Math over the Summer? ((MUS and MM))

[~Victoria~]

We will wrap up MUS Alpha this year and I have already bought Beta.  We have liked MUS, it has worked well, and it was something that definitely got done everyday.  BUT looking over Beta I see that "side" topics are not covered a whole lot.  I looked at Math Mammoth and thought about getting their clock, money, and measuring books to incorporate whenever that subject comes up in Beta... OR I could work through their first grade book with him over the summer after we finish alpha.  Math, reading, and handwriting are the only things we will do over the summer.  It's so hot here in Texas, we will be indoors a lot anyway.

[Gil]

removed for longwindedness. It was to confusing and not very helpful.

[claluck]

For the summers and keeping up on stuff we usually do more math games, and work much harder on learning math facts.  We keep it pretty simple but still keep math in their brains.  If we do actual "Math" like my dh wants to do this summer it will actually just be to keep going with the next level of the curriculum maybe at a more leisurely pace than during the actual school year.

[Walking-Iris]

I continue with math over the summer as well. But I wouldn't repeat 1st grade over the summer with MM. It's so easy and if your ds has mastered that even a bit it would be boring. 

 

I think getting some books on side topics like the clocks, measurement etc and playing lots of math games and activities would be enough. 

 

I don't use MUS...but I thought you just kept going regardless of grade level?

[dereksurfs]

MUS has a different S&S than other programs as you have probably discovered.  So the two may actually compliment each other well.  We started with MUS and went all the way through Pre-A with ds12. However for our younger two we switched from MUS to CLE & MM after Beta.  All programs have there strengths and weaknesses.  The one weakness I found with MUS was that it didn't challenge ds enough which I rectified in part through supplementing as you are looking at doing.  Since you plan to continue with MUS next year I think supplementing is a perfectly fine way to help a child gain greater breadth and depth in their math skills.  If you decide to stay with MUS all the way through primary math (Zeta) I would highly encourage you to seek out good supplemental materials along the way.  There are fun math games, software programs and many other ways to learn and practice math skills.  

 

MM is a solid standalone program which can also be used well to supplement as we have done with CLE.  I actually find MM stronger than MUS and CLE in terms of level of challenge as well as concept development.  However it can also be a bit dry.  As such we use it as tolerated with our dds.  For us this consists of 3-4 days with CLE and 1-2 of MM per week.  MM has grown on our youngest to the point where she actually likes it more than CLE.  So we will most likely switch her over entirely.  For our middle dd we will use MM exclusively over the Summer.  We also stagger MM by at least 1/2 a year behind for review and further development of concepts introduced in their spine program.

 

In terms of which MM to buy they both contain the same content. One series is just topic based so it may be easier to use for targeted study.  However we like having the full year and can look up any areas we may need to focus on.  The nice thing with having the full grades is their completeness if/when an area needs more reinforcement.  In addition Maria Miller has regular sales which makes buying a set of years very affordable.  You never know what areas you may want to do more work in.

[k8c]

Could you use something like CTC's workbooks that spiral around and look less like "learning" for a fun summer review?  They call the workbooks a full curriculum, but IMO there isn't much teaching at the 1st grade level.  We use it to supplement Singapore and find that it is simple to just apply the Singapore style to the workbook pages, and I bet you could do the same with MUS.  There is tons of money, shapes, graphs, measurement, etc in the Level B (1st grade) book, plus the "drill" pages are more interesting because once they find the answers, they get to complete a dot-to-dot picture with the numbers.  They also have some logic/thinking skills mixed in.

[~Victoria~]

I continue with math over the summer as well. But I wouldn't repeat 1st grade over the summer with MM. It's so easy and if your ds has mastered that even a bit it would be boring.

 

I think getting some books on side topics like the clocks, measurement etc and playing lots of math games and activities would be enough.

 

I don't use MUS...but I thought you just kept going regardless of grade level?

He has done well with alpha, so the 1st grade addition and subtraction portions would definitely be too easy. I may just go with the topic books and teach the first 1/3rd or so of each one (they say they span grades 1-3, not sure what that looks like).

With MUS you do progress to the next level whenever ready, but I don't want to dive into beta until next year. Math will be leisurely done over the summer :)

I also have been looking at singapore's cwp to add in once or twice a week next year. That looks like a nice supplement.

[~Victoria~]

Could you use something like CTC's workbooks that spiral around and look less like "learning" for a fun summer review? They call the workbooks a full curriculum, but IMO there isn't much teaching at the 1st grade level. We use it to supplement Singapore and find that it is simple to just apply the Singapore style to the workbook pages, and I bet you could do the same with MUS. There is tons of money, shapes, graphs, measurement, etc in the Level B (1st grade) book, plus the "drill" pages are more interesting because once they find the answers, they get to complete a dot-to-dot picture with the numbers. They also have some logic/thinking skills mixed in.

I looked for CTC workbooks but could only find an online curriculum - could you post a link to what you're talking about? :)

[carriede]

Doesn't Kumon publish more topical workbooks?

[NoseInABook]

Funny, I almost asked the exact same question about MUS and MM. I'm still mulling the idea of MM but I'm curious what CTC workbooks are?

[dereksurfs]

I looked for CTC workbooks but could only find an online curriculum - could you post a link to what you're talking about? :)

 

Hm, I looked it up and saw the same thing - an online program basically.  In addition they mentioned printable worksheets along with the program. 

 

"Following each math tutorial there are interactive questions or an optional printable worksheet which tests the understanding of key concepts."  - http://ctcmath.com/how-it-works/

 

Although interesting it looks a little pricey for a supplement.  Though it may be good.  

[~Victoria~]

I think I may just drill review from alpha over the summer and then insert the mm topic books (money, clocks, and measurement) when they are introduced in beta. We didn't use the test booklet and there are activity pages in there that are fun that we may use over the summer too.