mom2vikha Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Ladies, My almost 8 DD is working on MM4 and flying through it. We are also doing CWP3, ip3 zaccaro math. We want something fun. Which is better supplant to MM. BA or LOF. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoo_keeper Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Why not both? LoF and BA approach math from different angles. LoF is more algorithm-based (not my preference, but I want my children to know this approach because it does confer benefits) and is set up as a zany story with math (and other random content) thrown in at the end of each very short chapter. We use it as a bedtime story a few nights a week, and my children beg for it. BA, otoh, is conceptual, and really tries to teach the underlying mathematical relationships. (I have a total crush on AoPS and I could gush about them for days!) The girls love reading the guide books (full color comic book) for fun and we do the workbooks each day as seat work. Altogether, each girl does maybe 6-8 pages of a BA wb each week, 6-8 pages of SM IP or CWP each week, a chapter or two of LoF, and then random math pages from CTC or CML. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyGirl Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 They are night and day programs. Fred is very traditional math wrapped in a wacky story with a lot of love-of-math and day-dreaming-about-math thrown in (which is so nice for encouraging a math loving kid). LegoMan loves Fred and rereads each book several times. BA is a bit insane. It's a very rigorous program that seeks to ensure that children understand math and relationships between concepts at a very fundamental level. Lots of problems that require puzzling over. For some kids it's a god-send, for others, probably their worst nightmare. I wish we could use it as our core program but alas their release schedule is way too slow. We use both. LegoMan adores each for their math loving characters he feels are his friends and he can relate to. At least for him though, Fred is just fun. There's nothing difficult about it but he does retain beautifully. Beast is tough, it challenges him most days. Drives him insane occasionally. But it's always worth the effort. If I had to choose it would be BA, no question but I have a kid who needs that level of challenge. I think Fred might be a better fit for a lot of kids. So a lot depends on your kid and budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 My non-mathy girl is loving both. For a supplement, I think I'd do LOF. BA is pretty thorough and I'd hate skipping things. I be do tempted to just do BA all of the time. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 If MM is too easy, I'd dump it as "spine" and make BA the main program. If your student loves Singapore IP & CWP, BA would make a much better choice IMHO than LOF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 My dd thought Fred was weird and random. Not her style. We take breaks from our regular math and work through sections of Beast. We both love it. It's challenging but fun. I love how it's forced her to think outside the box and apply what she's learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 My DD thrives in and loves BA. It's so different than any other curriculum. However, she is definitely not a fan of Fred. We don't use it and don't feel like we are missing anything at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 None of us got excited about LOF. One of mine alternates BA with MEP, the other does MM. BA probably won't publish fast enough to stay ahead of your dd, which is why we alternate. I abbreviate a fair amount since topics are covered in both places which gives both extra coverage from different approaches and a chance to be sure that the topic had beaten thoroughly understood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyGirl Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Just thought of something to add :) LegoMan is 6. I think he feels really isolated right now in that no one in his life adores math the way he does. So at 6, the wackiness of Fred appeals to his silly side and the thought that a 5 year old could be a math teacher just makes him happy. So whether the program appeals to a particular child could have something to do with age, maturity, ability to handle straight wacky story lines, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 my older child loved LOF when she started homeschooling in 4th grade. Math had become boring and onerous at ps and Fred was just what she needed to put the fun and playfulness back into it. I don't think she learned a ton from the elementary program, but she learned that math could be fun and quirky and playful - and that was worth its weight in gold. Fast forward to my younger - she is very impatient with Fred. She gets annoyed that he is so naive, that he keeps getting tricked by Coalback. She doesn't like all the digressions. She got to the point where she'd say "do we have to read all that? Can't we just do the math?" For her, BA is a much better supplement, and I've given up on LOF for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 My 6 year old loves LOF - getting BA in where I live is going to be expensive and I am hoping someone will start imports for us sometime, but right now it is not an option here and my DD is probably not ready for it yet. I use Singapore to teach her the fundamentals and LOF as a follow up and a fun story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 My math-gifted child (also 8 yrs old) does accelerated MM and then LoF for fun. She also has started learning computer programming using a combination of Code Academy, Scratch, Khan Academy, and a Python for Kids book. My rule is she has to spend 1 hour a day on math, and whatever lessons get done get done. So in 3rd grade she's moved into MM 5a now and that's OK. (At least, it seems, the 'flying through it' has finally started slow down to a reasonable pace in 5a, so maybe your 8 yr old will get there too.) The hour doesn't include programming, but computer programming is a great skill for a mathy kid to start learning at an early age, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2vikha Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 Thank you so much for all your responses. I think I am going to use MM as spine (with CWP,IP) and do beast for fun. My only concern is if it is worth loading her with two full curriculums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2vikha Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 My math-gifted child (also 8 yrs old) does accelerated MM and then LoF for fun. She also has started learning computer programming using a combination of Code Academy, Scratch, Khan Academy, and a Python for Kids book. My rule is she has to spend 1 hour a day on math, and whatever lessons get done get done. So in 3rd grade she's moved into MM 5a now and that's OK. (At least, it seems, the 'flying through it' has finally started slow down to a reasonable pace in 5a, so maybe your 8 yr old will get there too.) The hour doesn't include programming, but computer programming is a great skill for a mathy kid to start learning at an early age, IMO. Hi Zenjenn, Wondering how it is going with MM5. Do you have plans after MM5? I thought it is better to get your opinion since both of us are on the same boat :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basketcase Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 We use both - BA as spine, LoF as supplement. LoF is something the kids do on their own, and I will say that they read them for fun, without prompting. My true love is BA - my kids need something more interesting (and difficult) than just learning facts and tricks. BA makes them think, which keeps them more involved. Of course, they might be finally done with the series in time for my DS2 to do all of them :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2vikha Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 can we start straight from BA 3B for summer? skipping 3A since BA is not our spine and I have heard that 3A is unnecessarily hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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