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Hi. I am new to the boards, and to homeschooling (just started this quarter). I have read a number of posts and they have been helpful, but I don't see anything for my particular situation. My daughter is in second grade and is highly gifted. She was doing Envision Math 5th grade at her old school. They are allowing her continued access to the online portion, and she is following along with their pace easily just be doing the online summary/review, and usually gets 5/5 on the quiz the first time, without any help from me. Right Start really appeals to me [i have 2 younger kids, and all 3 went to Montessori preschools], and I had gone through the Right Start "transition lessons" to Level E based on the online assessment, but looking ahead it looks like E will be easy/mostly review for her. We re-did the placement test, and now it says "G" (she can do everything asked; I'm pretty sure last time the hang-up was prime factorization, which she just showed me she can do, but didn't know what it was called).

 

So I need to know what to do with her. :-)

 

1. I can do RS G, but it's Geometry, which is not what typically follows elementary math, right? And I read somewhere that it doesn't cover Geometry completely, so you still need to do Geometry in the regular sequence later. Is there a reason to do RS G?

 

2. Is 5th the end of "elementary math"? Is there a comprehensive checklist or something of what she should know before starting Pre-Algebra? If something is missing, does anything come to mind as a "bridge" before getting into Pre-Algebra?

 

3. If Pre-Algebra is the next logical step, what curriculum would you recommend? I was looking at AoPS based on a number of posts. Does that sound like a good fit? I was also thinking about LoF as a supplement. Do they "go well" together? Any other thoughts?

 

Thanks for getting through all that, and thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

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I think what I'd do... especially since you're new to homeschooling... is give her placement tests for a few curricula. Singapore Primary is one you might consider.... It's hard to say which one would fit without knowing the kid pretty well, but you might find that placement is different just based on scope and sequence, or that there's material on topics she's familiar with that could be done in greater depth with challenging word problems. Another possibility is competition math. I like MOEMS in particular at this age, because it has a good problem-solving focus (rather than computation speed).

 

If none of those offer any interesting possibilities, then you could certainly try prealgebra. I like AoPS in general for mathy kids, but there was no AoPS prealgebra when DS was at that point, so I can't say anything about that from experience. We used Singapore Primary Math and then went into Singapore New Elementary Math (NEM), which includes a bit of prealgebra, then integrated algebra and geometry.

 

Hope this helps!!

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Another option might be to look into Math Mammoth's 6th grade level. It spends quite a bit of time going in-depth into ratios/proportions/conversions. Or MM's topical books might be an option.

 

If she has mastered all elementary operations (+/-/x/division, percentages, decimals, fractions, ratios) and has good problem solving skills, AoPS would be a logical choice as well.....my caveat w/AoPS is maturity. AoPS is meant to cause students to have to think and really struggle through the process. For students that enjoy that process, it is love at first sight. But I would be concerned that a 7 yr old might end up frustrated instead which would be counter-productive.

 

For a supplement, you might want to look into Hands-On Equations.

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Also, if I can add another question: I've been looking at more threads on these 2 curricula, and it seems that many people go through 5 with MM or SM and then to pre-algebra, or through 6 and then straight to algebra. So is 6 basically pre- algebra? What would be reasons to choose one vs another? I'm thinking if it is true it might make more sense (if she passes the level 5 exit tests) for us to go straight to pre-algebra with the curriculum we expect to use long-term, so there are fewer transitions. And maybe supplement with MM topic books at first for any weaker areas, then Hands on Equations or Life of Fred for variety. Or something like that. This is tougher than I expected! Any thoughts? Thanks!

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