displace Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I'm about to buy level 2 of Singapore. DS tolerates it but I'm hopeful to switch to Beast Academy ASAP. I don't want to skip necessary info in Singapore though. Should we plan to switch to BA after level 2 of Singapore, half way through, or another time? Also, is BA comprehensive as a stand alone curriculum or should it be supplemented or only used as a supplement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I run BA behind Singapore and started BA 3 towards the end of SM 3. I don't think BA is as comprehensive in its scope as SM. Maybe it will be by the time all the levels are available, but that's not the case now. BA has a bit of an unusual S&S in that it includes certain topics that aren't in a typical elementary math program at all but then skips other topics that most other programs cover. So I look at it as a supplement, especially given the fact that the books are coming out slowly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Ok, that's what I was thinking, more as a supplemental. Bummer. I wish they had lower level comics too. Well, at least DS tolerates Singapore, so there's that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 The OP's son is only in second grade, so if he progresses at a ''normal'' pace, he *would* be able to use all the 3-5 books. I'm not sure which topics BA is meant to be ''skipping'', but it's designed to be used as a standalone curriculum. My son went from 4B to AoPS Pre-A, only covering a couple of topics that are now covered in 4C&D between 4B and Pre-A, so I'm really scratching my head trying to figure how BA could be considered merely supplemental. Usually when people say they use it as a supplement, it's because it's either too challenging for their students to use alone, or their students need more repetition. But lacking repetition (by some standards, not mine) is very different from skipping topics altogether. I just looked through the SM S&S, and there's nothing there that isn't covered by the BA sequence at the same grade level or a grade level ahead or two ahead (it's not on their site, but on FB they said the fifth grade level would cover 3D Geometry (Volume, Surface Area, etc.), Integers, Expressions and Equations, Patterns and Sequences, Number Theory (Factors, GCF, LCM, etc.), Fractions, Data and Statistics, Ratios and Rates, Decimals, Percents, Square Roots (& Pythagorean Theorem), Exponents) Lots of people use BA a grade behind and have excellent reasons for doing so, but ''skipping topics'' is one I've never heard before. Since BA 3 does start with the assumption that multi-digit addition, subtraction, and place value are well-established, I wouldn't skip SM 2&B. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Displace, I've noticed your other thread (Lego education). Are you looking for something more hands on for your 7 year old? If so, you may want to look into math games or Right start math. letsplaymath.net has some good suggestions. As far as this question goes. I guess go_go_gadget has a point. However, I'm in the middle (with my newly turned 6 yo) of BA 3A and the middle of SM 2B and so far I don't think it can be a stand alone for my child. It's fun and interesting for them at this point. My 4 1/2 year wants to read it every night as well. I'm not quite sure how much she is grasping though. :) hth Eta: Just noticed Raining PIneapples reply on your other thread. lol Good suggestions. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Thanks for the replies. I'll have to look more into it before purchasing. One thing about right start was when the games were shown to me at a convention they seemed to be mostly card games. I don't think that would work with us. DS definitely has a vision weakness and with all the number reversals I hesitate to use too much written math for understanding. We do the worksheets in Singapore but I usually scribe and also read the numbers for him. I explain concepts with an abacus or linking units. BA looks more oral/auditory which would be good. If right start is mostly card games I don't think it would be good for us. I am hopeful with Lego but IDK since it's so new.-- edited for grammar and clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 RS is definitely not just card games. The games are used to practice facts, but they're not where the instruction is. It's about as low-writing as curriculum can be, and RS B + the first third or so of C would set him up nicely for BA 3. Another great hands-on, low-writing program is Miquon (my personal favorite). Like BA, Miquon introduces some topics (exponents and square roots, the distributive property, and lots more) well before most programs, but does so judiciously. A great advantage of Miquon over RS is that the entire series (grades 1-3) + manipulatives is cheaper than a single level of RS, and the books spiral so you can choose to go deeper within a topic by following it through the books, or just work straight through and let them come back around as you go. If you're fine with sticking with Singapore before BA, it's an excellent program. But if you're looking for a change, RS and Miquon are both good options. And MEP, which I've only used a bit but am very impressed by. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I think Beast Academy is meant to be a complete program, but no one has had the opportunity to use it that way as it's not finished being written yet. For some students I think it would not be enough practice. The only subjects that I can think of Beast skipping are clock reading and money, but the math is all covered. My daughter has used Beast since it came out and runs it behind SM as she's progressing faster than Beast is published. It is still a fantastic program for her to do. My youngest son started begging to get to do Beast as well. Originally, I said he needed to finish SM 2B, but we ended up starting Beast alongside 2B and it has gone fine so far. He'll continue both Beast and SM. If Beast is getting too hard, then I'll put it away. If he's already learned the topic, I may not make him do all of SM (but I can't imagine him not doing all of Beast). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 We are going to switch to BA3 in the fall after my son finishes SM3A this spring. I still plan to supplement BA with the IP and CWP books for more practice, if necessary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 We did a quick run through with SM 3A and 3B before starting BA3 and it worked well. (By quick run through, I mean we read the textbook and did maybe half the problems in the workbook). I didn't feel BA spent enough time on things like long division, but we didn't finish the series so maybe there is more later on. BA3 is quite challenging for the most part and I wouldn't be in any rush to use it. It is probably better to err on the side of waiting longer, so the challenge turns them on to math instead of off of math. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I didn't feel BA spent enough time on things like long division, but we didn't finish the series so maybe there is more later on. Long division is usually a fourth grade topic, and BA introduces it in third but fully develops it in fourth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Ehh, I'm torn on this one. Both my boys have done BA now after Singapore 2 or MM 2. Worked great for one, not so much for the other. For the kid who has been super successful with it, part of it is personality and part of it is that we had added Math Circles for a year before he went into it and he was just used to puzzle challenges/perseverance. For my boys at least, I don't think BA would be enough as a stand-alone without some additional spiral review on the side for various topics. I agree it is not as comprehensive as Singapore, but a lot of those extra topics in Singapore both my boys intuited anyway, so I'm not sure they are super necessary either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I started Beast after Singapore 2A and 2B, and the transition worked fine for my son. I liked how Singapore introduced multiplication and then Beast 3A followed up with i depth exploration of skip counting. I use Beast as a stand alone and only supplement with a little bit of multiplication fact practice. That said, RightStart definitely is more than card games, and it's a wonderful choice for a writing-resistant kid. Check out my full review in my signature if you'd like some more details on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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