Reefgazer Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Is Beast Academy enough of a math program standing on its own, or do most use it as a supplement alongside something else? DS is loving it, but it seems he spends very little time on math and it seems rather simple for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 We used it last last year all alone and it was just fine for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 It is intended to be a complete year's worth of math in the 4 books. How quickly is he getting through a book? Which book is he in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 If just the textbook, I don't think it's enough. The workbook is an important component. If he is doing the problems and understanding, I think it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I think it's pretty in depth. It does have fewer practice problems than some programs, but I think that's purposeful - some of the problems are easy, but they usually lead into really difficult problems. Of course, like Stripe said, I'm assuming you're using both the workbook and the text, but if so, then just because it's a short time doesn't mean it isn't a really good program. I think many people on this board are using it with something else for one of two reasons a) because everyone on this board is using too many math programs or b ) because there are so few books out now for Beast that they want to be able to transition back to something else easily. Neither of those reasons mean that you need to make the same call. I think there is a way in which we sometimes put roadblocks in the way of our kids because we think learning should be hard. Sometimes learning is hard, but sometimes it's not and we don't need to go out of our way to make it hard just so it can "count" as real learning. Of course, your ds may need more challenge, but I'd just throw that out for consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 If just the textbook, I don't think it's enough. The workbook is an important component. If he is doing the problems and understanding, I think it's fine. I didn't think of that. To the OP, are you using the guides and the workbooks together? Because if it is just the textbooks (the comic book) then that is only a third of the program. The work happens in the workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 DS is a new homeschooler this year (4th grade), and since Saxon works so well for DD, I intended to use that with DS. But then BA grabbed my eye, and it also looked interesting to DS, so I gave him the placement test. He missed placement into the 4 guidebooks by one question, so then I had to decide whether or not to stick him in BA 4 despite him not testing into there, or place him into BA 3, despite his having done 3rd grade math in public school and done very well. I decided to follow the test placement recommendations and put him in BA3. While lots of that is review for him, a few things are not, or the material is presented in a unique way. I thought maybe this particular section was just an easy piece for him, but I'm not sure and was wondering if it really is just not much pencil and paper work. I am using both the guide and the workbook. The first day I handed him the book and asked him to read a reasonable number of pages. He popped back into the room a few hours later and said he loved it, so he just read the whole book. So then the next day, I handed him a few of the workbook pages and explained which guidebook pages they go with. He did those without too much difficulty, but did get stumped on a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I am using both the guide and the workbook. The first day I handed him the book and asked him to read a reasonable number of pages. He popped back into the room a few hours later and said he loved it, so he just read the whole book. So then the next day, I handed him a few of the workbook pages and explained which guidebook pages they go with. He did those without too much difficulty, but did get stumped on a few. Ultimately I didn't stick with BA, but this is what I did. I let my son curl up with the text as much as he wanted, but had him go over the workbook pages in a more structured fashion. Some of the hard problems took a while to solve. I think AOPS encourages lengthy contemplation of hard problems so I'd spend time on the stumpers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 If 3rd grade is review for him, then some parts of BA3 will be easy. Each section starts with some easy and basic questions. And then it gets harder. And then the last few pages of each section are really hard. You can try assigning more pages at the beginning of each section, and then decreasing the amount as he progresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I always just used BA for a "fun" (not sure my dd always thought so ;) ) supplement. I'm not sure we really had time in our schedule, though, to do it justice that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I am using both the guide and the workbook. The first day I handed him the book and asked him to read a reasonable number of pages. He popped back into the room a few hours later and said he loved it, so he just read the whole book. So then the next day, I handed him a few of the workbook pages and explained which guidebook pages they go with. He did those without too much difficulty, but did get stumped on a few. Even my kindergartener can read the whole guide in one day. Even I (bachelor's in physics and minor in math) can't get some of the challengers without a good solid think about it. I think maybe if you got involved in the work you'd have a better feel for how it fits your child's skill level? Do I get it right, you gave the 4A assessment and he didn't pass so you went back to 3A? Out of curiosity did you try the 3B assessment? Perhaps that will highlight the areas in the workbook that could be easy enough that you'd want to skip them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 I didn't know there was an assessment for each of the letter levels. I thought you had to pick 3 or 4. Even my kindergartener can read the whole guide in one day. Even I (bachelor's in physics and minor in math) can't get some of the challengers without a good solid think about it. I think maybe if you got involved in the work you'd have a better feel for how it fits your child's skill level? Do I get it right, you gave the 4A assessment and he didn't pass so you went back to 3A? Out of curiosity did you try the 3B assessment? Perhaps that will highlight the areas in the workbook that could be easy enough that you'd want to skip them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I didn't know there was an assessment for each of the letter levels. I thought you had to pick 3 or 4. http://beastacademy.com/resources/assessments.php There is a pre-assessment for each book that's been released so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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