on the road A LOT.

 

My plan after that was to work in RS until we got stuck or to a good stopping point, then switch to Miquon and work in that for a while. Again, didn't work due to being away from home so much.

 

Now, we just do the next thing, without paying any attention to aligning topics. If we are at home, we do RS (b/c it has so many manipulatives and therefore is a pain to take with us). If we are in a therapy office, we do Miquon. (I can tote a Ziploc of rods pretty easily.) MEP lives in the car, and gets pulled out when I need to fill some extra time, but isn't completed as regularly as I would like. This seems to be the system that is working best for us at the moment.

 

I think you are just going to have to try some different things to find out what fits you and is feasible. Do you have the time/inclination to line up the topics? Are your kids strict schedule/plan kind of people? Would they prefer to stick to one thing for a period of time, then switch? Or do they prefer variety, and might like to do a little of each weekly? Are YOU a strict scheduler? Would you prefer to let your kids choose what to do each day, and then just tell them that they can't get a new book until they have finished BOTH of the old? Etc. etc.

[LEK]

We school 4 days per week. We do 2 days of each program most weeks but sometimes it is 3 of one and one of the other.

[Dustybug]

We just started using 2 programs and for now, we're doing one lesson per day from both.

[SilverMoon]

None of the above.

 

I keep a spare around for my oldest for extra practice of particular concepts, or a fresh approach when he gets stuck. The extra one is pulled out spontaneously as needed. He's a kid that needs lots of review to sink concepts home.

 

We also like to break up the monotony with other resources, like Khan Academy, a Zaccaro book, Patty Paper Geometry, Life of Fred, and such. I try to have something to suit each particular kid for "other math" days.

 

For my little ones whom I actively teach math lessons to daily, I like to have an extra practice book around that they can primarily do themselves. That way math doesn't completely get put aside on long trips, busy weeks, grandma visiting, and such. Those are pulled out as needed, and I don't worry about finishing them in a timely manner.

[blondeviolin]

We complete one "semester's" worth of work and then switch programs (between MEP and SM). We save Miquon for breaks for fun math. That's this year, at least, since it's our first year. Doing it this way, we have completed all of SM 1a, MEP 1a and 1b, Miquon Orange and just have a bit of Red and SM 1b to complete.

[yvonne]

We've used Horizons and Singapore since K. I do not try to sync up the topics at all. We do about one lesson of each/day, 5 days/week.

Edited April 29, 2012 by yvonne

[AimeeM]

We use CLE and the Key To series.

We use both daily. She does a full lesson in CLE, a page in Key To Fractions, and a page in Key To Decimals daily.

[ThreeBlessings]

None of the above.

 

I keep a spare around for my oldest for extra practice of particular concepts, or a fresh approach when he gets stuck. The extra one is pulled out spontaneously as needed. He's a kid that needs lots of review to sink concepts home.

 

We also like to break up the monotony with other resources, like Khan Academy, a Zaccaro book, Patty Paper Geometry, Life of Fred, and such. I try to have something to suit each particular kid for "other math" days.

 

For my little ones whom I actively teach math lessons to daily, I like to have an extra practice book around that they can primarily do themselves. That way math doesn't completely get put aside on long trips, busy weeks, grandma visiting, and such. Those are pulled out as needed, and I don't worry about finishing them in a timely manner.

 

Similar to this. I have several resources to dig into if a new approach is needed for a particular topic and sometimes I'll purposefully take a break and use a different curriculum. For the most part I've decided not to try to use more than one curriculum. It's just too time consuming. I have found a good way to add in review that only takes 15 minutes or less a day, with free resources found online. There's a link below in my sig to the blog post about it if you're interested.

[Dinsfamily]

We do a lesson each of Singapore PM and Horizons plus mental math and IP each day, Mon-Thurs. Fridays, we do Miquon, LOF, and Challenge math. Once we finish a whole PM level (A&B), we work through CWP for about a month while finishing Horizons and IP. I don't try to line anything up. Horizons is just for review and the concepts tend to lag behind Singapore. I allow the boys to pick whatever they want to do in Miquon each week.

[serendipitous journey]

We keep changing it a bit as we go along; right now we're on a rough schedule of daily fact drill, alternating Singapore one week and MEP the next, some LoF, Key to Fractions (2 pages) 3-5 times a week.

 

What's helped me is to remind myself often what our actual goals are, and adjust our work to match. If you are using multiple programs I think it helps to focus clearly on what you are wanting from math and keep that in mind. -- for us it is mastery, building a love of the topic, and developing a strong native talent, for instance. Things that don't contribute directly to these ends need to be dropped even if I like them ;) .

[boscopup]

My oldest does Singapore M/W/F and Beast Academy T/Th. I'm trying to slow him down a tad, and this is helping.

 

My middle son will start Singapore 1A this summer. We may throw in MEP now and then for fun, but otherwise I don't plan to use a second program with him yet. He's not flying through math like his brother, and Singapore with C-rods seems to be plenty of practice (I have no doubt that he'll be solid in addition and subtraction facts by the end of 1A with all the games and mental math drill in there).

[Chelli]

We do one lesson from MIF and MEP each day M-Th. On Friday we do 4 pages of Miquon for fun. Right now the lessons in MIF and MEP are short enough that we can do both and it only takes 30 minutes or so, but before too long that will not be true. I'm not sure what I will do then. I would like to keep both programs, but we will see.

[tomandlorih]

I agree with choosing a mastery and a spiral. We are currently doing MUS and TT. We only just started TT a couple of months ago. We have been currently just using them at the same tim.. Whatever she needs to do in each curriculum each week. I plan on this for next year also. I'll take Delta and schedule it out over our year and the same with TT4 and she will do however much each day in both. She also does xtramath for fact practice(but not daily).

[FairProspects]

I think about it as concepts, rather than 2-3 separate programs. For ds 1:

 

First we work on fact practice (currently Addition the Fun Way, soon will add Times Tales).

 

Next we work on our main program (Beast Academy) for 45-60 minutes.

 

Last, ds does a practice sheet from MM on time/money/measurement.

 

On Fridays, when they are available and not taken up by Co-op or a field trip, we do challenge math with either PCM or HOE.

 

For ds 2, he is a serious mover/wiggler and only has the attention span for 1 math. Miquon is perfect for him - deep into concepts in very little amount of time.

Edited April 29, 2012 by FairProspects

[Tanikit]

I do not have a schedule for the programmes I am using - sometimes I will give my DD a choice, some days we do two programmes (if I am with them all day as I work two mornings a week), some days just one. Sometimes if we are enjoying a programme then we will use it for a full week, if it doesn't go down so well then we may switch the next day for a bit. My DD is still very young so I am not worried if it takes us forever to finish anything - we are about halfway through the first Horizons K book, have only done two units in SM 1a and are 2/3s of the way through MEP 1a having started all of them sometime late in February (I think)

[pgr]

We use Singapore as the core program, and DD works on it daily. She also completes an alternating "extra": Miquon, Singapore Intensive Practice, Singapore Challenging Word Problems. In the fall, she was doing Singapore Extra Practice and a second day if Miquon. This spring we swapped that for Beast Academy at her request.

 

I don't assign how much to do, only what to do (e.g. SM and CWP, or SM and BA). She works at her own pace, but is steadily moving forward.

 

Sometimes I've seen she needs reinforcement, and I've looked for the same topic in the "extra".

 

It took us some time (and trial/error), but we found a plan that works for us!

 

:)

[ljswriter]

I've used a primary/supplemental math curriculum approach for a couple of years now. We've tried different programs for both, and I'm about to switch to Math U See for primary and Math Mammoth/Teaching Textbooks as the supplements.

 

I stumbled across this method as the inevitable result of having a DD who is infamous for growing sick of curriculum quickly. Switching up helped delay the inevitable boredom, but I recently discovered a much more useful reason for doing more than one program.

 

Because of her math/reading delays, I'm taking a more intensive approach to lessons than before. Since "table work" is more involved, I don't have time (nor she the attention) to handle both math/reading that way each day. So one day we do reading as "table time", and then I turn her loose on math via computer or worktext. (I alternate so she has a chance to write numbers by hand as well as bump computer skills.) The next day, it's math during table time and reading work independent. The "supplemental" curriculum is specifically chosen for the ability to be worked independently (with me helping as needed).

 

I do really like this approach. As for whether the specific math curricula I've chosen this go-round will do the trick, we'll see.

[alisoncooks]

Because of her math/reading delays, I'm taking a more intensive approach to lessons than before. Since "table work" is more involved, I don't have time (nor she the attention) to handle both math/reading that way each day. So one day we do reading as "table time", and then I turn her loose on math via computer or worktext. (I alternate so she has a chance to write numbers by hand as well as bump computer skills.) The next day, it's math during table time and reading work independent. The "supplemental" curriculum is specifically chosen for the ability to be worked independently (with me helping as needed).

 

That's an interesting approach. I'm doing a similar alternating system with our reading (one-one-one time with me vs. computer reading/workbook). I can see doing this with Math, too.

 

Thanks for giving me something to think about (in so far as how to arrange the 2 programs...) :)

[slackermom]

I think about it as concepts, rather than 2-3 separate programs.

 

I think in terms of concepts as well. We have shelves full of math books that I pull out for lessons as needed or desired. Lots of living math books, and lots of textbooks, plus math and logic games.

 

In general though, right now DD does:

 

60 minutes of TERC Investigations at school every day ("totally boring"),

30-60 minutes of Zaccaro at home twice per week, and extra at school if desired,

30-60 minutes of Beast Academy at home once per week (that will increase in the summer, esp. if 3C is released as scheduled),

60 minutes of math circle at a university once per week (except in the summer),

30 minutes of Khan lessons at school once per week,

30 minutes of firstinmath.com games at home once or twice per week,

5 minutes of math fact quizzes in school once per week.

 

Then we add on whatever other math she needs or wants from the math shelves, for maybe another 60 minutes per week.

[ljswriter]

That's an interesting approach. I'm doing a similar alternating system with our reading (one-one-one time with me vs. computer reading/workbook). I can see doing this with Math, too.

 

Thanks for giving me something to think about (in so far as how to arrange the 2 programs...) :)

 

Sure thing! My only issue right now is that she's at the hate point with her "independent" computer program for reading (Lexia), so I'm letting it lapse when the membership expires at the end of next month. Still looking for a good replacement.