petepie2 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I used Singapore Earlybird with my first three children.....Book A when they were 4 yrs old and Book B in Kindergarten (w/ R&S Math 1 thrown in)....I'm thinking of doing something different with my youngest (mainly because after doing something 3 times, you're just ready for something different!), who will be K4 in the fall. Is there a good reason to prefer Essential Math over Earlybird? I read that the money unit isn't in Essential Math, and I'm okay with that. Only one of my kids "got it" anyway, and I think it's unnecessarily difficult. Would Essential Math A be appropriate for K4? Right now she can recognize numbers/count almost to twenty. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Essential Math A has a large focus on learning to count objects with 1-to-1 correspondence, and learning the digits (recognizing/writing). There are small units on things like same/different, patterns, shapes, etc. My daughter is 4 and does well with it. She calls it her "coloring school" because I let her color the page with her colored pencils when she finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 My answer may not be helpful since I don't exactly recall why we chose Essential. We haven't started it yet, but I bought it last year for my son who will start it for K4 in a few months after reading through many threads on here. I can't remember all the reasons. I know price was a big factor. I think I remember that Earlybird had lots of extra activities like cutting and pasting that Essential didn't focus on. The instructions for Essential are right on the pages as opposed to needing an extra teacher guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avilma Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I did both Earlybird (including the workbook) and Essential with my dd6 (finished just before her 6th birthday last July) and am doing the same with dd5. Took me 2 years to finish all 6 books doing just 1-2 pages every day with dd6. I am glad I did them that way and resisted her demands to do more pages. It gave her a good and gentle introduction to math. DD6 then finished MEP 1 in 4 months and is now doing MEP 2. MEP is not gentle but she is doing very well because she had a good foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I liked Essential Math for the most part. I honestly felt it wasn't enough though. My Kinder blew through them and then I had to use other resources and hands-on games to reinforce the concepts. The activities at the bottom of each page were redundant for the most part. But for the price it was a simple way to introduce them to using a workbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I read several people on here suggest Essentials over Earlybird. I have never seen Earlybird in person, so I can't honestly compare, but I was very happy with Essentials. I did find these blogs post helpful when I was making my decision. http://www.blueskiesacademy.com/2011/03/singapore-earlybird-versus-essential-math/ and http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=7532 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I liked Essential Math for the most part. I honestly felt it wasn't enough though. My Kinder blew through them and then I had to use other resources and hands-on games to reinforce the concepts. The activities at the bottom of each page were redundant for the most part. But for the price it was a simple way to introduce them to using a workbook. :iagree: I'll probably use them again for my son, but I did supplement like crazy when using them with my dd6. I added in Education Unboxed videos, MEP Reception, and some Miquon Orange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguistmama Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I'm using Essentials with my current K'er. I like the cheaper price and the simplicity over Earlybird. All the instructions are right on the page and it is very open and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petepie2 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 It looks like Essentials would be a good choice. If anything I like that it's cheaper....and she will probably like to color some of the pages, too. We also add in a lot of c-rod activities. Education Unboxed is a great resource! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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