Joshin Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I'm musing aloud and hoping some feedback will help me decide where to go from here. DS7 is almost done with the last Miquon book. We probably should have moved on sooner, but both he and I wanted to finish the series. I was thinking of diving into Beast Academy next, but he put the brakes on that. He is very adamant that he doesn't like the cartoons and thinks it makes it look babyish, so there is no point right now forcing something he has already decided he hates. He loves math, he hates repetitiveness. We definitely need something mastery based, not spiral. His preferred way of doing math is to have the workbook and a sample problem. He studies the sample problem and tries to figure out how to do it on his own. He does not enjoy being taught at this point, he says it takes all the fun out of it if someone explains how to do it first. Only if he can't figure out how to do it on his own does he want an explanation. The curriculum doesn't have to have sample problems, it's easy enough at this stage for me to do the first one in a section for him to use. For me, I need something I can buy as a hard copy. While I have looked into MEP, there is just no way I would do all the printing required and I prefer a hard copy over digital copies. It also seems too teacher intensive for his style. I'm considering Singapore, I've heard it is a mastery method and the samples I've looked at don't look too colorful or "babyish." Can you move forward quickly in Singapore easily, and slow down when the child hits a rough patch? He tends to rush forward, devouring new concepts in spurts, then stops and dwells on certain concepts for a few weeks before dashing off again. Saxon is a definite no-go. My older son uses it and loves it, but I know it would drive younger DS crazy. I'll need to do a placement test before ordering. Which Singapore level should I start testing at for someone that has finished Miquon? If you recommend another program, could you please give level advice if you know it? I'm planning to order something in the next week or two so I have it ready when we come back from our winter break in January. Thanks for any insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I'm considering Singapore, I've heard it is a mastery method and the samples I've looked at don't look too colorful or "babyish." Can you move forward quickly in Singapore easily, and slow down when the child hits a rough patch? He tends to rush forward, devouring new concepts in spurts, then stops and dwells on certain concepts for a few weeks before dashing off again. It sounds like Singapore would probably be a good fit. I don't know what level to start at, but you should be able to figure that out easily from the placement test. You can absolutely go as fast or as slow through the program as you need to. It is broken into daily exercises, but on the easy topics, we sometimes do 2 exercises per day or skip exercises and go straight to the practice section in the textbook (grades 4+ have a Practice A, Practice B, etc.... not sure which level that starts, because 1 and I think 2 don't have that, and I haven't seen 3 yet). Once you finish 5th grade math (which may be in the next year), I'd highly recommend AoPS Prealgebra for your son's learning style. It sounds like it would be a perfect fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 If he could get past the comics, Beast Academy would probably be a great fit. My son scoffed at the comics at first, too. We looked at the samples several times and he finally agreed to try it. Singapore would also be a good program. I think the problems in BA are more difficult than the ones in the Singapore textbook/workbook (but that's just my opinion). Two of my kids used Singapore and it's a very solid program. Do a thread search on Miquon and there are threads about where to pick up with Singapore after completing Miquon. I'm just making a guess here, but it's probably around 3B-4A. I usually add in the Singapore Intensive Practice workbook, so my kids have a little more review, more challenging problems, etc. We also use Miquon, BTW. But, your 7 yro is WAY ahead of my 7 yro. She's almost finished with Orange. It is a really good program! When she is finished with Miquon, she wants to move into Beast Academy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Once you finish 5th grade math (which may be in the next year), I'd highly recommend AoPS Prealgebra for your son's learning style. It sounds like it would be a perfect fit! :iagree: Yep, my daughter who flew like a crazy person through all her curricula has been completely stopped in her tracks by AOPS Prealgebra. If you want challenging...! LOL. That program is definitely for a certain kind of learning style. Edited to say: Writing with Skill stopped her in her tracks, too. I think WWS is the AOPS of the writing world. :tongue_smilie: Finally, some challenging programs out there!! evil laugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 My DD who needs mastery and limited repetition did well with SM through 5B, at which point we moved to pre-algebra (I didn't think she was quite ready for AOPS's style at 7). It does have cartoon pictures, but not the full comic-style of BA. We skipped most of the reviews, and used the IP more than the Workbook. It gets much less cartoony after 2B, IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreviFive Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Singapore sounds like it would be a good fit. We've had a lot of success transitioning from Miquon to Singapore - one of my boys started SM 2A alongside Miquon Green, and another finished Miquon first, then moved on to SM 3B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I agree that Singapore would probably be a good fit, esp. because it is possible for the child to teach himself with the textbook. If you want to accelerate Singapore easily, it might be useful to have the test book, which has 2 tests per unit. You can give the first one and teach any trouble spots, and skip or gloss the mastered bits. And there's a second test to re-evaluate if you want. The same thing can be done with the practice pages, but I find the tests more straightforward for accelerating. Also, sometimes Life of Fred is nice to use for self-teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 My son does not like curriculum much so we've jumped around a lot. he loved Primary Challenge math, but there are some cartoon characters - a cartoon mouse and cartoon amoeba and a cartoon einstein). We then did Life of Fred, first fractions and now decimals. but my son sounds pretty different from yours - we started w singapore but it was too dry to keep him engaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Yes, SM can work well for dc who need little if any teaching. I would take the time to learn the Singapore way (eg bar diagrams, etc) in case you need to do some teaching at some point. It uses basic arithmetic and logic to solve problems many of us use Algebra for (I have one that did 2B through 6B and another that did 1A through 6A). Ds used C rods with SM in the early levels after doing some Miquon. LOF involves a silly story line (at least the ones from Factions & Decimals on up--I haven't seen the newest ones for earlier math), but your ds could read it himself. He'd have to like the drawings, though, and the kinds of stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshin Posted November 26, 2012 Author Share Posted November 26, 2012 Thanks for all the recommendations! He likes his math a little dry, it seems, just him and the numbers. He doesn't seem to mind cartoony or cutesy in other subjects, just math. I'm tentatively planning AOPS for the future (although anything could happen between now and then). He doesn't use the c-rods very much anymore, but it's good to know he could still haul them out with Singapore if he wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 IMHO it would be a big mistake to miss out on Beast Academy because of a child's decision that he doesn't like the cartoon characters. He will miss out on something quite special. There is nothing "babyish" about BA. Intelligence vs wisdom. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 IMHO it would be a big mistake to miss out on Beast Academy because of a child's decision that he doesn't like the cartoon characters. He will miss out on something quite special. There is nothing "babyish" about BA. Intelligence vs wisdom. Bill well, I feel compelled to defend my own honor in skipping BA with my incredibly demanding, intense, temperamental child who doesn't like cartoon characters (he didn't care about the babyishness, he was just no good at reading comic/cartoon style things and didn't like them); we're even planning to revisit MUS for a time while I wait for him to get old enough to write page-longish problems for AoPS. In our case wisdom calls for Picking Battles Carefully. His easier-going brother will get BA for sure, though ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 well, I feel compelled to defend my own honor in skipping BA with my incredibly demanding, intense, temperamental child who doesn't like cartoon characters (he didn't care about the babyishness, he was just no good at reading comic/cartoon style things and didn't like them); we're even planning to revisit MUS for a time while I wait for him to get old enough to write page-longish problems for AoPS. In our case wisdom calls for Picking Battles Carefully. His easier-going brother will get BA for sure, though ... I have not yet seen a page-long problem in AoPS Prealgebra. Just an FYI. ;) They're usually very short and done mentally. Now the upper levels may get into page-long problems... I haven't seen those yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 I have not yet seen a page-long problem in AoPS Prealgebra. Just an FYI. ;) They're usually very short and done mentally. Now the upper levels may get into page-long problems... I haven't seen those yet. The first really long problems for dd were systems of 3 linear equations in AoPS Algebra (ch 5?) I took a peek at her next chapter (ch 9, inequalities) and there will be some doozies in the optimization section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 There are plenty of kids who've become mathematicians without having BA. Now, I do think it's absolutely wonderful and if the child could possibly be talked into it, it'd be good. But if he's in full I WON'T mode, I think it'd be more productive to use one of the many other good curricula out there than insisting he must do THIS ONE. I do think he sounds like an ideal fit for AOPS when he gets through arithmetic. 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.