Hope in God Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 How does it work? I'm sure I am waaayyy behind the times but I thought it was workbooks that you order and have your kids do. I didn't know there was a story?? And the big question is: Is is fun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 There is a comic book style text with colorful characters, literally and figuratively. There is also a workbook. The kids read pages in the text to learn the concepts, then do the corresponding pages of the workbook. DS9 and DD say it is super fun--sometimes challenging, sometimes frustrating, but always fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 There is a comic book style text with colorful characters, literally and figuratively. There is also a workbook. The kids read pages in the text to learn the concepts, then do the corresponding pages of the workbook. DS9 and DD say it is super fun--sometimes challenging, sometimes frustrating, but always fun. :iagree: The "textbook," which is called the "Guide," is in a colorful comic book format. The Guide introduces the concepts for the lessons in a very engaging (and challenging) way. Typical of the Art of Problem Solving method children are given just enough information in the Guide before being asked to take a congnitive leap and are thrown a creative proplem to solve (if they can). Then, once the children try (and either fail or succeed) the Guide takes them through one or more solutions to the problem. Once the lessons are throughly taught there are problems for the student to solve in the "Practice" book (a workbook). The workbook is not "colorful" (like the Guide) but it has a good array of problems from relatively easy to quite challenging. Even "easy" problems have some sort of "twist" to keep them interesting. We find it to be great fun. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelsi Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 We just ordered it - we don't start school for another few weeks but my 8 yr old sat down and read through the entire guide in one sitting. FTR, he's not one of those kids all excited about school. In fact out of all the new books/curriculum we've been getting in the mail BA is the only one he even opened and looked at. So it is definitely "eye catching" for kids, or at least my kids. I even found my 5 yr old, who is not yet reading, sitting there and going through the guide book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie131 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Looks fun! Is it fairly independent or teacher intensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Looks fun! Is it fairly independent or teacher intensive? That is going to completely depend on your child. With my oldest, I basically just checked his answers and chatted with him occasionally about how cool it was. :lol: With DD, I am guiding her understanding a bit more and sitting with her while she works, at the ready to help. Mostly, I remind her that the starred problems are made to be frustrating on purpose and encourage her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Is this a full program or could it be used as a supplement? I love RS but my 8 yr old does not. ;) I want to continue RS but he wants to do Beast Academy. Would that be too much math? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Is this a full program or could it be used as a supplement? I love RS but my 8 yr old does not. ;) I want to continue RS but he wants to do Beast Academy. Would that be too much math? Too much will depend upon how much the 8 yo in question will view BA as fun vs work. It is not too much for mine because BA became a nighttime, smuggled, undercover read so was in another league from our main curriculum. That said, I think it would be next to impossible to trade RS for BA as your main program because you will quickly get behind. They have only released the first half of 3rd grade and say they will only be able to release one quarter of a year's books every 4 months. So, they say 3C in August, 3D in Dec, then I presume 4A in April, 4B in August. At that pace, it is a no go for keeping kids on grade level. I will keep buying it because DS9 has loved it even though he was already past it when he started. DD is loving it now but will outpace the release dates soon. Maybe there is hope for DS6. I can't bear to do the math to see. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Is this a full program or could it be used as a supplement? I love RS but my 8 yr old does not. ;) I want to continue RS but he wants to do Beast Academy. Would that be too much math? I asked the same question in an email to AOPS and received a reply ...The four levels for grade 3 (3A through 3D) will represent a full 3rd grade curriculum when complete. Level 3C is being printed now (available in 2-3 weeks). 3D will be available around the end of the calendar year. The three chapters of 3A are not primarily arithmetic related, though the skip-counting chapter provides some of the prerequisites for multiplication. Book 3B is much more arithmetic heavy. 3B provides a strong foundation in multiplication with chapters on multiplication, perfect squares, and the distributive property. We include very little addition or subtraction in our books for grade 3 and beyond. We assume a child beginning 3A has a mastery of multi-digit addition and subtraction. Here is a scope and sequence for grade 3 which relates the material in the book to the Common Core State Standards: http://ba-cdn.beastacademy.com/store/products/3G/Grade3ScopeSequence.pdf I am using it as a supplement this year but if we really enjoy it I might use it as the main curriculum and do oral work with a set of old Holt Math books I have. I know my dd thinks they look fun and my ds wanted to know why dd always gets the fun stuff for school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.