T'smom Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 We'e wrapping up using RS A and I'm debating what to go with next. I like RS pretty well, but I don't LOVE it. Ds seems to be learning just fine with RS, but he does love worksheets.....I think he gets a sense of satisfaction fro completing something concrete instead of just doing the activities. Does anyone have any advice? I've been looking at the Singapore website but I don't see any samples. Is there anywhere that i can look at samples? Would it be absolutely crazy to buy them both and switch off between them? Ds is in his K year, but we did start RS A last spring, so we didn't rush through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I've only used RS (we're finishing up B), but there are samples on the Singapore website--they're just kind of hidden. Here's a link to the 1A textbook. Underneath the cover picture, there's a teeny tiny tab labeled "Contents_Samples". Click on that, scroll down a little until you see "Samples" and then there will be a few pages to look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 They do have samples on their website. You can also see samples at ChristianBook.com and RainbowResource.com. I tried RS A, and it was not a good fit for my teaching style. I also found that my son wasn't really learning much from it. He does better with a mixture of manipulatives and pictorial examples, so Singapore with C-rods has been perfect for him. He's in 1B now as a K'er. My oldest is in 5B, and he started Singapore in 4A (coming from Math Mammoth). RS would have been a horrible fit for my oldest, because he has never needed manipulatives for math except for the brief introduction to adding/subtracting across tens using mental math tricks. After doing a few problems with the manipulatives, he got it and was able to do the rest without. He's a more abstract kid. I really like Singapore. It fits my teaching style and doesn't have a gazillion manipulatives to keep up with. It teaches mental math very well. I have no complaints. Take a placement test before switching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 FWIW, I don't like RS A at all because I find the spiral format too all-over-the-place. RS B is much, much better. I prefer it to Singapore 1A/B, which is okay but doesn't do as good a job teaching place value. Place value is such a foundational concept that I don't understand why Singapore doesn't put more emphasis on it. I do prefer the higher levels of Singapore to the higher levels of RS, however. My oldest did RS B & C then Singapore 3A-7B. My 2nd did Singapore 1A, RS B and the first part of C concurrently with Singapore 1B & 2A, then Singapore 2B-3B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 I've only used RS (we're finishing up B), but there are samples on the Singapore website--they're just kind of hidden. Here's a link to the 1A textbook. Underneath the cover picture, there's a teeny tiny tab labeled "Contents_Samples". Click on that, scroll down a little until you see "Samples" and then there will be a few pages to look at. Thanks! I found them......not that I'm any closer to making a decision! The samples do look good, but I wish there were more. Can anyone who does Singapore 1 tell me how much time it takes you to do a lesson on average? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Can anyone who does Singapore 1 tell me how much time it takes you to do a lesson on average? 5-10 minutes. We're in 1B right now (actually, yesterday, I think we did 3 lessons in about 10 or 15 minutes - but this section is review of place value topics, which my son is solid on because of working with a 100 chart and straws/coins when he was 4). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 5-10 minutes. We're in 1B right now (actually, yesterday, I think we did 3 lessons in about 10 or 15 minutes - but this section is review of place value topics, which my son is solid on because of working with a 100 chart and straws/coins when he was 4). So, this makes me think it wouldn't be outrageous to do both programs? In what few samples I found, he has those concepts down. He knows 4 butterflies and 3 butterflies = 7 butterflies. He knows all the ways to make 10. He hasn't done the concepts in 1B, such as 2 digit addition. I don't want to skip anything though. I'd rather accelerate through it. Ugh. I sortof have a curriculum addiction and want to do everything.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acsnmama Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 We love Singapore! We have no experience with RS though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Doing RS, the Singapore textbook, and the Singapore workbook I think might be overkill. When I combined Singapore 1 & 2 with Right Start B & C, my DS just used the textbook and skipped the workbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Doing RS, the Singapore textbook, and the Singapore workbook I think might be overkill. When I combined Singapore 1 & 2 with Right Start B & C, my DS just used the textbook and skipped the workbook. Yeah, I think it would be overkill. My middle son does Singapore and Life of Fred, but no other programs. I think spending more time on math would make him not like it, but he's also a K'er and has a shorter attention span still. ;) He LOVES Singapore, and really, it has been plenty for him. The Life of Fred is done along with his Sonlight read-alouds. Combining programs in full often doesn't work, especially for an accelerated kid... They "get it" with one, and then the other becomes boring because they already know that info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhappyjoyjoy Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I loved RS B. I did Singapore 1 A and B as well with my oldest. (That was my first go at homeschooling, and I was doing too much.) I'd suggest RS B with Singapore's IP books. That being said, I'm now using Abeka and will then go to Saxon, because it is easier for me to follow the MODG Syllabus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Unlike most, my oldest dd is using a combination of RightStart and Singapore. We do both programs fully. She's young for her grade (September birthday) and math is not her strongest subject. We do one program for a while, and when we get stuck, bored, or to a good stopping place we switch back to the other. It means that we are getting through the levels much more slowly. We are using RS C and Singapore 2. But she is rock solid in her math skills. And the breaks from each program help. When we come back to the place where she had previously been stuck she is just fine. I really like how place value and mental math are taught in RightStart so if I had to pick one book at that level it would be RightStart. ETA: I did notice with the first grade levels that the first half of each curricula taught pretty much new and different things, which made some of the second half of each review. We went through those lessons quickly and even skipped a few. I'm still very glad that we did both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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