Which Math?

[5 Hikers]

Is MM or Singapore better? For a child who gets math and flies through it quickly what do you think?

 

I have asked this lots of times, I just cannot make up my mind.

 

I am going to use Saxon with my oldest, but it is way too slow for ds7. I have Beast Academy, but wondered if I should use it as a supplement and add a program.

[Jay3fer]

No experience with either, but I recommend you try the MM free sample pages, because they are easy to download and could help you make the decision for yourself.

[Element]

My ds love Singapore, but I'm going to do MM with my dd next year because she gets totally stressed out by the workbook/textbook combo for some crazy reason. I think there is more work in MM, but since it's on one or two pages it doesn't bother her. My ds seems to prefer several pages with just a few problems on each page. Regarding teaching ease, I prefer Singapore because I find the HIGs very helpful. Once dd finishes 2b, I'll probably add BA as a supplement (though I'm not certain about that yet.)

[5 Hikers]

I have MM Grade 4, plus I have several topics on pdf like: measuring, clocks, money, addition, place value and division.

 

 

I just wondered why so many people go with SM and not many talk about MM?

[Element]

I just wondered why so many people go with SM and not many talk about MM?

 

 

I really needed a guide, so Singapore was a good fit for me. Since I've now taught math "the Singapore way" I feel more confident using another program with my younger child. One other thing I would suggest is adding Singapore's Challenging Word Problems (CWP) in with MM.

[Dassah]

I think both are fairly comparable. I would look at examples of both and choose based on your comfort level with the layout. I preferred Singapore because it was less full/busy on each page. My one child that "gets" math quicker didn't need as many problems per topic so Singapore fit her better. I really think it's personal preference.

[Ray]

<sniped>

 

 

I just wondered why so many people go with SM and not many talk about MM?

 

 

At a different time MM talk was predominate at other times its Rightstart. Other times its MEP or MUS or CLE or ...

Yes Singapore is better but only the U.S. Version;) Ok, I don't really know that about the version or between brands, but I am glad there are many choices..

[Bloggermom]

Have you taken a look at Teaching Textbooks? It is our favorite math program.

[gevs4him]

MM has been a blessing at our house :)

[lea1]

We started with SM but I didn't enjoy figuring out how to teach it, even though I had the TM's, and I would be looking through it all the night before, trying to figure out the best way to present it. I find MM effortless to teach and I don't have to prepare or even look at it beforehand. My sons like both but I think MM is more their speed. It does have more problems on a page but you don't have to assign them all, if they are getting it pretty easily.

[5 Hikers]

We started with SM but I didn't enjoy figuring out how to teach it, even though I had the TM's, and I would be looking through it all the night before, trying to figure out the best way to present it. I find MM effortless to teach and I don't have to prepare or even look at it beforehand. My sons like both but I think MM is more their speed. It does have more problems on a page but you don't have to assign them all, if they are getting it pretty easily.

 

Thanks, this is good to know.

 

I am very comfortable with math so I don't need explanations, but I would like some idea of how to break down lessons for the year and I would like drill sheets.

[5 Hikers]

I gave ds7 the placement test for TT and he would start in TT5 for August based on that. I just feel TT is behind and cannot go there. Also, I have to adjust some things because he is dyslexic and is behind in reading. He just is at a beginning 2nd grade level now and he is supposed to be at the end of 2nd grade.

 

He has a lot of trouble with all the calendar math.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I had Miss P do the placements for both MM and Singapore when we started; she scored exactly the same on the two, missing the same kinds of problems, and so placed the same. I ended up going with MM because I liked the idea of a single worktext rather than multiple books (we were coming out of ps and wanted math to *not* look like it did there). We have been absolutely delighted with MM, and it is very economical too.

[Aurelia]

If he's really good at math, I'd go with Singapore and do the Intensive Practice books instead of the regular textbook/workbook combo. He'll have more challenge that way. You can add the CWP books for extra brain stretching.

 

That said, I opted to go with MM because I couldn't handle the combo of 2 HIGs, 2 textbooks, and 2 workbooks for a single year, plus additional workbooks to flesh it out. With MM I have 2 worktexts and an answer key I never use and shouldn't bother printing.

[5 Hikers]

If he's really good at math, I'd go with Singapore and do the Intensive Practice books instead of the regular textbook/workbook combo. He'll have more challenge that way. You can add the CWP books for extra brain stretching.

 

That said, I opted to go with MM because I couldn't handle the combo of 2 HIGs, 2 textbooks, and 2 workbooks for a single year, plus additional workbooks to flesh it out. With MM I have 2 worktexts and an answer key I never use and shouldn't bother printing.

 

 

Thanks, I think. This is why I cannot decide between the 2. I think I am going to go with MM3 and let him fly through it since I already own Grade4 I won't have to buy anything in January.

[abacus2]

We tried Singapore for one semester and switched to Math Mammoth, which we have been using for about a year and a half. Math Mammoth is a much better fit for us. DD understands the MM explanations, and I LOVE the fact that everything needed is in one book.

[Veritaserum]

I've never done Singapore, but I love MM. The reason I've never tried Singapore is that the multiple books intimidate/confuse me. I love worktext format of MM.

[boscopup]

I've used both for an accelerated math student, and I like both. :D

 

We started out with MM and did grades 1-4. We stopped partway through MM4B, after learning long division (SM does that in 3A), then we switched over to SM 4A. We're partway through 4B now, alternating with BA. I have 5A/5B waiting in the wings.

 

MM Pros:

- All one worktext, so easy to teach and use

- The math is solid, conceptual, and reasonably challenging... has mental math and teaches the bar model method of doing word problems.

- It's cheap, which is especially nice if you're trying to find where your child is in math.

 

MM Cons:

- There are a LOT of problems on the page, so you'll need to cross out about half of them for an accelerated learner.

- The pages are a bit boring looking for the child.

- Sometimes writing space is a bit small for younger kids (though my son did fine with it).

 

SM Pros:

- Good explanations in the HIG.

- Challenging problems in IP/CWP.

- Very kid-friendly presentation.

- Not a lot of problems in one assignment.

- The math is solid, conceptual, and reasonably challenging... has mental math and teaches the bar model method of doing word problems.

 

SM Cons:

- More expensive to fly through.

- Juggling multiple books (this hasn't been the problem I thought it would be though).

 

Note that you can use Singapore's IP and CWP with MM. I did that until we switched over to Singapore full time. My son LOVES Singapore. He was just a bit bored with MM by the grade 4 book. Using IP and CWP helped break things up, and he enjoyed it more that way. I'm glad I used MM to find "where he is", because we used 4 grade levels in a calendar year. That would have been expensive with Singapore. Now we're doing a grade level in probably about 6 months, and that's a bit more reasonable, money-wise. :)

 

Your plan to do MM 3 and 4 sounds like a good one. If you decide to switch to Singapore at some point, after the long division in 4B is a great time. Or if you and your son like MM, stick with it through 6 and go on to prealgebra or algebra.

[boscopup]

He has a lot of trouble with all the calendar math.

 

You may need to skip the calendar stuff in MM for a bit, or only do a little tiny bit at a time. It gets tedious in that section. I remember doing the time/calendar portion of MM4 and thinking, "Ugh! Another problem like this?!?!?" where it was having you slog through calculating number of days from one date to another. We usually didn't have problems with time/calendar stuff, but that section was just horribly tedious. We both hated it.

 

Her clock stuff is usually fairly advanced also. I know many complained about the clock chapter in the 2nd grade book, where their kids just could.not.get.it, but the next year they had no problem. So if that happens, don't fret. Skip it and come back to it later, or just do a problem here and there rather than slogging through it all at once. :)