AoPS pre-algebra vs. SM5 ...

[serendipitous journey]

... this is for Button, who isn't the fastest writer but is perfectly WILLING to show his work. He can do the AoPS pre-algebra placement test, and we're about to wrap up SM 4B; he is extremely good with math concepts.

 

I'll probably do the AoPS pre-A sooner or later with him, so could purchase the next round of SM and also the AoPS book; but I'm trying to spend carefully. Ideas? ... and thanks!

[Arcadia]

I'll skip SM5 & 6 in your case. I bought SM5 & 6 because my younger would need them anyway and also as revision for STAR testing.

[Halcyon]

Unsure what you are asking, but we started Aops after (almost)being finished with MM5b.....we actuallymDID dip our toe imto aops after 4b but he just wasnt mentally ready to handle it.

 

He is ready now. We will continue with mm, however, covering any topics i feel he needs more work on, while doing aops.

[Beth in SW WA]

... this is for Button, who isn't the fastest writer but is perfectly WILLING to show his work. He can do the AoPS pre-algebra placement test, and we're about to wrap up SM 4B;

 

Dd was 8 when she 'passed' the aops prealg placement. Regardless, it wasn't a good fit. Too wordy for all involved. It was a little too slow/deep for what we wanted at the time. I used sections of the prealg text (and videos) as supplement to our other resources. No 'discovery' here...yet it worked fine for my goals. Now dd9 is using sections of the aops intro to alg text and the videos as supplement to her other alg materials. Ds used the calc book as a supplement to his summer calc class. I love RR and the folks at aops. Dd8 is enjoying Beast.

 

I look forward to hearing how it goes with Button. :)

 

ETA: As to your original question....I wouldn't skip SM5.

Edited September 22, 2012 by Beth in SW WA

[serendipitous journey]

Thank you to everybody.

 

Perhaps it's obvious that I don't know what I'm asking?

 

Button, who just turned 7, loves THINKING about math and numbers. So I was considering jumping him into AoPS pre-A and taking it slowly. He likes Singapore OK but never does it for fun; MEP is too hard for me to accelerate him in; he's not a Primary Challenge Math kind of fellow; he's so so good at math, I'd like it to be fun for him to think about in his curriculum as well as for the ideas his father and I throw out, or that he otherwise stumbles across. I saw a comment by Regentrude somewhere that the AoPS author obviously is passionate about the subject and this comes across. So I thought it might be a good level for him, thinking-wise.

 

Looking at the posts, and given Button's age, I think we're better off doing SM5 and maybe 6; and either doing AoPS PreA after SM5 or dipping into it in a sort of parallel way. Probably, for the budget, I'll get SM5 first and AoPS in a month or two.

 

ETA -- given his varied math education, finishing SM4B is surely an underestimate of where he is; but how far off, I don't know. He hasn't mastered everything in the SM books but there are swathes we slide right through, and bits that catch us up for a while. His average pace has been 3 years curriculum/year of study, thrown off by a jump from MUS to SM via MEP and a lost semester or so during that time. At any rate, that's why I thought maybe AoPS PreA even though most folks would do SM5 first. Of course now b/c of the helpful replies I think we'll throw in our lot with "most folks" on this one!

Edited September 22, 2012 by serendipitous journey

[Julie of KY]

You might look at some of Zacarro's books for accelerated upper elementary. They are good at giving kids something to think about.

[wapiti]

I think you are right to do SM 5 first.

 

He could also play around on Alcumus a bit. Set it to "Follow the Book" for prealgebra, and the early topics should be within his grasp.

 

Also, don't forget about about the videos - a lot of enthusiasm there :)

[serendipitous journey]

You might look at some of Zacarro's books for accelerated upper elementary. They are good at giving kids something to think about.

 

He doesn't enjoy Zacarro. I think maybe he gets it from me -- sort of genetically, not b/c I spread a bad attitude: the Zacarro problems feel somewhat tedious to me. He likes thinking about patterns, how infinity and zero behave, things like that ... the Zacarro we have seen just feels to him like a.lot.of.work. But, I realize I haven't looked at the upper elementary books ... I'll look into those.

I think you are right to do SM 5 first.

 

He could also play around on Alcumus a bit. Set it to "Follow the Book" for prealgebra, and the early topics should be within his grasp.

 

Also, don't forget about about the videos - a lot of enthusiasm there :)

 

I'd not thought to play w/Alcumus or look at the videos .. can this be done usefully & easily w/o the text? -- thanks for that idea.

 

and really, so many thanks for these thoughts. I'm so grateful for all y'all. :)

Edited September 22, 2012 by serendipitous journey

[jennynd]

From what u said, I am not sure AOPS will be a good fit. AOps is ver much aligh with SM IP/CWP and Zacarro in turns of style of questions. If he does not enjoy the pervious 3, I think we will not enjoy AOPS

[serendipitous journey]

From what u said, I am not sure AOPS will be a good fit. AOps is ver much aligh with SM IP/CWP and Zacarro in turns of style of questions. If he does not enjoy the pervious 3, I think we will not enjoy AOPS

 

really? I had high hopes b/c the excerpt mentioned that the student would be learning _why_ (6) x (-5) = -30, for instance. That seemed right up his alley. The CWP problems don't feel to me like they are inherently mathematically interesting, but they are arithmetically complex (and I do believe they build important arithmetic/computational skill and good computational sense/intuition).

[wapiti]

I'd not thought to play w/Alcumus or look at the videos .. can this be done usefully & easily w/o the text?

 

It might be fun, though eventually he would hit a point where he wouldn't be able to progress much further without instruction. That's ok - there's still some basic arithmetic, fractions and decimals that he may enjoy. If Alcumus is not fun at all, you might as well put off AoPS for a few years.

 

My ds9's favorite video last year (when his sister was using the book) was this one. He's coming along better than I thought he would, coming to the end of ch 2. Learning to write things out systematically is important and that's going shockingly better for him than it did for dd so far, knock on wood :tongue_smilie:

[jennynd]

CWP problems don't feel to me like they are inherently mathematically interesting, but they are arithmetically complex (and I do believe they build important arithmetic/computational skill and good computational sense/intuition).

Really? I guess different kids see math different. I didn't think CWP are overly arithmetic complicated . Ds thought it was brain teaser more than anything else. Well, it sure won't hurt to get a book and try it out, but RR did suggested SM before AOPS .. For a good reason.

[serendipitous journey]

Really? I guess different kids see math different. I didn't think CWP are overly arithmetic complicated . Ds thought it was brain teaser more than anything else. Well, it sure won't hurt to get a book and try it out, but RR did suggested SM before AOPS .. For a good reason.

 

hmmm, I may not be saying it right. I don't think they are overly-complicated; "brain-teaser" may be right. Button doesn't love those style brain teasers. He likes MEP problems much better, and books "See Inside Math" are just plain fun for him ...

[crazyforlatin]

Just to give a different perspective, I've been using Pre-A with DD, who also just turned 7. Apparently, it's not wordy for her, maybe due to her strong language orientation. When I flipped through the book, my jaws dropped looking at how many words there are. I do read it aloud with her. She does a couple of problems each day, and then we go over the solutions. We haven't had the chance to look at the videos yet. However, she's also using SM 5, at a rapid pace. I'm extremely pleased with the way SM teaches decimals, so I don't think I would have skipped 5. As it is, I should be buying SM6 right now, and haven't, and that's bothersome to me.

 

I'm not sure how to put this - DD is not as good in math as some of the kids on this board. I can't describe DD what you said about Button. But this type of math is exciting for her. It reminds her of Beast, and in fact, she noticed Lizzie holding Pre-A in one of the textbooks, so she thinks this is Beast and being all of 7, wondered why the author left out the characters. We're only in Chapter 1, so that's not as much experience there for you.

 

I'm pleased we started Pre-A because it gives me a chance to stop buying supplemental math books....for awhile.

[serendipitous journey]

I'll skip SM5 & 6 in your case. I bought SM5 & 6 because my younger would need them anyway and also as revision for STAR testing.

 

Arcadia, for some reason I didn't read this properly the first time through ... hmmm ... I'll prob. need 5 & 6 for #2, too, but we write in the textbooks so it doesn't really carry forward; but if I don't use them of course it would ...

 

Just to give a different perspective, I've been using Pre-A with DD, who also just turned 7. Apparently, it's not wordy for her, maybe due to her strong language orientation. When I flipped through the book, my jaws dropped looking at how many words there are. I do read it aloud with her. She does a couple of problems each day, and then we go over the solutions. We haven't had the chance to look at the videos yet. However, she's also using SM 5, at a rapid pace. I'm extremely pleased with the way SM teaches decimals, so I don't think I would have skipped 5. As it is, I should be buying SM6 right now, and haven't, and that's bothersome to me.

...

I'm pleased we started Pre-A because it gives me a chance to stop buying supplemental math books....for awhile.

 

Thanks for that perspective! This is sort of what I'd thought of, in doing them parallel; it is good to know it is working, and she enjoys it. Button hasn't got an esp. strong language orientation, but he's good with language and used to hearing complex things, so maybe this will suit us too. OK: maybe a plan of 5A and pre-A. - your point about supplemental math is also excellent! I'm feeling a bit sad b/c supplemental math has fallen by the wayside at the moment. this would solve _that_ problem ...

[Grover]

 

I'd not thought to play w/Alcumus or look at the videos .. can this be done usefully & easily w/o the text?

 

this is what I've been doing with my young math brain whom I'm not sure about giving AOPS in book form yet. He loves it and if he hits a concept that's new we do a quick talk about it - that's all he's needed thus far to keep pottering through.

[Mukmuk]

Putting in another word for Alcumus. It follows the same approach as the textbook- learning by problem solving. We do track with the book though. There is a point system (XPs) that adds some bells and whistles. My son just loves!

[lewelma]

Let me give you some background before I give you advice. At age 6.5, my ds surprised me when he solved 2x -6 = 5x - 12. He told me you "just subtract the 2x and then move the 12 and the answer is 2." We had never done any algebra. He finished all the IP and CWP in SM5, and 1 month after his 9th birthday, started AoPS intro algebra *independently* (There was no preA back then). This was not a very smooth transition, but he was *very* persistent, but that is a different story. Intro Algebra took him 2.5 years, but he did it completely independently including all the challengers. Another thing that might interest you is that I did 6 years of mathematical/scientific research in population dynamics, so I have been in the real world. I tell you all this so that you can evaluate my advice. ;)

 

I would suggest that the "best" way to use AoPS is to use it as written. This means the discovery approach and with the student working independently and using the text as a teacher. I don't want to get into an argument because I know that there are a lot of people using it in other ways including direct teaching (which I am likely to do with my younger who is not as mathy). However, given that your student is an incredibly strong math student, he would benefit greatly by the struggle, confusion, and frustration that goes along with using AoPS as written. Real mathematical problems (I mean in the real world as a job) are never clearly written, and are not laid out so that the approach is obvious. People in math related jobs try many different approaches before finding one that works. In fact, I have spent more than 3 months going down the wrong mathematical path, and eventually had to give up and try a new approach. I have had to get 6 math textbooks out of the library, lay them out on the floor all turned to the same topic, and read and compare all the different descriptions to try to understand. I have struggled my way through nonlinear probabilistic chaos papers in Economics journals hoping that I could apply the ideas to ecological systems. I fought for every mathematical equation that I ever published. This is reality, and this is what using AoPS as written will teach your child to do.

 

My point: I would be careful of starting the AoPS sequence too early, because your ds will not have the verbal skills to work through the books independently. He can learn the material with your help and guidance, but then you lose half of what the program is teaching. It teaches math but also it teaching the true process of doing math.

 

Given his strong skills I would suggest you do all the hardest problems in SM5 IP and CWP, and then switch to PreA. Start by helping, but by the second half of the book see if he can work through the book independently. Slow him down by making him do ALL the challengers. If he cannot do a challenger, then tell him to think about it and come back to it tomorrow. Make him struggle and fight for every answer. It seems like a waste of time compared to just teaching him the material, but you are after the true process, not just the math. After struggling through the entire Intro Algebra book by himself over 2.5 years, my son is now so good at problem solving that he has quit doing the review problems at the end of the chapter and is only doing the challengers. And geometry is supposed to be the hardest of the intro books. The AoPS way works! Don't short change it by starting too early.

 

HTH,

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited September 22, 2012 by lewelma

[Dmmetler]

I chose to go to LoF/Key to Algebra before AOPS pre-algebra in a similar situation (I did make DD accelerate through SM 5 and go through a few sections that she hadn't previously seen/done simply because we had the books and I didn't want to start pre-Algebra in April of last year since we do a traditional school year). DD easily handled the AOPS pre-test, but I felt that she wasn't ready for the concerted effort and frustration tolerance AOPS really wants, and that it was a good enough program that she'd still get the benefit of it in a year or two. The workbook format of Key to Algebra is good for her because it limits the writing, and LoF is giving her practice at transferring work over with small problem sets.

 

I know AOPS is great, but I don't think it's necessarily the best step to jump to for very young mathy kids who want something beyond arithmetic-I figure it will be a great fit for her when she gets a little older and has the stamina and needs the problem solving practice. Based on BA, I don't think the math content being "below" her is going to be a bar at all to the problems being challenging, and she's got LOTS of time.

[serendipitous journey]

Ruth, thank you for taking the time to reply so thoughtfully and honestly. Your points strike home, given the math aptitudes of this child: we are thinking he may be a serious math talent & math lover, and I'd love to structure his education to bring this out. Your idea of using the PreA book to switch him over to AoPS-style problem solving, after working through SM5 & CWP & IP, seems just the thing. Especially I am grateful about the heads-up RE feeling like letting him struggle though is "wasting time". That is a worry I have! but I do know that the long way 'round is often the shortest way home, particularly in areas like these where we are building up mental infrastructure.

 

I think the idea of infrastructure will help me!! I totally believe in infrastructure for development.

 

Wendy: your heads-up RE the dryness will help me hold my horses. :)

 

dmmetler: Thanks for sharing what you've evolved into. The LOF/Key to might be good for us post-SM5; I've let LoF sort of drop lately, and it would be good to pick up. Button also needs some time to grow into patience & sustained effort & more frustration tolerance, before hitting the AoPS mainstream! Also, Button does not LOVE doing his math work. He will persist with some troublesome problems, but he is the most-accelerated child I know of who neither has an obsessive mama nor a love of doing his math work (in our case, he becomes A Total Little Twerp -- I say this with all love for my darling son -- if he doesn't do chunks of math regularly).

 

With the general tenor of this thread, and the specific advice given, I will move us into SM5 and plan to do CWP/IP before moving on from there. We'll pick LoF up again; look at Alcumus and the videos this fall or early winter; and then I'll plan to start AoPS pre-A between now and the early spring, and to transition Button to working pretty independently by the end of it. That should keep us busy!

 

For the benefit of Future Readers looking at math options: I myself also want to work through, with Button,

* Mathematics for the Million (a math book with a Socialist slant, I should warn -- I admire the author's goals and fervor for equality, but this will be offputting to some; and it's a very idiosyncratic book, I've linked the original which I prefer but there are updated versions too) ; and maybe to tackle

* What is Mathematics? which I think we can use periodically over several years, though we might substitute another book in the event; and

* Russian Math 6 looks very very neat, but I'm not sure if is the best use of our supplemental time.

I can see picking up AoPS preA before we're through with the SM5 sequence, and then picking up a supplemental math text when we finish SM5 and are rolling along with preA (or jolting along with it, whichever); and having Life of Fred once a week throughout.

Edited September 22, 2012 by serendipitous journey

[boscopup]

Lwelma, thanks for your thorough comments!

 

I too have a kid heading to prealgebra soon. We're cruising through SM5A and LoF Fractions, with LoF D/P here ready to do soon. I'm working through AoPS prealgebra myself right now and have introduced some concepts to DS already. I think LoF will be a good bridge to AoPS because it is independent and requires some thinking.

 

My plan right now is to finish SM5A and B plus challenge sections of IP and CWP, plus finish LoF D/P and maybe start LoF prealgebra 1. Then next year in 4th grade we'll try AoPS prealgebra. He'll be 9. I know he could not have handled it at 7. No way no how. This year at 8, I've seen a huge jump in independence. I don't think he's quite ready for AoPS right now, but 9 months from now, I think he will be. And I plan to let him take as long as he needs to to finish the book. If it takes 2 years, fine.

 

I also have alternatives lined up in case AoPS is a bad fit. We'll see. Jacob's Algebra is my second choice, though I'd probably do more LoF prealgebra before starting that.

[serendipitous journey]

Lwelma, thanks for your thorough comments!

 

I too have a kid heading to prealgebra soon. We're cruising through SM5A and LoF Fractions, with LoF D/P here ready to do soon. I'm working through AoPS prealgebra myself right now and have introduced some concepts to DS already. I think LoF will be a good bridge to AoPS because it is independent and requires some thinking.

 

May I ask when you started having the child do LoF independently? I've set it aside, and plan to pick it back up soon (we're in Fractions), and we're doing it as a read-aloud.

[Arcadia]

OK: maybe a plan of 5A and pre-A..

 

My 7 year old did Chapter 1, 3, 4, 10, 11 in summer for fun with SM 5A/B. My 6 year old did chapter 10, 11 for fun as he is interested in geometry. The pre-algebra book is more wordy than SM but still enough white space for my boys.

 

Interestingly my kids thought challenge math too wordy and did not like the LOF samples.

 

The library near me have the full collection of AOPs books though and the library is on the link+ system. You might want to check if your library has a copy of the pre-algebra.

[boscopup]

May I ask when you started having the child do LoF independently? I've set it aside, and plan to pick it back up soon (we're in Fractions), and we're doing it as a read-aloud.

 

I had him use it independently the first day we bought it. Fractions and up are meant for the student to read.

 

We have two math times - one is our Singapore time. The other is our "extra" time. During that "extra" time, he either does CWP or LoF. Lately, it's been more LoF, since he has momentum. He's on the bridge to chapter 25 right now and typically does a chapter or bridge per day.

 

I'm using the elementary series with DS2. That's a read-aloud. Though DS1 reads that one too, of course. ;)

[Dmmetler]

DD does LoF completely independently for everything but checking the bridges-I require that she bring those to me and let me check them. That's why I think it's a good transition for her into more secondary math, because, for the most part, in SM she was doing the lessons with me, and then doing only the practice problems independently. In LoF, she's reading it and doing it independently, and tending to go to Khan if she needs help on a concept.

[boscopup]

DD does LoF completely independently for everything but checking the bridges-I require that she bring those to me and let me check them. That's why I think it's a good transition for her into more secondary math, because, for the most part, in SM she was doing the lessons with me, and then doing only the practice problems independently. In LoF, she's reading it and doing it independently, and tending to go to Khan if she needs help on a concept.

 

:iagree: I was checking the bridges, though the last couple he did, he checked them himself. He is VERY honest though, and has no problem saying he missed 2. I make sure he does the next bridge (on a different day) if he does that. I think we've only had one bridge where he had to do a second try though. He typically knows the material when he gets to the bridge. Fractions are his thing, and they have always come easy to him. :)

[serendipitous journey]

dmmetler & Boscopup: thank you for the perspective on LoF. We started Fractions well before Button was reading well -- he has been well behind the accelerated average in reading for always, b/c he detested being read to for the longest time & was temperamental about being taught -- but now he should be able to finish Fractions on his own, from what you are saying.

 

(WOW, we've been making glacial progress -- I think it has been 6 mos since we picked LoF up!)

[daijobu]

 

My ds9's favorite video last year (when his sister was using the book) was this one. He's coming along better than I thought he would, coming to the end of ch 2. Learning to write things out systematically is important and that's going shockingly better for him than it did for dd so far, knock on wood :tongue_smilie:

 

I LOVE this video. Absolutely brilliant. How many times did he practice to get the timing just right?

[crazyforlatin]

I looked at Pre-A decimals, and for the kids of about 7-8, I really think they should be using SM 5B first and then parallel with Pre-A after a few exercises or just finish up SM5 before thinking about Pre-A. Maybe I just really like the way SM teaches decimals, although one step seems to be missing in the textbook, and it could have been explained in the TM, which unfortunately I don't have.

[StephanieZ]

DD9 was ready for AOPS PreA after SM 5B. She did great with it.

 

But, she had been breezing through math her entire math career, and was still breezing through SM. If she hadn't been completely breezing through SM, I'd have gone ahead and done SM 6, too.

 

I'd recommend doing SM at least through 5B before AOPS. If it is super easy, I have found that SM levels can easily be quickly completed. My kids have often completed a semester of SM in less than 2 months -- in just a few minutes a day.

 

FWIW, I generally only used the SM text & wkbk, so it was very easy to accelerate as needed/wanted. So, if you are using lots of extras with SM, you could streamline it so that you can get through quicker.

 

AOPS does require a lot more independent reading and writing ability than SM (unless you want to do lots of hand holding). So, if your child is young enough for that to be an issue, then that's another reason to stay with SM for a while yet.

[serendipitous journey]

We have converged on a math pattern (for the moment!) and -- though it's hectic here and I haven't time to write this as carefully and thoroughly as I'd like -- I wanted to let y'all know what it is, and get it onto the thread for future forum-trawlers.

 

After SM5 quickly became a flop -- Button HATED it, just too many operations on big numbers, which isn't fun for him at all -- ordered various things and spent a few weeks just doing arithmetic & Key to books, then we've begun alternating Math U See's Algebra with AoPS Prealgebra. For review, a couple Wrap-Up wraps and some SM5 mental math each day. This is working surprisingly well.

 

We are doing about one MUS page (equals an assighment) each day, adapted for Button -- usually just 1/2 the problems. MUS has Honors lessons at the secondary level, and these lessons have Button review his operations and make him think a bit, and are challenging and not too frustrating, so that is very good for us right now.

 

For the Prealgebra, we just work for a while -- about 20 - 30 minutes or so. He is just loving the Prealgebra book! he thinks it is funny! and he is so engaged with the material, so far. I think if we did the AoPS PreA every day it would lose its charm, but alternating with the MUS keeps it feeling a bit fresh to him.

 

This means it will take us about an actual year to finish the MUS book -- we school 6 days/week, about 48 weeeks/year -- which I like in terms of pacing Button out. May take the discovery element out of AoPS algebra, but we figure he can use the discovery method for his post-Algebra maths. ;)

 

and, thank you thank you to everyone who has helped us along our path. okay, the tot's hollering, here I go!!!

 

ETA: I was thinking about posts RE the dryness of AoPS Prealgebra. I agree that the presentation is very math textbooky and can see that it would be dry for many (for example, my own self). But Button really likes thinking about and discussing the different math propositions, and the phrasing is colloquial and fun, so it is a good fit for him. Also I like that the AoPS definitions are sort of like a math version of the MCT grammar -- very plain language, commonsense, yet quite precise: nothing to unlearn later. I've been reading math for years (texts, popular works) and found the AoPS definitions & discussions of "Integer", "non-positive" and "non-negative" to be so so enlightening and useful.

[mathwonk]

I bought both AoPS pre algebra and Jacobs' Elementary Algebra for my granddaughter, and after looking at them today, I second WendyK's remark that AoPS seems dry. One thing that is in short supply in math seems to be a sense of humor. Jacobs has plenty of it, and unless a kid just loves math so much that only the math content matters, I would lean to Jacobs rather than AoPS. To me, AoPS, although very clear and well written, makes it seem more like work, whereas Jacobs makes it seem like play. Both are good, and AoPS begins with a simple but challenging little number puzzle, but Jacobs begins with a cartoon that made me laugh out loud. It may make no difference with a child who is hungering for math, but for one I am trying to convince to dive in, I think Jacobs is definitely an easier sell.

[serendipitous journey]

Thanks, mathwonk. And for some reason I only just noticed Stephanie's comment above, which is very pertinent. We're still mucking about. Button LOVES thinking about the text in AoPS -- he just stops and chats with me periodically about how nubmers behave -- but I think the examples are (for a young student) needlessly complex: things are often demonstrated with numbers in the thousands when something much smaller would do, and at 7 Button just gets slowed down parsing all those digits. I think a good chunk of it is just the development of his visual system & getting fast at reading equations.

 

I can see WendyK's point, though, for sure: it is dry in chunks for us, but then Button hits a concept that gets him off and running.

 

And he does perceive the MUS algebra as totally dry. For the moment we're back in Singapore 5A to keep him engaged in math while I figure things out. He benefits from the practice, but the concepts of 5A are not particularly engaging to him.

 

He does love humor right now -- I'll poke around the web and see if I can peek inside a Jacob's, maybe run the first pages by him. Thank you everybody for your help and esp. your patience!

[boscopup]

I'm on my phone right now (dogs barking in the middle of the night... Ugh!), but go to google books and type in â€Jacobs elementary algebraâ€. There is a hefty sample there.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I bought both AoPS pre algebra and Jacobs' Elementary Algebra for my granddaughter, and after looking at them today, I second WendyK's remark that AoPS seems dry. One thing that is in short supply in math seems to be a sense of humor. Jacobs has plenty of it, and unless a kid just loves math so much that only the math content matters, I would lean to Jacobs rather than AoPS. To me, AoPS, although very clear and well written, makes it seem more like work, whereas Jacobs makes it seem like play. Both are good, and AoPS begins with a simple but challenging little number puzzle, but Jacobs begins with a cartoon that made me laugh out loud. It may make no difference with a child who is hungering for math, but for one I am trying to convince to dive in, I think Jacobs is definitely an easier sell.

 

Thanks so much for this!! I have AoPS, and I know that it is way too wordy and dry for dd at this point. It's too wordy and dry for me - I'm doing my own review via Alcumus & the videos. I reviewed the Jacobs sample, and think it will be a much better fit, and just ordered it, so your post was very reassuring! My dd sounds more like your granddaughter.