Taking the MM plunge

[Lots of boys]

My ds8 has really struggled this year with math. We have bounced from Miquon, SM (2A) to TT3. He dislikes math and so tires of any math quickly. He struggled with the mental math in SM (coming from PS the year before he had a very weak mental math foundation). We have finished the Orange and Red Miquon books and finished TT3.

 

So we are moving forward with Miquon as our summer math program and we are going to try MM and TT (MM 3 to teach the concept, TT 4 to review things) moving forward. I think the variety will keep him more motivated.

 

I just downloaded a few of the units from the dark blue series (primarily at 2nd gr level) to give him some more practive before we move into 3A next year.

 

For those of you that use MM, do you print these in colour? I am from Canada so I love that there are Canadian money units and metric measurement units!! I really hope MM will work for us !! Thanks to everyone who recommended it.

[momma2three]

We're only on the Grade 1 books, but I printed them out in black and white. We're on the last chapter of the first book, and not having color hasn't been an issue yet.

 

I really like it. It's kind of dry, but I think that sometimes gets the job done better than a more complicated curriculum that tries to make math "fun."

[5Wizards]

Hi,

 

I print most of the pages in black and white, but I do print some in color (like money pages). I just print small sections at a time, so I review what I'm printing first and make a decision from there. HTH

[Chrysalis Academy]

We were in a very similar situation to the OP at the beginning of 4th grade, and MM has *completely* fit the bill. I did the same - backed up to earlier levels on the tough mental math stuff that hadn't been taught in ps - but after catching up, we were able to surge ahead, and it is clear that Miss P's math knowledge is deep, solid, and conceptual. I have been thrilled with MM. Good luck!

[Kathryn]

DS does it on the iPad most often, but when I print, I use black and white.

[Lightly Salted]

We love MM - have used Light Blue levels 1-3 so far. Level 1 was no problem in black and white, but there have been some pages in 2 and 3 where color was necessary; if you can do a little printing at a time, you can save by printing mostly in b/w, only color where needed. If you're getting it printed/bound, I might go ahead with color, just in case.

[nansk]

I only print pages in colour where it is really needed.

 

MM is thorough and good for a student who needs lots of practice but it does get dry and same-old after a while.

1. Be willing to skip pages if he has mastered the material.

2. Mix up differerent topics (say, two a week) to keep it interesting.

3. Do Miquon on alternate days to keep it fun and interesting.

 

All the best!

[NatashainDFW]

Color was one of the things that seemed to be important to DS so I guess I will be printing it all in color. The B&W of Singapore drove him to tears.

[desertmum]

I'm taking the plunge too and I will be printing in B&W (as we go) unless colour is absolutely necessary.

 

I switched from SM Early Bird to SM Essential Math because the colour pages in EB were too distracting and ds kept pointing at the pretty balloons and balls, and etc., and not concentrating on the subject. In my case B&W and a bit dry worked better. ;)