Guest Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 My ds just turned 5. He was a late talker, is extremely hyper, and seems like he is going to be harder to teach than my other children. He knows a few letter sounds, can count to 7, and knows a few colors. I ordered AAR Pre-Reading to use with him and his 3.5 year old sister. What would be a gentle math program for him? I was thinking Singapore Essentials, but I am not sure since I have not used it before. I also thought about MUS Primer, but I would have to do the writing for him. My ultimate goal is to have him use CLE or R&S for first grade, since those are my two favorite math programs. He isn't ready for CLE 1 yet, and R&S 1 has too much writing for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Singapore Essentials is cute and fun (count the fruit, etc.). We started with B just after he turned 5, and it was very kid-friendly. You can do the writing for him in any curriculum; you'll have to be talking with him about what is happening on the page anyway. We also used MUS Primer and unit blocks, mostly playing Decimal Street. I wrote on a little whiteboard and did not use paper at all for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Miquon- hands on, fun gentle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 MEP's Reception year is gentle and fun for that age. :) I'd print or d/l the TM to a mobile device, and open the the student "posters" on the computer and let him use fingers to point and draw. I cut and pasted some of them into Paint and let DD use the mouse to draw on them. (She went to R&S 1after that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 I'd start with this preschool booklet and cuisenaire rods and then move toward Miquon when he's ready. http://www.nurturedbylove.ca/resources/cuisenairebook.pdf http://www.nurturedbylove.ca/resources/colourcards.pdf (related) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Seconding MEP's Reception year. It's so gentle and it's free. If you fly through it, you can move on to something else. But if it goes for a bit, you'll know it was just right. And... free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I felt like Singapore Essentials was mostly about writing numbers. Since I scribed for both of my kiddos for the first 1-2 years of mathematics it was of limited use to me. MEP Reception is fun and free. EducationUnboxed.com has lots of free videos of math games and demonstrations to do if you happen to have some cuisinare rods or all willing to purchase them. Of all the preschooly math stuff we did before jumping into first grade programs, I think those videos made the biggest difference; even for my kid that didn't end up going into Miquon. I didn't have the kids watch them, I just watched them myself and then imitated. Miquon itself (I will mention since its recommended above) begins with 1st grade and is not what I'd consider "gentle", it ramps up pretty quick. So I wouldnt jump straight into that, even if you are scribing.But if you are considering going into R&S or CLE, why not just start those and scribe? Does neither have a K-level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Since MEP has been suggested, I'll throw out CSMP. It is similarly free for the printing. That might be especially nice if you want to have things for him to practice, but don't want to push him along to fast. http://ceure.buffalostate.edu/~csmp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I quite like the Saxon math K. We don't use the other Saxon levels, but the K level has no writing and is all hands on. It's scripted, which we skip most of and I don't do the calendar review every single lesson because I think it's overkill, but otherwise, I like how they introduce math concepts slowly and gently. I've use it with my now 8 year old and am using it again with my 5 year old with great success. My 8 year old used it for her K level and moved seamlessly into grade 1 MM. Some concepts are quite simple and lessons are short and sweet. When my 5 year old is in the mood to sit, we can easily get through two lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildwood Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I thought this looked so fun and gentle, though I've never used it (bummer)... https://www.queenshomeschooling.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=67_68&zenid=5cce5f14eb4182ad2b77be765398278d Looks like a gentle, first math program : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 RightStart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 We used Saxon K. As a PP said, there are no work sheets, but optional ones at the back of the TM if your child grows into them by the end of the year. Lots and lots of manipulatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Sorry! Double Post!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I adored MEP reception with my little ones. It almost makes me wish I had another one...almost. The cuisinaire rod PDFs that have been linked to are also great. I strongly suggest you take some time to watch the education unboxed videos. I think they are a fantastic resource. They made me a much better math teacher. I was one whose kid flew through MEP reception. We started it in September and he wanted to do it every day and I think we were done by thanksgiving. It is meant to be done once a week or so, I think. Then we finished the year with rods and a few other things. If I had known CSMP had a kindy level, we would have been all over that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Agreeing with the PP who said MEP Reception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Besides the suggestions upthread, play lots of mathy games, use real world math daily, and do some fun mathy projects. Get them excited about math in their every day lives. You might look at this website for some ideas: http://mathfour.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'm using R&S Math 1 with my new five-year old dd. I purchased the additional worksheets and we are going through the lessons very slowly and doing most of the additional worksheets as well. My plan is to keep this going through this year and then switch over the CLE Grade 1 math sometime next year. We probably won't finish the R&S Math 1 but it is working well as a gentle introduction to math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'd start with this preschool booklet and cuisenaire rods and then move toward Miquon when he's ready. http://www.nurturedbylove.ca/resources/cuisenairebook.pdf http://www.nurturedbylove.ca/resources/colourcards.pdf (related) Thanks for those links. I tried some Miquon with dd but I didn't like using the full program, I love these little books though. MEP's Reception year is gentle and fun for that age. :) I'd print or d/l the TM to a mobile device, and open the the student "posters" on the computer and let him use fingers to point and draw. I cut and pasted some of them into Paint and let DD use the mouse to draw on them. (She went to R&S 1after that.) I started dd out with this and I'm looking forward to doing it with dd, it really is gentle, fun and whimsical. I love the pictures. I was planning on using the iPad this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syllieann Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Mep reception is gentle and fun, but it is definitely the pre-k level, not k. Miquon Orange is hands on, but I felt the scope was too narrow to serve as k. I am really liking right start for kindy math. It is hands on, fun, has a broader scope, and the lessons are easy to break up into severl smaller chunks for wiggly kids with short attention spans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Thank you all for your ideas. I think I am leaning towards either Singapore Essentials or Rightstart A. Essentials would be easy to implement, but Rightstart looks fun. Rightstart's methods are pretty different to me, and I tend to like more traditional math. Since he is such a wiggly, hands on boy Rightstart might be a good addition to AAR. I looked into MEP briefly, but I just don't feel drawn to it. ETA: I ruled out Rightstart. I just don't think it will work for us. We are going to start with Essentials, and I am going to check out MEP some more. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Some my favorites that should work well pre-CLE and Pre-RS FREE Eclectic Manual of Methods 1885 pg. 107-114 https://archive.org/details/eclecticmanualof00stew A Primary Arithmetic and Teacher’s Manual 1875 by Edward Olney pg. 1-12 https://archive.org/details/aprimaryarithme03olnegoog Progressive Course in English Teachers’ Manual by E. J. Hoenshel pg. 13-14 http://books.google.com/books?id=Zn8SAAAAIAAJ&dq=Progressive+Course+in +English +Teacher’s+Manual&source=gbs_navlinks_s Hamilton’s Arithmetics First Book 1913 New Jersey Edition pg. 7-30 http://books.google.com/books?id=KgcAAAAAYAAJ&dq=Hamilton’s+Arithmetics+First +Book+1913+New+Jersey+Edition&source=gbs_navlinks_s PURCHASE Simply Charlotte Mason https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/mathematics-an-instrument-for-living-teaching/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie in VA Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I liked RightStart but didn't like the spiral approach. I chose to use their tutoring books: Activities for the Al Abacus and Worksheets for the Al Abacus. This worked out great for my dd and then we went into Singapore Math with a strong basis. I'm doing the same with my youngest now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I did RS A with my ds and really liked it, a lot. That said, I decided I really didn't want to do it again if we weren't planning to do RS B. Transitioning to a regular math grade one was a huge step backwards in concepts from RS A, but required much more writing. We went with Singapore Essentials this year for my dd who is 4 and it is going very well. Of course she is a different kid. It is a workbook approach and she enjoys it. I don't think my ds would have liked the get it done approach. He loved the hands on aspect of RS. Saxon K might be another option. More hands on I think than SM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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