Started BA 4B today

[deerforest]

Ah, it's like finding an old friend again. We had been filling in the time with Singapore 5A and other stuff, but it's just not the same. It's kinda silly how much we both love these monsters. DD asked if she could just read the whole guide today, and of course she can, but we'll still go through it systematically together.

 

 

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Yay!  We'll be starting today, our first day back at school after newborn ds's birth.

[TKDmom]

Wow, you got it already??  :toetap05:

[Farrar]

Jealous. :)

 

We need to start it very soon...  but I was holding off ordering because I also needed something from RR and thought if I could combine and save on shipping that would be worth waiting a couple of weeks.  Anyone know how quick it will get to RR though?

[TracyP]

Jealous. :)

 

We need to start it very soon...  but I was holding off ordering because I also needed something from RR and thought if I could combine and save on shipping that would be worth waiting a couple of weeks.  Anyone know how quick it will get to RR though?

 

 

:lol: I'm in exactly the same boat. I emailed RR the day 4B came out and they said about a month.

[Soror]

I emailed RR last week as well and was told about a month. Ds is still finishing up 4A as we did so many other things so it will work out just fine. I'm not planning on actually starting it until July so it works out well for me as I will save on shipping for BA and dd's MiF workbooks. I'm anxious to see 4B and will be enjoying everyone's reports.

[Roadrunner]

Jealous. :)

 

We need to start it very soon... but I was holding off ordering because I also needed something from RR and thought if I could combine and save on shipping that would be worth waiting a couple of weeks. Anyone know how quick it will get to RR though?

I gave in and ordered. I have managed to get my older to do extraordinary things during school hours just by promising to swap SM with BA as soon as it arrives. $4 in shipping has been worth it. :)

[Farrar]

I'm still torn.  We have one more section in 4A and there are some other things we could do.  I've gotten really good at drawing it out.  And it's not like 4C will be ready in any reasonable for us to use timeframe.  Alas and alack!

[deerforest]

DD couldn't deal with another day of Singapore 5A either so I paid for priority shipping. She's already read through it once and we are in the middle of the counting chapter. It's going well!

 

She exclaimed how they cover her favorite diagrams--Venn--and she was excited about the logic sections too.

[Roadrunner]

DD couldn't deal with another day of Singapore 5A either so I paid for priority shipping. She's already read through it once and we are in the middle of the counting chapter. It's going well!

 

She exclaimed how they cover her favorite diagrams--Venn--and she was excited about the logic sections too.

You and I are in the same spot in math. Are you planning on skipping the area chapter in SM 5A given how strong Beast is in geometry? We finished 5A through fractions and I am torn if I should do all of it (will do ratios for sure after we gobble up the new Beast book). We use IP books instead of workbooks and IP 5A has two chapters on area.

[SierraNevada]

I'm still waiting for mine in the mail. I am not really in a hurry to start it, as I want to finish up some other stuff first in SM5 and LoF that we just started...but I know that DS will want to read the guide in his spare time, and I am really excited for the logic sections. That said, I am also really excited to do the binary section in BA4a and we skipped that part and just never got back to it. So we have plenty to do, but I am still anxious to get it. I suppose some of that is the high of getting new books in the mail.

[deerforest]

You and I are in the same spot in math. Are you planning on skipping the area chapter in SM 5A given how strong Beast is in geometry? We finished 5A through fractions and I am torn if I should do all of it (will do ratios for sure after we gobble up the new Beast book). We use IP books instead of workbooks and IP 5A has two chapters on area.

 

We stopped mid-way through fractions. She loves fractions, but Singapore was driving her crazy so we switched back to do some Hands on Equations for a bit and other dilly-dallying waiting for BA 4B.

 

I shouldn't admit this, but I don't really like geometry and I often outsource those sections to DH. We will probably just do the ones in Singapore anyway as a review, though, and we have to find some way to pass the time until BA 4C. I have Jousting Armadillos and lots of other things to use after we finish Singapore 5A/5B because I would really like to make it through all of BA before switching to AoPS.

[Roadrunner]

I have Jousting Armadillos and lots of other things to use after we finish Singapore 5A/5B because I would really like to make it through all of BA before switching to AoPS.

That will be three more years! Oh, how much I would live to have all of BA before Aops, but realistically I will be happy if we can get 4C and 4D.

Resisting Jousting Armadillos given the cost. :)

[Julie of KY]

My BA is in the mail. As soon as it gets to the house, my teenagers will snatch it up to go read the entire thing before I even can get my hands on it. So sad that my dd won't be able to finish BA before moving on to AoPS, but it should be done for my little one.

[Soror]

Well, I'm thinking it will be 2 more years until BA is finished, 4 should be finished this coming school year. I believe I read that production was supposed to be speeding up here sometime soon. Or perhaps I'm wildly optimistic :) I'm planning on going through BA before algebra as well. I believe we will at least be able to finish 4 and perhaps half of 5. Ds is bright but not a math genius and I want to make sure we take our time and given the usual math sequence he will still be on the early side.

[Roadrunner]

Well, I'm thinking it will be 2 more years until BA is finished, 4 should be finished this coming school year. I believe I read that production was supposed to be speeding up here sometime soon. Or perhaps I'm wildly optimistic :) I'm planning on going through BA before algebra as well. I believe we will at least be able to finish 4 and perhaps half of 5. Ds is bright but not a math genius and I want to make sure we take our time and given the usual math sequence he will still be on the early side.

Last I read it was one book per 6 months. They are promising 4C in late 2014, so it's highly unlikely 4D will be out until sometime in 2015. I really want to be optimistic. :)

[TracyP]

Last I read it was one book per 6 months. They are promising 4C in late 2014, so it's highly unlikely 4D will be out until sometime in 2015. I really want to be optimistic. :)

 

They said they are adding to their team, so grades 5 and 2 will be released more quickly. I'm not sure what that means exactly... I'm not sure how wise it is, but add me to the wildly optimistic list. ;)

[Soror]

I was figuring D will be out earlyish next year, which is still this school year, although not this calendar year. I know I read something about them hiring more people and production speeding up. Here it is:

 

While the remaining grade 4 books will probably stay on a roughly 6-month schedule, I am cautiously optimistic that grades 5 and 2 will be able to be produced significantly faster, as we expect to grow the BA team here at AoPS in the coming months.

-Jason

 

 

[deerforest]

So, what are you guys going to do? Are you going to go ahead with AoPS? I think DD could handle the math if we did that (even now, to be honest), but I think the discovery approach will be too much for her emotionally right now. It works well in the context of BA.

 

I just don't know what to do. BA is the only math curriculum she has ever really loved. It's not that I think AoPS is the best thing since sliced bread. It's just that seeing her blossom with BA makes me think that AoPS is the right path for her. She just has some asynchronous behaviors between her math knowledge/competency and her confidence. I think AoPS will be a great fit for her in another year or two but not yet. We have started watching some of the videos, and she absolutely loves them.

[Soror]

Ds liked RS at first but then he grew to hate it and then for a bit all of math due to how much RS sucked the joy out of it. He enjoys BA but it is work for sure. I recently introduced LoF and he is a big fan, although I'm not as thrilled personally. My current plan is BA/LoF w/ some Horizons and games for review and fluency practice.

[deerforest]

DD really, really dislikes LoF. I borrowed the decimals/percents one recently to make sure because it had been a while since we tried. We read through the first few pages, and she said no way...

[Roadrunner]

So one year to make the rest of grade 4. If they double the speed, that's still two years until an entire grade4 and 5 is out. So yes, not fast enough. We will finish SM 5B with CWPs and IPs by January, so at this point I don't see any other choice but to jump unto preA. Too much repetition in SM 6 to even consider that as an option (my older is having trouble as is with not being challenged by SM). We will take preA slow and buy whatever BA comes up since I gave a younger boy, but unfortunately I can't see how I could stretch our math for two more years.

[Targhee]

Do you know if the plan is to finish 5 before starting on 2?

 

I'm not convinced 4d will be ready by the time DS is ready for it in early 2014, and fairly certain 5 won't be ready when he needs it. So, I am weighing out the decision - work with as much BA as I can and switch over to SM, or just switch him into SM 4 in the fall for consistency sake?

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I have LOF slated for after 4B, then probably Jousting Armadillos.  DD also enjoys Khan Academy and I have a few random things I've picked up that we'll try.  I expect we will have started Jousting Armadillos by early 2015.

[deerforest]

Yes I plan to start Jousting Armadillos probably by the fall as we are continuing through the summer. But, from reading threads, it sounds like that is only about a 10-week effort and I am not sure whether to just to continue with those other 2 books in that series or not.

[SierraNevada]

Deer forest- we are on the same track. I also just ordered Jousting Armadillos. I feel like we have more math books sitting around than anything right now. I had no idea there were two more volumes of JA though. Do all three volumes make one pre-a book?

 

We are going to finish 5a SM, and LOF fract and decimals then do BA 4b. LoF goes really fast-- I figure a little over a week for each book. And we don't skip anything in SM, even after the harder geometry units of BA. It just makes DS feel more confident to be able to breeze through geometry in SM after doing BAs. And geometry has been the hardest subject he has hit in math yet. Still struggles to make his own angles and use the protractor. So after doing BA4a, he had so much more confidence with SMs geometry. That was good for him.

 

Speak of the beast-- it just came in the mail! Lucky day.

[blondeviolin]

Y'all need to keep us updated on what you decide because I'm looking to you on where to go next! We are smack in the middle of the published BA books and my oldest has grown so much with the program that I couldn't imagine not finishing. We're lucky in that we can probably afford to take three books a year vs four because she's only a rising third grader, but we still will need other books in between our breaks.

[Farrar]

I'm not sure what we're going to do after 4B.  I have Jousting Armadillos and I am pretty sure it will be exactly what we need, but not for maybe another year.  I also have one more level of Hands on Equations saved that we will do but those go so fast.  And I have gotten him cheapie workbooks to practice basic algorithms and that has been really good for him, though he pitched a high fit about it a couple of times (including screaming at the top of his lungs, "This is not math!  This is just adding numbers and stuff!").  So I'll probably do a little more of that...  but I'm really not sure what we'll do next.  I have the Key to series, but I have mixed feelings about them.  I have been using Process Skills in Problem Solving (Fan-Math) with his twin and I really, really like it (why are more people not using these!) and may have him do it, but he's unsure if it's his style and I'm unsure if I can have my twins doing even an iota of the same math program because of the stress involved for my anxious math lover.

 

Sigh.  I'm sure others have similar kids to mine.  He's a great math thinker but he is rotten at math facts and math vocabulary, making him really uneven.  He hates easy calculations, even though when he buckles down he can generally do fine on them, and he likes a challenge, but it has to be interesting, like the way Beast presents it.  He can make these great leaps of understanding with basic math, but because of his weakness with vocabulary, things like converting measurements and remembering the names of shapes is just a non-starter for him.  No matter how many times we review something really simple like "hexagon" it's like new information every time.  But then if he has that information in front of him, he can do the crazy Beast geometry stuff and really enjoys it.

 

Which is just a rambling, thinking out loud way of me saying, no clue what we'll done once we finish this next one.

[Soror]

farrar my ds is so similar. We're doing Horizons for review and he doesn't like it but I just have him do 15 min a day so that hopefully some things don't fall out of his head from disuse. The definitions of various things is especially maddening. He forgets area and perimeter all the time, even though we've never done it by rote he cannot remember what it is called. So, I go over with him again and again what does it mean? So how do we figure that? We've used my tiled kitchen floor countless times for this exercise.

[deerforest]

DD is just like that too! We started using "Amusement Park Math" by Prufrock. It has an ongoing storyline of a carnival/circus/amusement park. It includes practice of all basic operations (sequentially), fractions, decimals, and word problems. It's for grades 4-6 and DD has mixed feelings about it but I think it is giving her enough daily practice with these things, but it doesn't cover geometry at all. I got it because she's a circus girl and thought it would appeal to her.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1593632916?pc_redir=1398060098&robot_redir=1

[kitten18]

 

:lol: I'm in exactly the same boat. I emailed RR the day 4B came out and they said about a month.

Oooh, that's good. I don't need it quite yet so I'm going to order from RR.

[deerforest]

Do you know if the plan is to finish 5 before starting on 2?

 

I'm not convinced 4d will be ready by the time DS is ready for it in early 2014, and fairly certain 5 won't be ready when he needs it. So, I am weighing out the decision - work with as much BA as I can and switch over to SM, or just switch him into SM 4 in the fall for consistency sake?

Yes, they have consistently and repeatedly stated that they would complete BA 5 before doing BA 2.

[LMD]

I gave in and ordered. I have managed to get my older to do extraordinary things during school hours just by promising to swap SM with BA as soon as it arrives. $4 in shipping has been worth it. :)

 

It's not $4 to have it shipped here!  Like others I'm waiting on RR (and I also emailed them!), I need some other books too and $50 shipping for BA + $50 shipping for RR is just not doable!  Sooooooooooo excited!  DD has been going on with Singapore 4 and it is so easy compared to BA 3...

[CrunchyGirl]

So one year to make the rest of grade 4. If they double the speed, that's still two years until an entire grade4 and 5 is out. So yes, not fast enough. We will finish SM 5B with CWPs and IPs by January, so at this point I don't see any other choice but to jump unto preA. Too much repetition in SM 6 to even consider that as an option (my older is having trouble as is with not being challenged by SM). We will take preA slow and buy whatever BA comes up since I gave a younger boy, but unfortunately I can't see how I could stretch our math for two more years.

 

Same issue here. BA is so perfect for him in so many ways but there's just no way to stretch it. We're finishing LoF Decimals, working through CWP 4-6, finishing BA4A and then 4B. He's asking to work through LoF Physics which of course he's already read through 4 times (<sigh>). We'll probably hit some sections of MM5 and MM6 that aren't otherwise covered and then I have Jousting Armadillos on deck.

[lovinmomma]

BA was just coming out when I put my kids in ps. Is it a complete math curriculum or a supplement?

[CrunchyGirl]

BA was just coming out when I put my kids in ps. Is it a complete math curriculum or a supplement?

 

It is a complete program but since it's coming out so slowly (1/4 grade level every 6 months) most of us are using it as a supplement since our kids are going to outpace it. By the time ArtsyGirl hits 3rd grade math we'll be able to use it as a complete program for her.

[Roadrunner]

So most of you are planning on using JA before aops preA or alongside it? Are the two approaches really different of those two programs? I am thinking aops is plenty without supplementation, but it have a hard time resisting promising books. :)

[Roadrunner]

It's not $4 to have it shipped here! Like others I'm waiting on RR (and I also emailed them!), I need some other books too and $50 shipping for BA + $50 shipping for RR is just not doable! Sooooooooooo excited! DD has been going on with Singapore 4 and it is so easy compared to BA 3...

$50 for shipping! That's insane.

[lovinmomma]

It is a complete program but since it's coming out so slowly (1/4 grade level every 6 months) most of us are using it as a supplement since our kids are going to outpace it. By the time ArtsyGirl hits 3rd grade math we'll be able to use it as a complete program for her.

Is it complete and rigorous enough to use alone? How would it compare to MM? Maybe it would just be easier if someone wants to share a link to a good thread about it? Pretty please with sugar on top?

[deerforest]

So most of you are planning on using JA before aops preA or alongside it? Are the two approaches really different of those two programs? I am thinking aops is plenty without supplementation, but it have a hard time resisting promising books. :)

 

I just think JA seems a bit more gentle with its discovery approach. I feel that DD just needs something between BA 4 series and AoPS. I wish it were BA 5 but the timing just doesn't work. For me, it has more to do with DD's personality and frustration tolerance than math skills. I'm not 100% sure long-term if AoPS will be the right direction for her. BA has been magic for her, but it will be interesting to see how that plays out long-term.

[SierraNevada]

So most of you are planning on using JA before aops preA or alongside it? Are the two approaches really different of those two programs? I am thinking aops is plenty without supplementation, but it have a hard time resisting promising books. :)

Same here. Using JA because I can't imagine that Aops will appeal to such a young one style wise. Just the book layout I think will be a turn-off. Wish that they made a pre-a Beast style book. Or even just a book that wasn't written in the traditional college style dense text format.

[SierraNevada]

Is it complete and rigorous enough to use alone? How would it compare to MM? Maybe it would just be easier if someone wants to share a link to a good thread about it? Pretty please with sugar on top?

BA is very rigorous and very complete. They cover the basics and so much more-- stuff like binary, logic puzzles-- really cool stuff that I've never seen in other curriculums. I've never seen MM, so I can't compare. I think most people who use it would use it as the solid/only curriculum right now if it were all finished. I would. But the speed at which it is being released just doesn't keep up with its users. I don't have a link to a good thread on it-- but just wanted to answer that it is very complete. The only thing that might need supplementation is practice for math fact fluency- but that is easy enough to drill.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I just think JA seems a bit more gentle with its discovery approach. I feel that DD just needs something between BA 4 series and AoPS. I wish it were BA 5 but the timing just doesn't work. For me, it has more to do with DD's personality and frustration tolerance than math skills. I'm not 100% sure long-term if AoPS will be the right direction for her. BA has been magic for her, but it will be interesting to see how that plays out long-term.

 

 

Same here. Using JA because I can't imagine that Aops will appeal to such a young one style wise. Just the book layout I think will be a turn-off. Wish that they made a pre-a Beast style book. Or even just a book that wasn't written in the traditional college style dense text format.

 

I agree that JA is a nice transition to AoPS.  It's a much gentler version of the discovery approach, but it's definitely all about logically deriving the concepts, rather than having them given to you.  It's also conversational, witty, funny . . . you an really hear the teacher talking directly to you.  It's got a similar tone as does Richard R in the AoPs videos - a tone that is totally missing in the text, IMO.

 

Once you've done JA, AoPS would be a lot less overwhelming, I think.  and AoPS covers a lot more - it's a complete PreA, which JA isn't.

 

If your kid is ready for AoPS PreA, using JA would be redundant, but if they aren't quite there yet, I think JA is perfect.

[Farrar]

Is it complete and rigorous enough to use alone? How would it compare to MM? Maybe it would just be easier if someone wants to share a link to a good thread about it? Pretty please with sugar on top?

 

Agreed that it's complete and then some.  It's just very different from MM.  Beast has a text (the comic) and a workbook.  MM has one worktext.  Beast is all about challenges and outside the box thinking.  MM is all about scaffolding slowly and deliberately.  Beast is all about discovery of methods, MM is all about direct instruction of methods.  Beast is a little slow in teaching traditional algorithms (though they're in there and the math itself is often way beyond).  MM uses breaking down algorithms to teach, so it's not slow in teaching them at all.

 

My thinking is that Beast and MM are for really different kids.  Beast for a kid who likes to be challenged or puzzled and needs less practice.  MM for a kid who likes to work slow and steady or needs direct and clear instruction and lots of practice.  Of course, it could be a good combination for some people.  Beast could be used to go back and learn concepts more in depth for a slightly older student.  MM can be used to review basics for a kid who is otherwise a more mathy thinker.  There's not necessarily one way to use these, but in general I would say extremely different even though they're both very complete in their own ways.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Farrar, that's an interesting perspective - one of your guys is a BA kid and one is more of an MM kid, right?  This is on my mind right now, my rising 3rd grader has finished MM2 and is in the 2nd chapter of BA 3A.  Sometimes - like during the geometry chapters - I think, this won't work as a stand alone for her, because some of the really puzzly stuff takes a lot out of her.  I like the idea of having a page or two of easier MM as practice along with the puzzly-challengy BA problems.  But now with the skip-counting chapter, it's fine as a stand-alone - she did 4 pages today, and found it so fun! So I'm thinking that while I'll plan to have BA be our main program, I'll keep MM handy for topics that might need extra practice or review, and for my own peace of mind with the chapter and end of year tests.  She will finish 3A, then have a bit of a break this summer when she does some all-day camps, so I'm thinking the first chapter and maybe the place value chapter of MM3 will be a good review before diving back into BA in August.  Anyway, we'll see how it goes.  I don't want to use both programs in their entirety, and I do want to use all of BA if it keeps working for her, but I can't quite see giving MM up entirely, either . . .  

[Roadrunner]

So the thinking with JA is to introduce topics in a gentler way? I am going around it a different way in my head. I am thinking preparing for AOPS for us should be mostly about making sure all the prerequisites are covered in sufficient depth, not doubling up on preA coverage. I could easily be persuaded to change our course. :)

If you own both Aops preA and JA, have you lined up different chapters?

Hmmmmm, an extra $60 in math I didn't think I needed to spend. :) :) :) you know who you are! :)

[deerforest]

I agree that JA is a nice transition to AoPS.  It's a much gentler version of the discovery approach, but it's definitely all about logically deriving the concepts, rather than having them given to you.  It's also conversational, witty, funny . . . you an really hear the teacher talking directly to you.  It's got a similar tone as does Richard R in the AoPs videos - a tone that is totally missing in the text, IMO.

 

Once you've done JA, AoPS would be a lot less overwhelming, I think.  and AoPS covers a lot more - it's a complete PreA, which JA isn't.

 

If your kid is ready for AoPS PreA, using JA would be redundant, but if they aren't quite there yet, I think JA is perfect.

 

Rose--I have to admit that I've been reading, following, stalking all your JA posts. Thanks for chiming in here!

[Chrysalis Academy]

So the thinking with JA is to introduce topics in a gentler way? I am going around it a different way in my head. I am thinking preparing for AOPS for us should be mostly about making sure all the prerequisites are covered in sufficient depth, not doubling up on preA coverage. I could easily be persuaded to change our course. :)

If you own both Aops preA and JA, have you lined up different chapters?

Hmmmmm, an extra $60 in math I didn't think I needed to spend. :) :) :) you know who you are! :)

 

I think if your kid is ready for AoPS preA, JA is unnecessary.  I didn't think mine was ready to dive right into AoPS for PreA.  For us, using JA plus Zaccaro, and now Alcumus, is a transition into AoPS Intro to Algebra (I hope) because I thought my kid would run screaming from AoPS PreA.  It's a kinder, gentler path leading to the same destination.  You might not need it at all, and, contrary to popular belief, I am not trying to get anybody to spend more money on math!!  ;)  :D  :001_tt2:

 

 

Rose--I have to admit that I've been reading, following, stalking all your JA posts. Thanks for chiming in here!

 

I have loved JA, and it's been perfect for us, but like I posted before, I don't think we'll continue with the series due to cost and the fact that AoPS has a much more thorough coverage - the AoPS PreA book covers about quadruple what JA covers at the same cost, and AoPS PreA covers about twice what you get with Crocodiles + Chuckles, at half the price.  The cost is a huge factor in my decision, as is my love of AoPs, Alcumus, (and, my family would claim, my crush on Richard R :001_tt1: .  If we end up crashing and burning with AoPS Intro to Algebra I wll reconside, but at this point we're planning on trying that once we're finished up with all our current stuff (JA, Zaccaro RWA & PSG, and Alcumus, mastering all of Pre-Algebra)

[Roadrunner]

I think if your kid is ready for AoPS preA, JA is unnecessary. I didn't think mine was ready to dive right into AoPS for PreA. For us, using JA plus Zaccaro, and now Alcumus, is a transition into AoPS Intro to Algebra (I hope) because I thought my kid would run screaming from AoPS PreA. It's a kinder, gentler path leading to the same destination. You might not need it at all, and, contrary to popular belief, I am not trying to get anybody to spend more money on math!! ;) :D :001_tt2:

)

Oh but you make the armadillos seem so adorable. :)

[FairProspects]

I think we are just going to AoPS pre-a. We are past what I can see of the 4B samples. We're going to finish up some Singapore and then just go slowly with pre-a. We can always go back and do some additional work on weaker areas if we need to but with backwards boy jumping harder frequently makes the easier arithmetic click.