MUS box day! It looks difficult to teach!!

[Lovedtodeath]

I was so excited to get MUS. First off I was very angry that the skip count songs were religious, and I do not have an option to return them. Then I saw the literature based songs in the back and calmed down a little.

 

It is so different from what I am used to that it looks difficult and time-consuming. Decimal Street makes no sense to me, and we are switching from a program that counted 1-10, not 0-9. We are switching from Horizons and teaching that is a no brainer. I am scared. Talk me down?

[Willow]

:grouphug: feel any better? I LOVE MUS. Our math life has been converted. I think you may need to slow down a little. i know how i feel on any box day. I try to read it all at once ;).

 

Decimal street is fine. Just start again. watch the video, try it yourself, play with the blocks, and most important of all join the yahoo MUS group. they are wonderful.

 

Hint 1. don't try to teach the kids until you understand it yourself. I learnt new stuff in alpha, let alone the other levels :001_huh:.

 

Hint 2. It takes as long as it takes, both for you and the kids. If you spend a week, a month or even 6 months on a single lesson so be it. The aim is to educate your kids, not to finish calculus at 12. If your kids stick on a lesson, lay off for a week. come back to it. maybe lay off for a month and do some baking instead!

 

Hint 3. we ditched the songs....but others love them. If it isn't working for you don't use it.

 

Hope you feel better soon

 

Willow.

[mommytobees]

I switched from Singapore math to MUS a few months ago. I will add that I've never used Horizons, but I did use Saxon, which we hated.

 

Now, my dd went from Singapore 3b to MUS Gamma (about 1/2 through the book and good sections are still review, but good practice) and my ds went from Singapore 5a to MUS Delta (about 1/3 of the book is new, we started 1/2 through and have done some review).

 

At this point we don't even pay attention to decimal street and haven't needed it yet.

 

We LOVE LOVE LOVE the songs. I don't use the religious based songs, as my dh is atheist and I don't think math and religion need go hand in hand.

 

The first few days/lessons, until you get used to using the program, it does seem to take more time than Singapore, but about the same amount of time as Saxon.

 

Once we grew accustomed to the program and knew what to expect, we didn't take nearly as long.

 

Just as a side note, the reason I switched to MUS is that my ds already "out-mathed" me. Math is not my strong subject and while trying to work ahead, Singapore 5A was more than my poor little brain could handle. As we progress on in MUS, my ds starts Epsilon next week, I expect the teacher to teach the math concepts. If we have a problem (which I do NOT see happening, my kids are both very quick), then I'll hire a tutor.

 

HTH,

kris

[mommytobees]

Hint 2. It takes as long as it takes, both for you and the kids. If you spend a week, a month or even 6 months on a single lesson so be it. The aim is to educate your kids, not to finish calculus at 12. If your kids stick on a lesson, lay off for a week. come back to it. maybe lay off for a month and do some baking instead!

 

I agree with this 100%!! And thought it should be seconded.

 

The goal is to teach at your child's pace, one of the best points of homeschooling. Don't worry about WHEN you/she gets it done, only be concerned with your dd learning the concepts.

 

Kris

[Lovedtodeath]

Thank you, still scared... might join that group. Can I have DD watch the video? Or do I watch it late at night lol.

[Willow]

To start with watch it yourself late at night, make sure you truly understand it. then watch again the next day with your dc....if they like to watch. My ds doesn't always watch the video, but i always do.

 

later you may not need to watch at night and just watch with the dc, whatever works for you.

 

Willow

[keptwoman]

I love MUS!!! We had a break this year because I couldn't afford Gamma and I figured I could teach times tables myself, and I can. But it was so nice to get back to MUS. I love the way math language is all through the program.

 

Decimal street is so fabulous, the place value lessons make carrying/regrouping in addition and subtraction so logical. I'm doing Primer with DD now, and we have just hit Decimal Street, understanding how the concept helped C, I'll be sticking with it until she gets it.

 

I don't find it time consuming at all. Once I got going, I let C watch the DVDs and fill out his pages. If I think he may have issues or isnt' getting it I watch the DVD too to see how Steve Demme is explaining it and we go from there, I find it a very easy program to use.

 

Give it a go! I bet you will love it.

[VaKim]

My dd does it by herself for the most part. She watches the dvd (I'm usually somewhere in the vicinity if she has questions, which she never has yet), does her pages, and I check them. I am there if she has questions. I never even use the teacher's book except to check her work. Nothing teacher-intensive at all here.:)

[Sunshine State Sue]

Decimal Street makes no sense to me

Decimal Street is easy. Ds is 12 now, but I remember well when we played Decimal Street. There is a home for the 1s, a mansion for the 10s, and a castle for the 100s.

 

First, I showed him a number, say 362. I had 3 100s living in the castle, 6 10s living in the mansion, and 2 1s in the home. Then, I would walk away and ds would pretend to be a tornado and mess up all the blocks. Then, he would be a dog and come barking to find me and show me what the tornado had done. Then, we would put things back in the right spot and he would tell me the number: Three hundred sixty two. He loved playing this game, and we played it over and over again. Before we played this game, if we were at a hotel and our room number was 362, he would call it three-six-two. This is MUS's way of helping the children SEE that 362 is 3 100s 6 10s and 2 1s.

 

Eventually, you can show regrouping with Decimal Street. Only 9 of any kind can fit in the buildings. When there are more than 9, 10 combine and move to the bigger building. Again, the children SEE the reason for what they are doing. Teaching place value is one of MUS's strengths.

 

MUS is so easy to use. At the beginning of the week, I watch the DVD or read the TM. I present the lesson to my son, and he works on his own the rest of the week. The DVDs are there to hold your hand. The lessons are short and sweet. The lesson build little by little until your child knows a whole lot.

 

New things are always a little scary for me. Give it a few weeks, and you will be amazed at how smoothly it goes.

[Dani n Monies Mom]

My dd does it by herself for the most part. She watches the dvd (I'm usually somewhere in the vicinity if she has questions, which she never has yet), does her pages, and I check them. I am there if she has questions. I never even use the teacher's book except to check her work. Nothing teacher-intensive at all here.:)

 

We've done it this way for Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon or rather, multiplication, division and fractions. Dd likes to do it this way and has great success with it. I usually look ahead to see what's coming up in the lessons in order to be prepared with any questions. There have even been times when I tell her to just look at the next lesson and try to figure it out before watching the DVD. She did that so well this year that she skipped from lesson 20something to the last lesson in the book because she knew she could do it. (We did go back and review the lessons she skipped, albeit only briefly, as I didn't want to frustrate her with repetition.)

 

All that to say, MUS is actually very easy to use, just take your time to get used to the style of teaching. It really does make sense, especially at the later stages of the program.

 

Ava

[Scuff]

If it makes you feel better, I was a little nervous about it too. I watched the video, looked at it at a friend's house, ect. So I planned to use it with my middle DD, to supliment R&S, to give her another way of playing with things, since she's so kinisetic. I just got my teachers stuff yesterday (used). And ordered the student stuff. The more I look at this stuff, the more I get it, and the more I'm thinking we may use R&S to supliment this, instead of the other way around. So, don't worry about it! Take it out and look at it every now and then. It'll grow on you. :)