What is your favorite math and why?

[Blessed mom]

I would love to especially hear from those who have used any of the following: rod and staff, horizons, Saxon, singapore, and math mammoth.

[boscopup]

My son used Saxon in school, and we have used Math Mammoth and Singapore at home (levels 1-4 MM and 1, 4 and 5 SM).

 

I hate Saxon with a passion. :D Just plain drove me nuts. I don't like the incremental spiral format. I'm the type to learn a topic, practice it until mastered, then move on. My kids so far have all been the same way.

 

I liked Math Mammoth, especially for accelerating my son to "where he really is". It was too incremental for him, but that was easy to skip as needed. I liked that it was mastery format, so if he understood a topic, we could move to the next one. The instruction itself is excellent, and she really lays out all the steps for a child who needs it, so that incremental nature would be a plus for some kids. There are a LOT of problems on the page. I usually assigned half or less.

 

I love Singapore. The textbook is engaging. The workbook has just enough problems to practice, with plenty of white space to write in. The cumulative reviews keep things fresh (MM also had those, btw). The IP and CWP books are excellent for challenging an advanced student. The home instructor's guide (Standards Edition) has excellent explanations for the teacher. And the concrete->pictorial->abstract progression should work for many kinds of learners. My son enjoys Singapore more than MM.

[Momof3littles]

I've been really happy with SIngapore. We combine it with Miquon in the early, early years. We also encourage lots of informal math exploration and discovery too, and math literature like the MathStart series (Stuart Murphy), as well as Penrose, Sir Cumference, and similar books.

[Five More Minutes]

 

I hate Saxon with a passion. :D Just plain drove me nuts. I don't like the incremental spiral format. I'm the type to learn a topic, practice it until mastered, then move on. My kids so far have all been the same way.

 

...

 

I love Singapore. The textbook is engaging. The workbook has just enough problems to practice, with plenty of white space to write in. The cumulative reviews keep things fresh .... The IP and CWP books are excellent for challenging an advanced student. The home instructor's guide (Standards Edition) has excellent explanations for the teacher. And the concrete->pictorial->abstract progression should work for many kinds of learners.

 

 

Absolutely what I was going to say.

[AimeeM]

Most of the programs you listed are so opposite each other. Rod and Staff, Singapore, and Math Mammoth are mastery; Saxon and Horizons are spiral. The reason I mention this is that which of these programs worked well for a child will completely depend on what type of math instruction they need - spiral or mastery.

Me being the math hopper that I am, I have tried them all. Yes, them all. (bad mommy!)

 

I love Math Mammoth. I'm still a bit peeved that she changed her standards to align with CC, but that's a whole 'nother story, so I'll just say that we are using Math Mammoth 6 with my eldest and plan to purchase the entire cd of PRE realignment from Mrs. Miller for my younger sons. It is just the right amount of interesting, rigor, challenge, and gentleness. Also, it's easy to accelerate or back track as needed. Super affordable - nowhere else can you buy an entire first-sixth grade math program for, like $160 (less if you catch a sale!). Also, Mrs. Miller is just freakin' awesome. I e-mailed her a question about placement, not expecting an answer directly from her or any time soon, but to my surprise, not an hour after I e-mailed her, I got a personal response; not only a response, but we went back and forth discussing it until I felt confident in placement and placed an order. Seriously GREAT customer service.

 

I also like Horizons. We are using Horizons Pre A alongside MM6 before moving into an Algebra 1 program next year. Horizons is spiral like Saxon, but colorful and not as overwhelming - also, the author seems to actually love math (unlike Saxon where, I swear, I think the author hated the very subject). *Just a note: it isn't necessary at all to supplement MM6, I only did it because we wanted dd super strong in Pre-A before starting Algebra next year - Math Mammoth is a strong program on its own*

 

The others fell flat for us, but I think Singapore is difficult to jump into in the later grades. Rod and Staff just seemed a bit... behind... slow and steady, I guess, is the phrase I'm looking for and it didn't work for this particular child? Saxon, I wouldn't touch again with a ten foot pole; my daughter is strong in math and that book made us both cry.

[Chelli]

Math in Focus and MEP are my favorites.

 

ETA: I wrote this blog post about why I love Math in Focus.

[Susan of Croton]

We used Singapore K-8 (currently with DS8 and DD7). At times, we supplemented math facts practice with drill from no-frills Ray's Arithmetic, especially the primary arithmetic and intellectual arithmetic volumes. Ray's uses language variation to phrase math problems so that kids get used to the sound of math word problems. Superlative! Now we have graduated from the K-6 Singapore series into the New Elementary series, and it is a very challenging, integrated program combining advanced arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and statistics.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Saxon ...shudder at the thought. Tried it a few times and everyone of them was painful.

We tried Horizon a very long time ago, it was for my oldest son's 1st grade year, so a good 18 yrs ago. It wasn;t bad but it wasn't special. We had just come from a year of BJU K math, very colorful and fun. Lots of hands on. The switch to horizon was drastic in the look and learning style. It could be different now, I have not looked at it since.

 

We use BJU for elementary math.

[Mandylubug]

Rod and Staff is our favorite so far. I have tried MM and TT. I only tried TT3 and while it wasn't bad, I felt it allowed the student to progress forward without mastering much. Math Mammoth was just a huge flop for us. I really wanted it to work. My children are not independent learners, though.

 

Rod and Staff starts each day with a whiteboard/chalkboard lesson and then you assign your book work. This method has truly worked well for us. Even though it is Christian (and so are we as a family) the scripting is a bit much. However, I have found it is very easy to omit some of the scripted stories, etc. and still get the full use of the curriculum. We have a great flow with this curriculum. I have taught grade 1 and 3 so far, and about to start 2 and 4.

[Mandylubug]

Oh, I forgot, that many moons ago, I attempted MEP with my 4 yr old.... yeah that didn't work either, but I was green with homeschooling, had VERY poor advice, thought kids could naturally sit at a table and know how to write their names, etc... so I don't think my review of that curriculum is legitimate. Thankfully, I came back to homeschooling three years later after I initially threw in the towel while using MEP!

[MinivanMom]

. . . .

 

I love Singapore. The textbook is engaging. The workbook has just enough problems to practice, with plenty of white space to write in. The cumulative reviews keep things fresh (MM also had those, btw). The IP and CWP books are excellent for challenging an advanced student. The home instructor's guide (Standards Edition) has excellent explanations for the teacher. And the concrete->pictorial->abstract progression should work for many kinds of learners. My son enjoys Singapore more than MM.

 

This is exactly what I was going to post. We love Singapore.

[Hunter]

I liked Saxon for high school. It was hard work and time consuming, but a solid math education was a priority for the child that I was using it with, so I made the time for it. More than anything, I was capable of using Saxon to self-educate and then teach my child. If we shut up, sat down and did the work, we progressed without bumps. It was safe. We were successful.

 

I tried other things. We always ended out back with Saxon. Plain and simple, I was in over my head using anything other than Saxon for anything past Algebra 1. End of story. I shamed myself. I let others shame me. In the end, I cried at what a bad mom I was, picked the Saxon books back up, and told everyone to just shut up and leave me alone to ruin my child in peace. It was triage and we all survived. I believe I did the right thing.

 

I like How to Tutor for early arithmetic. I like using copywork and recitations for arithmetic, and I like self-educating and preparing with charts. Push comes to shove I am capable of using Professor B after finishing HTT, but I don't enjoy my self-education process in using it. I don't mind teaching it, but I hate preparing lessons; I feel blindfolded and therefore anxious.

 

I like elementary texts that have narrow scopes. I prefer to teach the non arithmetic strands with picture books and art and real objects, while only using texts to teach and drill the base 10 decimal system algorithms. Workbook pages full of clocks and money and rulers make me want to vomit and/or tear my hair out with their inefficiency. On the other hand, well drawn arithmetic charts make me tremble in ecstasy; they are beautiful.

[Ellesmere]

I would love to especially hear from those who have used any of the following: rod and staff, horizons, Saxon, singapore, and math mammoth.

 

Of those listed, I've only used Math Mammoth and we are not very far into it -- we are just finishing MM1. I love the program, love Maria Miller, and her blog/website is full of great resources (like her advice for K math and pre-algebra). For my child who was struggling to enjoy math, MM was a lifesaver for us. I do sit right there and go through it even though it could be done far more independently. But I am working with a child with attention issues along with some other things that make it work better for me to be right there. It is just flexible enough and the price is so reasonable.

 

Personally, I like the PDF option because I'm hoping to use it with all of our kids and I have a good printer.

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

my favorite is Right Start, but I'm no longer using it. I don't have the time. We switched to Abeka 3, because it is easier for me to follow the MODG syllabus. However in MODG 4th it switches to Saxon 5/4. RS gave him a great foundation. Now I hardly have to teach him any math.

[speedmom4]

In the past 13 years we have used Saxon, Scott Foresman, TT, Singapore, Math-U-See, and CLE. So far my favorite is CLE. I love that it is spiral and a workbook. I feel like my boys are retaining what they are learning and they weren't in TT. Now my younger dd is using TT and doing very well with it. I think mainly that is because she is very uptight about math and it has automated grading and most of the time it doesn't involve me. We tend to butt heads. :ack2:

 

I have never used Math Mammoth. I looked into it at one point but found the website incredibly confusing.

 

Good luck!

 

Elise in NC

[twogirlsmommy]

It really depends on the child. My oldest thrived in Singapore because she required little practice and remembered everything. My youngest excels in math, but needs the repitition to remember, so Horizons is the perfect fit for her.

[Tanikit]

At the moment I am using Horizons with Singapore - Horizons for review and Singapore for the teaching though because Horizons is spiral I have had to teach some with it. My DD likes the colourful pages in Horizons and also likes it being spiral as she can do a lot of short different things each day. The Singapore workbook I am using is not the one most people use on here and has no colour and the print is a bit small - I often have to print out the word problems myself and use a bigger font to make it less stressful for my DD - with the bigger font and with some pictures she enjoys it. We have also tried MEP and I like the challenge problems.

 

My DD does not struggle with Math so I would probably just adapt any curriculum to make it work, but she does seem at the moment to like bright and colourful. I also find she likes to keep changing so while we use Horizons every day, the rest I supplement in and will also pull/make up word problems based on her readers which she enjoys a lot.

 

What are you looking at in a Math programme? What types of things suit you and suit your child? Is there any reason you are looking at these programmes in particular as they are all quite different?

[Crimson Wife]

For my kids, I like Singapore supplemented in parts by MM. I find that for certain topics in the intermediate levels (3-5), Singapore isn't incremental enough in its teaching. It has "conceptual leaps" where it assumes that the child can jump from point A to point D without first being taken through the intermediate points B & C. MM walks the student through them in a very gradual manner.

 

Now my DS is more "mathy' than my DD so it remains to be seen whether he'll need as much supplementing with MM. He's currently doing a combo of Singapore and Beast Academy. At some point, I may switch him from Singapore into Art of Problem Solving but we'll just have to see when the time comes. AOPS would be a very bad "fit" for my oldest so as of right now I'm keeping her in Singapore Discovering Mathematics.

[Mandy in TN]

Woah, this is a scary question to post. You are a brave woman. ;-)

 

The general answer I would give would be that this depends very much on how you teach and the particular child that you are teaching, because the best math is always the one that gets done!

 

Saxon prior to 54 is set up for a classroom. It just has more components than necessary to teach a child one-on-one. I have come to a place where basically I feel like all programs before middle school level math are cumbersome. I feel like more often than not they just get in the way. If you have a child who likes workbooks, by all means buy some. If you have a child who needs to write something out many, many times to remember, then let him do so. If you have a child who doesn't need this so much, then don't.

 

If I had another little person, I would never again spend another dime on math curriculum for K-4 level math. I would go it on my own. I would use cuisenaire rods, pattern blocks, dice, dominoes, and playing cards. I would discuss shapes with the pattern blocks, but mainly just in the course of life. I would make sure that the child knew how to tell time and knew the basics of measurement (what units express weight, length, temp). I would play with numbers and number charts and number lines and number patterns. I would make sure the child was solid in his understanding and computation of addition/ subtraction with whole numbers. I would want him to be solid on his understanding and computation of basic multiplication/ division facts through 12s.

 

Then, I would start with Saxon 54. :-) It is not perfect, but it is where I would start every single time. Just grab an old hardback copy at a used curriculum sale for cheap and go for it. It covers the concepts. It practices the concepts. It builds on the concepts. But- don't lose sight of the forest for the trees. Be sure that you understand what needs to be mastered within each text.

 

Singapore is nice, but just using the textbook and workbook combo often isn't enough repetition for the average bear. They will get it during the lesson, but the few problems are not enough to cement the lesson. Without additional material or review (don't try to be cheap and just purchase the little slim textbook and workbook), when the topic appears later, you may need to stop there and review the material. I used Singapore alongside Saxon with my second child.

 

Today this is where I feel comfortable. :-) Ask me next week and maybe I will have a different opinion. All I can suggest is looking at all the samples you can and find something that you are comfortable using. Stick with it until pre-alg or alg1. Most programs pretty much cover the same ground, but they all use a slightly different sequence. Hopping from program to program will make it difficult to build a solid foundation.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Mandy in TN]

I like elementary texts that have narrow scopes. I prefer to teach the non arithmetic strands with picture books and art and real objects, while only using texts to teach and drill the base 10 decimal system algorithms. Workbook pages full of clocks and money and rulers make me want to vomit and/or tear my hair out with their inefficiency. On the other hand, well drawn arithmetic charts make me tremble in ecstasy; they are beautiful.

 

 

 

The bolded portions are basically how I feel about K-4 programs in general. LOL

Mandy

[Marie131]

Not on your list, but I love RightStart. It is solid and fun!

[SilverMoon]

I would love to especially hear from those who have used any of the following: rod and staff, horizons, Saxon, singapore, and math mammoth.

 

 

I've used the first three you mentioned. I couldn't call Saxon a favorite, but it got the job done.

 

Rod and Staff is mastery, with regular review of old concepts. The teaching is thorough, easy to understand, and effective. I've found them easy to tweak for my strong math students and my not-so-strong math students.The TE will hold your hand and give you a scripted plan for teaching the new lesson. That teaching plan is vital for grades 1-3, and considered optional for grades 4-8. In grades 4-8 there is also an oral quiz on old concepts in the TE, as well as tips for preventing common mistakes. Grades 1 and 2 have workbooks. Grades 3-8 are textbooks. (The first couple textbooks have room to write in them though.) I own nearly the whole set.

 

 

Horizons is spiral, and workbooks all the way through. The teaching is also thorough and effective. My DS has done just fine understanding it, but this is the kid who made me feel like I was just teaching him vocabulary for math he'd already sorted out for years. He gets math so intuitively that he's probably not the best test case for clarity, in other words. I particularly like how the simple activities intrigue DS enough to race through a more boring section of math. Like if you scratch off the letters attached to the answers or problems he can practically do blindfolded, the remaining letters will be the answer to a joke. The TE has a a list of the concepts that will be covered, the objectives, a teaching tip, materials needed (counters, drill sheet, etc), and a handful of activities to do on a whiteboard before the student begins the lesson. This repeats the information found on the student page for the most part. After that section is the answer key for the student pages, then the blackline drill pages, blackline answers, tests, and test answers. I've only used the grade 5 books so far. My only complaint is it's a bugger to copy those blackline pages out of the middle of the book I solved that problem by paying Office Max $1.20 to cut the binding off, 3-hole punching the whole thing, and putting it in a binder. (For what it's worth, I put this particular DS in Horizons because his academic level had far surpassed his writing maturity. Horizons lets him work in a workbook at his level. )

 

 

Saxon is technically incremental, not spiral or mastery. It feels awfully spiral. I only have experience with the textbooks from 5/4 to 8/7. My now 12yo dd used a couple of them because they happened to be in our school closet (they were hand-me-downs) and enjoyed them immensely. She did an average of two lessons a day and was out of them as fast as she was back into them. Yes, she was placed correctly. She's just the type of kid to curl up with a math book like other people would a puzzle or crossword book. DD's opinion was the constant topic change in the problem set kept it interesting, and the teaching was clear enough. I liked the mental math portions, and how well it built on previous skills. I never used these with my oldest; he and spiral are not friends. The DS using Horizons mentioned looked at the Saxon book like it might bite him, and handed it back, quickly.

[JFJ in IL]

We use Singapore Math (US edition) and the kids love it and are doing quite well with learning the SM methods.

I like it because it is very straight forward and has a lot of teacher instruction (if you need it)

The textbooks are colorful and well done, imo.

I think that my children are learning at a good pace and there is plenty of practice.

Also, I feel that all of the books are reasonably priced.

[2squared]

Not on your list, but we love RightStart over here. This is our one curriculum choice that has been a resounding success from day 1 for my mathy and nonmathy kids. I am sad that my oldest is finishing level E next month.

[Walking-Iris]

Woah, this is a scary question to post. You are a brave woman. ;-)

 

The general answer I would give would be that this depends very much on how you teach and the particular child that you are teaching, because the best math is always the one that gets done!

 

Saxon prior to 54 is set up for a classroom. It just has more components than necessary to teach a child one-on-one. I have come to a place where basically I feel like all programs before middle school level math are cumbersome. I feel like more often than not they just get in the way. If you have a child who likes workbooks, by all means buy some. If you have a child who needs to write something out many, many times to remember, then let him do so. If you have a child who doesn't need this so much, then don't.

 

If I had another little person, I would never again spend another dime on math curriculum for K-4 level math. I would go it on my own. I would use cuisenaire rods, pattern blocks, dice, dominoes, and playing cards. I would discuss shapes with the pattern blocks, but mainly just in the course of life. I would make sure that the child knew how to tell time and knew the basics of measurement (what units express weight, length, temp). I would play with numbers and number charts and number lines and number patterns. I would make sure the child was solid in his understanding and computation of addition/ subtraction with whole numbers. I would want him to be solid on his understanding and computation of basic multiplication/ division facts through 12s.

 

Then, I would start with Saxon 54. :-) It is not perfect, but it is where I would start every single time. Just grab an old hardback copy at a used curriculum sale for cheap and go for it. It covers the concepts. It practices the concepts. It builds on the concepts. But- don't lose sight of the forest for the trees. Be sure that you understand what needs to be mastered within each text.

 

Singapore is nice, but just using the textbook and workbook combo often isn't enough repetition for the average bear. They will get it during the lesson, but the few problems are not enough to cement the lesson. Without additional material or review (don't try to be cheap and just purchase the little slim textbook and workbook), when the topic appears later, you may need to stop there and review the material. I used Singapore alongside Saxon with my second child.

 

Today this is where I feel comfortable. :-) Ask me next week and maybe I will have a different opinion. All I can suggest is looking at all the samples you can and find something that you are comfortable using. Stick with it until pre-alg or alg1. Most programs pretty much cover the same ground, but they all use a slightly different sequence. Hopping from program to program will make it difficult to build a solid foundation.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

 

 

You basically read my mind!!! It seems that Saxon is hated more at the levels before 5/4. I used Miquon with lots of hands on play and read aloud books as supplement with my oldest until we started Saxon 5/4 this year for 4th. It's working really well for us. So far none of the Saxon "hate" is an issue. We both really like it. The foundation hands on play and Miquon conceptual really built a good foundation for starting the Saxon texts.

 

With my Kinder I have been using Singapore Essentials and I'm toying with the ideas of combining SM with Miquon for his 1st grade year. Miquon, I know, is my go to math for those ages. I love Miquon!!! Already in SM K I have noticed that it seems too much, and yet not enough at the same time? I just don't really know how I really feel about SM.

 

I also supplement with Livingmath booklists and math logic activities. I also plan on supplementing my oldest with Key To books and eventually a summer of Hands On Equations. MEP is free and really good too.

[Mrs Twain]

SilverMoon,

You can buy Horizons worksheet packets for each grade level from Rainbow Resource rather than photocopying them from the Horizons TM. It is a great time saver.

[LivingHope]

Math Mammoth is my favorite workbook math series. I am thankful that I have levels 1-6.

 

We use Ray's arithmetic for oral drill, Strayer-Upton's Practical Arithmetic Books 1 & 2 as our main elementary texts, Math Mammoth to supplement geometry and negative numbers, and Art of Problem Solving Prealgebra, Algebra, etc.

 

 

 

[birchbark]

We have tried Miquon, CLE, Math Mammoth, and Singapore. There were things I liked about each program, but I wasn't quite satisfied with any of them. I am leaning toward using Strayer-Upton for elementary the next time around. It is recommended by my 6th-grader's program (which I really like). Strayer-Upton is an older, mastery, incremental text with plenty of word problems.

[...................]

No favorite here yet. Sniff.

 

I had started to be a true Saxon believer when my son did so well with 2 and 3. But then 5/4 cane around and math was no longer a favorite. 6/5 cane around and now he is almost finished and hates math with a passionate loathing, and although he has a good, obedient and hard working attitude, he is now just making so many errors due to being so scattered. I've had to stop and spend a few days here and there so we could camp on a concept and get more practice before moving on.

 

It's not just that he hates it- it's not even working.

 

Next year we will be trying Calvert Math with him and possibly MIF for my 9 year old dd.

[Esse Quam Videri]

Singapore has worked wonderfully for my crew who have different learning styles/abilities. Though I've supplemented and toyed with other programs, SM is our favorite. It's complete, enjoyable, and rigorous without being drill and kill.

[s.z.ichigo]

We LOVE Saxon. It tackles complicated math in baby steps, so that by the time the student comes to the actual difficult math, he knows all the steps already and it's easy. I also like that it's constantly reviewing previous skills, so nothing is forgotten. We've used it since K (now in 7/6). Through grade 3 was a little mind-numbing for me (not my daughter) due to the scripted format and the repetative daily charting rituals. If I did it again, I'd probably skip a lot of that stuff and focus on the math, but the middle grades have been wonderful.

I asked my daughter to tell me what she thinks of it (she's actually working on math as we speak) and she said:

"It describes things in pieces so that it's easier to learn. It's not all crammed into my mind at once. It's a good learning system."

 

So saxon isn't all bad. It really depends on who you ask. It works extremely well for us.

[umsami]

Some of my kids have done Saxon K-3. What I like about it is the repetition (which seems to work well for them) and the completeness. We've also used Right Start A-C, and various Math Mammoth things.

 

I think for the money Math Mammoth cannot be beat. I've used it as a supplement for both my Saxon and my Right Start kids.

 

In terms of just l-o-v-e, it would be Right Start. Fun and interesting... but I can't speak of higher than level C. It did seem a little expensive, though.

[I.Dup.]

We start with Singapore, and so far my 2nd grader is still doing Singapore. He's my more mathy child. For my non-mathy child, Singapore just required conceptual leaps that were way above her head and entirely too frustrating for her. She just was. not. getting. the concepts. We switched to CLE, had her repeat a grade, and now she's doing great and right on schedule with CLE. I like that it's cheap, not colorful or overly distracting but still has pictures and illustrations, and I like that it is spiral and the explanations are very plain and clear. I think that's one thing missing in Singapore.

[acsnmama]

Singapore hands down!

 

I've looked into MM, but I just don't think it would be a good fit for my son, and my daughter just started Singapore Essentials, and both are soaring with math. I hate the price, but their abilities are wonderful and I don't plan to switch until we hit a road block. I really wanted to save money, so I've looked into other math programs extensively, but unfortunately, we're always pointed back to Singapore. If it isn't broken, don't fix it right? However money can be an issue, but my husband loves Singapore enough to eat the extra cost against MM, and some other cheaper math programs.

[ladyinthegarden]

I didn't use a math curriculum for 1-4. I bought workbooks to use leisurely, we used the scope and sequence from them. We also used manipulatives, games, real clocks, and I taught measurements using measurement tools (the DS loved it). This year we started on Saxon 5/4. I have learned to dissect the book for our sanity. When I first looked at Saxon years ago I hated the look of it, truthfully I didn't like any math curriculum I looked at.

 

The DS tells me he likes Saxon math. Today he did more problems than I required of him because one of them appealed to him. We probably could have began with Saxon 6/5. Honestly, the results have been good for us. It was scary going this route because it was my first time homeschooling. I kept telling myself, it's 1st (2nd, 3rd, 4th) grade math I can't mess that up. :)

 

I recently ordered a few Life of Fred books for the oldest, fractions and decimals. I think I will be using the elementary set for the younger child along with manipulatives. Then begin Saxon around 5/4 or 6/5.

[kdownie]

Math Mammoth is the only one I've used, of the ones you have listed, but we love it. It is our current math and will stay our math unless something changes and it doesn't work for my child.

 

She used to "hate" math, even in K, because it was hard for her. I first used MM to supplement her weak areas, but this year, we moved to it full time, for first grade. I think it teaches very clearly, has plenty of problems for practice (though you can always do some of them and save the rest if you need to go back for review at a later time). Because we have the disc, my dd has small parts of it (as opposed to a huge book) in her notebook at a time, so it doesn't overwhelm her. She is very hands on, and while the curriculum only calls for using an abacus, we do use manipulatives when necessary for her. Maria also has fabulous customer service.

[Mrs Twain]

I am fond of Horizons math. One reason I think it is strong is because it has a tremendous amount of spiral. Spiral is a great feature for math programs because continual review is extremely important. Other reasons for liking Horizons are that it is advanced and that it is a traditional math program (as opposed to the "Asian" varieties).

 

Horizons is not scripted, which appeals to some and is a negative to others. For a parent who is strong at math, a scripted program is usually not necessary or preferred because those parents can easily think of ways to explain concepts and make up additional examples if needed. For parents who are not good at math, then the lack of scripting in the TM may lead to poor teaching of concepts and frustration.

 

Along wih Horizons, I add some extra drill with flashcards, timed drills, and Singapore's CWP and Mental Math workbooks. I recommend for everyone to use CWP regardless of which math program you have. think CWP one grade lower is usually the right level (i.e. CWP3 for a 4th grader).

 

 

[mom2att]

I have three children and have used three different elementary math programs. I was a Singapore ambassador with my oldest. I hated even the look of Saxon--who needs a 2-inch thick teacher book for kindergarten math, for goodness sake? And $100 for the package, no less? I could pick up Singapore texts for $7 each and have a whole year's curriculum for under $30. And my oldest, who was easy to teach and quick to learn, was proof positive that Singapore was "the" math program. We also supplemented with Miquon in the early grades--another no frills program.

 

But alas, my second child ruined everything. We hit a humongous brick wall with Singapore not even ten lessons into 1A. Number bonds--how hard is that? For him, very. We bumped around with math programs through first grade. I thought several times that I'd have better luck teaching math to the cat than to my son. Then beginning in second grade, a friend convinced me to try the dreaded Saxon. I did, reluctantly, but guess what--my son suddenly understood math. Those tiny baby steps and constant review were exactly what he needed. He's done Saxon from the red 2nd grade book until Saxon 7/6 this year, and we have no plans to switch. It just works for him (though slogging through the lessons is still no fun for me, I have to admit).

 

And my third child? I just switched, this week, from Saxon 5/4 to Horizons. This was after grades 1 - 3 in Singapore with Miquon as a supplement. Still figuring out where to go with this kid.

 

So in answer to the question "What is your favorite math program and why," my answer has to be, after 12 years of homeschooling, "I have no idea."

[Blessed mom]

Thanks to all for your responses. I am still not sure what to use for my grade 4 and grade 1 children. I had used SM for ds in 2nd and 3rd. He did very well, but began to hate math. I thought it was due to his lack of knowing his arithmetic facts well. This year we have done R&S grade 3 because it drills those facts in depth! It seems so hard to find a program that has plenty of drill and also teaches math concepts well. I do not want to do two programs because my children do not like math. I am leaning toward math mammoth. For those of you who have used the light blue series, does it have plenty of practice for math facts or do you have to supplement a lot?

[Blessed mom]

Thanks to all for your responses. I am still not sure what to use for my grade 4 and grade 1 children. I had used SM for ds in 2nd and 3rd. He did very well, but began to hate math. I thought it was due to his lack of knowing his arithmetic facts well. This year we have done R&S grade 3 because it drills those facts in depth! It seems so hard to find a program that has plenty of drill and also teaches math concepts well. I do not want to do two programs because my children do not like math. I am leaning toward math mammoth. For those of you who have used the light blue series, does it have plenty of practice for math facts or do you have to supplement a lot?

[boscopup]

I am leaning toward math mammoth. For those of you who have used the light blue series, does it have plenty of practice for math facts or do you have to supplement a lot?

 

 

There is a LOT of practice in MM. The entire grade 1 book is basically working on facts. I skipped at least half the problems, if not more. You can skip some and then come back to them periodically as review if you want.