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[mom2bee]

Removed by the Author.

[mom2bee]

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[Spy Car]

Primary Mathematics is very "afterschool" friendly IMO (we afterschool). It is efficient and can be customized easily.

 

I would get on it now, and get ahead of "school", rather than waiting.

 

I'd also recommend using the Standards Edition Textbook, Workbook, and HIG rather than the US Edition.

 

I can't comment on the Math Sprints as we've never used it. We've enjoyed Math Express for the extra stratagies. I would not say the latter is "essential," but an interesting supplement if one has the time.

 

Remind your friend that the "school year" is only 180 days. That leaves another half a year. Take advantage of that time (like summers) to get ahead in a "relaxed" fashion, rather than dumping a lot more work after school. Play and free time are important too, and being ahead means you don't need to stress. School math homework goes so much faster too. And it makes sure the "school math" suppliments the "home math" program, rather than vice versa.

 

Start now.

 

Bill

[mom2bee]

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[nono]

If she expects him to fly through, I would think the Intensive Practice might bore the life out of the child. My 2 cents!

[NittanyJen]

I would skip the extra practice book, unless he really needs it.

 

In the US Edition, the text and workbook alone provide boatloads of both problems and review, and then if she adds in the CWP there will be still more and the IP adds in both more problems and review. DS9 can't do more than half of the Robles in the US edition without being bored beyond tears, and he's not after schooling.

 

Apparently, the Standards edition builds in yet still more review-- my son can't even stand the amount in the US Edition, but all kids are different-- and many find the Home Instructor's Guide to be more clear in the Standards Edition. In most cases, I have glanced through an HIG after teaching the level, and thought, "Well, that's how I taught it after reading ahead in the text (US Edition) anyway!" So the difference in HIG's has made no difference for us, and my son has gone through levels 2A--5A so far. For the most part, if you take seriously the concrete (teach it physically first) pictorial (open the text or draw on a whie board or paper and show what is happening to the number relationships) abstract (standard mathematical notation) approach Singapore uses, you can pretty much read the text ahead and see how to plan to teach, even though the concepts are presented very differently from how we learned them. An open mind is a must! I am fairly accomplished in math, yet I have learned from Singapore PM! The HIG from either series is there for inspiration if you need it though!

 

I also understand that the Standards Edition (somebody correct me if I am wrong) continues in multi-color longer than the US edition. Here is another spot where different kids respond differently. My son was so very happy when the US cut back to 2-tone in 3rd level and for him, became less visually distracting. Other kids don't care or prefer the color in Standards.

 

One difference that bugs many people is that apparently Standards edition explicitly teaches negative numbers at some point, where the US Edition does not. Again, not an issue in our house, because DS9 didn't need explicit instruction... he figured out the number line, multiplication rules, addition, etc on his own and while goofing around in Khan Academy and reading Life of Fred. The topic is addressed in the first middle series book, I believe.

 

So, in a nutshell, and divorced from any popularity contest stuff:

 

Review:

US Edition-- review sections in each chapter, and the regular problems naturally build in review of prior concepts by requiring the student to use them in order to answer the questions (ie after units of measure are introduced, at least half of the word problems in future chapters involve units of measure; same goes for fractions, geometry, etc, so the student is continuously .reviewing' with every problem)

Standards Edition-- additional review sections beyond the US Edition still.

 

Use of color:

US Edition-- full color through 2B, then goes to 2-tone.

Standards Edition-- remains full color in the textbook through the elementary series

 

Home Instructor's Guide:

US Edition-- seems to cover the topics pretty well and gives pretty clear ideas for teaching (my opinion when read after the fact)

Standards Edition-- overwhelmingly more popular on these boards for clarity and helpfulness. Also popular is a book by Liping Ma.

 

Content:

US Edition-- Outstanding. I have no concerns.

Standards-- contains a few extra topic, most notably negative numbers

 

Hopefully the above list will be useful to your friend so she can sort out what qualities matter most to her. In the long run, this should NOT be a stressful decision, as either edition will provide a high quality mathematical foundation; there is no wrong choice to be made here ;). Also, you can switch editions between levels (ie between 2B and 3A).

 

Good luck!