K Math Curriculum?

[twinsmomx2]

We will be starting Classical Conversations Foundations with our 5 yr old b/g twins in the fall. I also plan to supplement with Sonlight's Core A program. The only thing left to decide on is Math. I've been looking at a lot of programs and Saxon and Math U See stand out to me.

 

My DD is very bright and catches on quick to math concepts. She figured out adding on her own! My DS is also bright but has sensory and communication delays. I'm honestly not sure of his math skills. I do know that he has a very good memory, is very visual, and thrives on routine.

 

I'm wondering if I should get both programs; try out Math U See first and if it is too slow for DD (or both), add Saxon or switch completely?

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!!

[Megicce]

I will say I love, love, LOVE Right Start Math. We are doing level A this year, and it is fun, engaging, never a drag to do, and I love that it teaches concepts - so your child is learning to understand math ideas and not just memorize math facts. My dd is learning to think of numbers in terms of units of 5 and 10 - there is a little song you learn that teaches that 6 is 5 and 1, 7 is 5 and 2, 8 is 5 and 3, etc. The use of manipulatives is great - the abacus is our favorite thing. I love how it makes math visualizable for her. And many concepts are practiced using card games, rather than drill or worksheets. Did I mention I love this curriculum? ;-)

 

Anyway, I think it's totally worth looking into, even though it's not one of the two you mentioned. Your daughter would probably thrive on it, and since it's very appropriate for visual learners, it might be a good fit for your son, too!

[Dana]

We started in 1st with Singapore. I've been very impressed with the Standards edition and the extra practice (IP, CWP). We also used Miquon.

 

If I were doing it over, I'd be using Miquon in K and then adding in Singapore in 1st. I'd continue to use Base 10 blocks for number sense (and just for play at an early age... my son used them to build with at age 3), Cuisinaire rods (unmarked), and gram unit cubes. Those are the manipulatives that I think helped the most.

 

I have not been impressed with what I've seen of MUS.

You may want to do some reading on the K8 board to get a better feel of what has worked and hasn't worked for many posters. When I was starting out I did a lot of reading :)

 

My personal preference is Miquon early, then Singapore Standards along with IP and CWP.

[Mom2TheTeam]

I used Singapore K Essentials last year for my K'er. I'm not sure I'm going to use anything formal for my current K'ers who just started last week. (It was sort of sudden to start them.)

 

At any rate, I have 2 sets of twins also who are similar ages to yours. My olders were born at the end of 2007 and turned 5 in Dec. My youngers were born in April 2010 and are almost 3. And, oh man are they so into EVERYTHING, especially one. They are really much harder at this age than my older set (girl/boy) was. They are making HS'ing extremely difficult for me right now. (I also have a 7 year old 1st grader and a 5 month old.) I just noticed we both have 2 sets about the same age and thought I would chime in. :)

[T'smom]

I have to put my two cents in for RightStart. I use it and love it, but I think it would be especially good with twins because the format lends itself so well to discussion! I think it would be easy to have them work together. InA and B levels (the only ones I have any experience with) It's a lot of doing, actual hands on working with manipulatives. There isn't as much paper pencil work (especially in A). If they are young kers I'd start with A but if they're older or mathy I'd start in B and just take it slowly. I hope I don't add to your confusion!

 

ETA: if your son is visual, I think that makes RS an even better choice. The lessons have a lot of variety but it's still easy to make them into a routine. There are some poems and warm ups that you do at the beginning and stuff.

 

Let us know what you decide!

[besroma]

Based on your post, I would consider RightStart or a combo of Miquon/Singapore.

[twinsmomx2]

Thank you everyone! I am headed to a homeschool convention tomorrow and found there will be a RightStart presentation so I will definitely be attending that!

[Miss Tick]

I used Saxon K and thought it was a waste. I stuck with Saxon through level 3 (accelerated/skipped as needed) then pitched it for MEP in second. Then had to split my twins, moved dd to MM.

 

With younger dd I am dabbling with CSMP this year when we are in the mood. Next year I'll start her with Miquon.

 

Sounds crazy to write it all down but we seem to be in a good place. For now....

[beaner18]

we started with saxon K and quit...it was a waste of time because my daughter already knew pretty much everything in there. we are now doing right start A and it's so much better....

[Koerarmoca]

I love MEP. We switched from singapore and very happy with the results.

[greyseal]

We are using Right Start A here, too, as well as topics from Miquon and we do select lessons from MEP (I read through the teacher's part and select items that don't come up elsewhere in our math studies). I don't expect to juggle 3 maths at once forever, or anything, but I'm still trying to get a handle on DD's learning style. She finds all three programs engaging and fun, and I make liberal use of the AL-abacus and the C-rods.

 

I have heard elsewhere on the boards that A was too gentle for their child and they went directly to B, for what it is worth. I have a young K-er, though and I didn't see the point of rushing things. It may make a difference to some budget-wise, though?

[2queens&1princenmyhouse]

DS's prek program uses Saxon K, so I purchased Saxon 1 (TG only) and he's already started that. By the time we actually start K in August, I figure he'll be halfway through Saxon 1. I'll decide at that time if I want to continue with Saxon or switch to something else.

[AdventureMoms]

I'm using Miquon plus some math games for K. I prefer pretty unstructured at this age. At some point, I plan to add in something else, maybe Singapore, For additional practice.

[Punchie]

I used RS A with DD last year. She loved it (still does, actually). It is very hands on, and while that is great for her, it's time consuming for me. I find it hard to get motivated to do the lessons because of the little odds and ends that go with them. For reference, have have two littles somewhat close in age, so that is/was a huge factor for me since my attention is constantly pulled three different ways.

[stm4him]

We use Saxon here and I really trust it now, but it took me awhile to figure out how to make it work for me (what to leave out, what to make sure we do, how to make parts more independent, etc.) So if you try Saxon give it some time. I think most kids can do it a year ahead, at least in the younger years. How much writing they are willing/able to do is a factor here. I personally did not find Saxon K a waste of time, but now I use it with my 4 year olds instead of my 5 year olds. The manipulatives are great, too.

 

That being said, I have also used Right Start in the past and loved the way it taught concepts (though I like the drill of Saxon). But Saxon and RS are both teacher intensive, so I had to pick one and chose Saxon for its incremental approach and independent components, etc. Also because the co-op we are in (Classical Conversations) uses Saxon in the upper grades and I wanted my kids to have one program all the way through. The way I have kept Right Start part of what we do is by using this book Right Start sells called Activities for the AL Abacus. It is like 25 dollars and there is a workbook that lines up with it for another 25 I think. It teaches all the arithmetic concepts on an abacus up to about the 4th grade level. There is no repetition built in so it is just a book to use to learn how to teach the concepts the Right Start way. It is a perfect supplement. The other thing we don't use much around here but do own (and wish I did use more of) is the set of games they sell. With the games and the supplemental book you can do both. Saxon runs on a typical school year calendar so if you stick with that you have all summer to do Right Start activities and games......

 

That way you can have your cake and eat it too!

[PentecostalMom]

What did you decide? I would have suggested Horizons.

[IceFairy]

DD is finishing up the Rod and Staff preschool/k pre-math books (see siggy) and will be using Rod and Staff 1 as we start K. I actually ordered Singapore Essential but its nothing more than what she is already doing.