Nart Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 My son is finishing up SM2B (it seems like there isn't much in 2B after the first chapter on mental math, the other chapters don't seem particularly challenging at all). If your child used Beast Academy 3, did your child finish SM 3A first? Or did your child work on SM 3A and BA 3A together? Or did you just switch over completely from Singapore to BA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Listening in. I'm finishing up SM 3A now and considering a switch. I don't think my dd would have been ready for BA until after 3A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Fritz did most of Singapore 3A before we switched to Beast Academy, but that's just because we were using SM and I didn't know about BA yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 My daughter was in SM 4 when we started BA. My son is doing SM2 and I plan on starting him in Beast as soon as he finishes 2b. However, he sees math easier than some kids and I wouldn't be surprised if it is better to have some of SM3 done before starting BA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 My son used SOME of Beast as a summer bridge after finishing 2B. He did Beast 3D, chapter on Fractions, Beast 3A and most of Beast 3B. Then, we started up our school year in September and he did Singapore 3A concurrently with the last chapter of Beast 3B. He'll be working on the rest of Beast 3 concurrently with the rest of Singapore. Oh...he finished Singapore 3A in less than two months. I'm not sure if I'm going to start Beast 4 before I start Singapore 4. I kind of like the idea of doing Singapore first and then either following up with Beast for that subject matter, or using Beast after Singapore 4 is finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 We weren't in SIngapore, but I tried it with both ds. The one who had nearly finished Miquon did well with it. It turned out to be a poor fit for his brother, who was nearly finished with all of MM3 at the time. This is mostly just to say... I don't think that the amount of math covered is the best indication of whether it will be a good fit. My ds who didn't end up doing Beast had technically had plenty of math - all of a perfectly rigorous third grade curriculum in fact. Yet the problems were all either too easy or too hard and he ended up getting not much out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I agree 100% with Farrar. I'm not convinced that experience with other math curricula really indicate readiness for BA. We went from BA 3A directly from an entire year of just living math. BA saved her mathematical soul! She despised anything that resembled a worksheet and had gotten tired of the pace of RS so we did just games and books and movies and fun for that whole year, and it was magical! We got BA 3A when it first came out (she was 7.5), and even when it was hard, she just really kept at it. She just loved it! She now is much more tolerant of practice sheets and workbooks and Singapore, but I still pull from tons of resources to keep her interested. She's beyond BA's levels, but I still bought 4C right away because it's like catching up with an old friend. It was so significant in her math learning experience. We tend to go deep and wide with math rather than fast. I could have easily put her into pre-algebra by now, but we are enjoying our random wanderings too much! I really credit BA with solidifying this interest in math that we started with our year of living math. BA really resonated her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dramorellis Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 We did BA 3A whilst doing MIF 2A-2B. It was stuff we had not covered before but he had enough of a foundation to grasp it quickly. We did take our time and are just starting 3B now. He is almost done with MiF 3A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 We were in the middle of SM 3A when BA came out. In fact we were wrangling over a long division lesson when UPS guy arrived (I despise the way SM teaches long division). I told ds to put away his SM book and we jumped right into BA that morning. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daffodil Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Nope. My daughter is currently in the middle of BA 3C and just now finishing up Singapore 3A. Singapore 3A is so boring; I'm glad we had Beast to break it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Thanks for all the replies. I am going to go ahead and order BA 3A and see how it goes. I think I will have him try it out now and skip the SM 2B chapters on shapes and multiplication/division since he already has memorized his times tables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 We did BA3A after Singapore 1B and a little bit into CLE200. Had no problem with 3A. Didn't hit a sticking point until the perfect squares section of 3B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Thanks for all the replies. I went ahead and had my son start Beast Academy 3A after SM 2B (actually it was Math in Focus 2B). He hasn't had any trouble so far. He started at the beginning of Dec and he just started the third chapter of BA3A - area and perimeter today. I am going to go ahead and order BA 3B today so that it will be here when he finishes in a couple of weeks. He loves Beast Academy! There have been a couple of tears while doing some one and two star problems, but he is so proud when he is able to do them. The hints in the back of the book are nice when he gets stuck. It is such a different program than Singapore. The way they explain in the guide how to solve problems is matching up to the way he thinks. Some problems, particularly finding multiple shapes in a figure, he has seen the answer before I have. Since he is loving Beast, I am wondering if it would be a good idea to have him do all of third grade BA and not supplement with anything else and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Listening in as I have a son just beginning MIF2b and I want to know where to go next. Like you, I'm seeing that 2b isn't very challenging after the mental math. Which is a bit disappointing as 2a also wasn't at all challenging after the bar chapter... This isn't a kid that LIKES challenge, but it IS a kid that could use some practice being challenged, and the draw of a comic might get him to do that. He blew through Singapore K and 1 as well as Miquon orange and red, and LOF a and b last year. MIF2 seems a bit more on level for him, and we are still supplementing with LOF, as well as a fact memorization program...but he's still going to finish before the year is up... I'd rather do ONE challenging deep program than blowing through 3 easy ones just to slow him down. I'm noticing most people don't use JUST beast, though. Is it not complete? Or is it just the release schedule? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I think many people were supplementing due to the release schedule, but for those of us lucky enough to be starting now, I think we should be okay. My son is just beginning 3C, and I've been very impressed with the completeness. (The publisher says that it covers everything in common core as well. ) I had been spinning my wheels trying to slow my son down, too, Changing to Beast as our exclusive program has been a wonderful change. We are taking it really slowly, diving deeply into the challenge problems. (3B took from September until December.) The only thing I've added is a Kumon multiplication book to build some speed and fluency with the multiplication facts. I can see continuing to add a little drill to build fluency with facts and multi-digit multiplication and division, but I'm sticking with Beast as our sole curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 For the target audience Beast Academy is complete. Some might need to add review. Others might need an easier introduction to topics and later use BA for more challenging work on that topic. For my oldest Beast Academy would be perfect by itself but we have to use various other things while we wait for the next book. DD started BA 3A as an about to turn 9yo 4th grader. She had finished Singapore PM 2A and about 3/4 of RightStart C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I'm noticing most people don't use JUST beast, though. Is it not complete? Or is it just the release schedule? It was briefly ds's only consistent program, but yeah, the release schedule. If we were starting it now, I would feel confident using it solo or with just a few standard enrichments (I always like to have math games, projects, etc. to do) because there would be two full years of curriculum out to do and probably a bit more because if we were starting 3A right now, I'm sure that at least 5A would be out if not also 5B by the time we were ready for it. Anyone you're hearing from now who has already used it probably has had to use it in fits and starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 We did a tiny bit of Right Start and Math in Focus before BA (but mostly did living math), and Singapore 5A/B while we were waiting for BA 4C. Otherwise, BA has been our only full math curriculum. However, I pull in tons of other sources like Zacarro, Key to.., Khan, Danica McKellar, living math, games, fact practice on Reflex Math etc... I am sure we would have done that even if the release schedule kept up with our progress. We are moving to pre-algebra this week. I am going to try a mix of AoPS and Jousting Armadillos as our primary curricula but will undoubtedly continue my mish-mosh approach! I honestly feel like we are the poster children for how to haphazardly get your child from hating math to excelling in 3 years and 14,000 steps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truemind Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 We finished SM 3A first then started to do BA. BA is very slow going but I can already tell BA approach is very different and it makes my DD think very hard. Many of the starred problems take multiple try outs but I am liking it because it is definitely building math stamina for my DD. I am not sure if and when we will start the SM 3B even though I already have the SM 3B materials. Just remember, BA approach is very different and it could be time consuming but that is why it is such a great program. Sometimes she will finish couple pages of the BA workbook but then will be stuck with one problem for a day or two. I usually let her try different approaches. Math is definitely not about how fast you could solve a problem. BA is a great program but have lots of patience, at least that is our experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddleduck Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 We did 3a alongside BA 3a. I'm using 3b together with BA 3b and 3c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Listening in as I have a son just beginning MIF2b and I want to know where to go next. Same here. Debating: a) jumping into BA 3A as stand alone b) alongside MiF 3A as supplement c) finish the year with MiF 3A and do BA over the summer d) finish the year with BA 3A, and if it's not a fit, switch back to MiF next year, and still be on track Leaning towards b from all the input on this site... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I don't know....I love Beast, but I just really don't see it as a complete curricula. I mean, aside from the lack of spiral review (which could be said of many complete curricula)...it just doesn't "feel" complete to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Same here. Debating: a) jumping into BA 3A as stand alone b) alongside MiF 3A as supplement c) finish the year with MiF 3A and do BA over the summer d) finish the year with BA 3A, and if it's not a fit, switch back to MiF next year, and still be on track Leaning towards b from all the input on this site... I decided on A- jumping into 3A as a stand alone. After 5 weeks of doing Beast 3A my son has no interest in doing MIF 3A. When I tried to switch over one day and have him do the first lesson of MIF 3A after doing two weeks of Beast he said, " no way, where is Beast?" Since he is so interested in math now, I am not going to make him do MIF3A right now. He has been so challenged in Beast. When he first started he looked at a problem on the first page of Beast and said after 15 seconds, "I don't know". We went back and re-read the introduction where it explains that it is a challenging program. I explained he couldn't look for a few seconds and give up and added, Beast isn't about finishing so many pages in one day, that some problems might take most of math time. Gradually over the last 5 weeks he has increased his math stamina and now will work and work for almost 15 minutes on one just one problems. A couple of times he went to bed upset because he couldn't solve a problem, then the next day with a fresh start was able to solve the problem. This is something that he was never willing to do in MIF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 We finished SM 3A first then started to do BA. BA is very slow going but I can already tell BA approach is very different and it makes my DD think very hard. Many of the starred problems take multiple try outs but I am liking it because it is definitely building math stamina for my DD. I am not sure if and when we will start the SM 3B even though I already have the SM 3B materials. Just remember, BA approach is very different and it could be time consuming but that is why it is such a great program. Sometimes she will finish couple pages of the BA workbook but then will be stuck with one problem for a day or two. I usually let her try different approaches. Math is definitely not about how fast you could solve a problem. BA is a great program but have lots of patience, at least that is our experience. This has been our experience too. I use BA as a stand-alone program. There's no way I could make ds do another program alongside it, with the amount of time/effort he puts into a couple of pages a day of BA. Right now, we are supplementing with Math Minutes, for review and to expose him to little bits and pieces of things the average 5th grader should know. He can handle an extra minute or two of easy problems. :) DS is using BA a grade behind. He's about to start 4C and I'm worried that we're going to catch up with the release schedule. I will reluctantly pull out SM for him if BA can't keep the books coming in time for us. In spite of being a year "behind", I was pleantly surprised at how his standardized test scores for math were very good, and his "problem-solving skills" were off the charts. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I don't know....I love Beast, but I just really don't see it as a complete curricula. I mean, aside from the lack of spiral review (which could be said of many complete curricula)...it just doesn't "feel" complete to me. It's Common Core aligned. In addition to all the wacky extras like all that stuff with square numbers and pentaminos, the third grade books basics like multiplication and division, fraction concepts, order of operations, measuring, estimation, perimeter, types of shapes, area, etc. What do you feel like is missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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