Math: how do you combine different resources?

[carla1971]

I'm planning math work for the summer and, after much deliberation, have decided to go for a mix of Beast Academy, Zaccaro and Life of Fred for my 8th year old daughter and AoPS, Zaccaro, Borac and some of the Prufrock Press books for my son, who is 10.

bith I and the kids like the idea of a mix and match approach for variety but as I flick through the books I'm starting to feel rather overwhelmed as they each present concepts in a different way and, more worryingly, in a slightly different sequence. So for those of you who habitually mix and match resources... How do you do it?

[MrsWeasley]

I have an eight year old, too. We haven't really liked Zaccaro, but my daughter loves Life of Fred and we're planning to add Beast next year. This year, we've focused mostly on Life of Fred and some other challenge math books (like Perilous Math and Wayside Math). I generally pick one thing as a "spine": this year it's been Life of Fred. Next year it'll probably be Beast. We mostly plod through our spine, but when bored, we pick one of the other things. I haven't found the different presentations or sequence worrying: if we see it first somewhere and then presented elsewhere a little differently, I consider it good review (especially since LoF doesn't have a lot of review).

[mom2bee]

Well, first consider what the kids already mastered, what they know and what they've had exposure to. The knowledge and experiences that they bring to the table help you not worry about synching things up. Which curriculum do they use for math right now?

 

I'm not sure which Life of Fred books you're planning on using, but I understand that the elementary books are very gentle and can be read in order for both pleasure and instruction. They are meant for the student to read so just let your kids read them as much as they want. Go over the "Bridges" and "Your Turn to Play" with them every few days to be sure that they are working them out.

 

Beast Academy it is advisable to start as low as possible and then work your way through the topics--even if they feel redundant based on their topic--because the problems are presented differently and of a higher challenge level than you might expect otherwise. See this thread about the skip counting in BA for an example.

When your kids read the comics, make sure that they stop when they are told and work things out. Read the guide together, stop them and let them work through the problems presented, and the workbooks tell you exactly which section in the guides need to be read before completing them so you can then assign problems from the workbook.

 

Which Zacarro books are you planning on using, there are 5 and they span everything from 2nd-9th grade material. You don't have to use EVERY topic or lesson in a book, and each lesson contains graded problems, Levels 1-Einstien. You might go over the lesson and assign level 1 and 2 problems the first day, then assign levels 3 and 4 another day. As far as I know, Zacarros Challenge Math books are topical. You can pick and choose topics based on what is accessible or interesting to you and the kids at that time.

[Rosie_0801]

I use CSMP as a regular maths. It's short and sweet and usually allows me to add in one other maths activity before dd spits the dummy. That might be Miquon, MEP, Activities for the Al-Abacus or anything else I might have around here. I don't align topics. I organise by stress level. :p If she's freaked out over the CSMP, I'm not going to have her do any MEP because that's hard for her. 

[Miss Tick]

At our house we just do one program a day and work in it until, as Rosie so colorfully put it, they "spit the dummy." Sometimes we have a day of puzzle math for additional variety.

 

ETA I don't worry about matching topics. We do all the problems in BA, if we see those subjects in another program I severely pare down the problems to just check retention.

[Zoo Keeper]

Some things I learned from mixing maths for the past eight years:

 

Chose ONE program that  will drive the bus.  One.  This is the one that gets done. Every other math sits in the back seat.  (Unless there is a LD or giftedness or some other issue that I can't possibly know or understand about your children in particular).

 

When they hit a wall of boredom or a patch of frustration, pull out the other math.  Have a (brief) mad love affair, but then return to your first love.  Repeat as needed throughout the year.  This plan is good for children who crave variety and something new. I have a few of those children. :hat:  :biggrinjester:

 

OR, you could do main math 4 days a week, and other math one day a week.  This works well for those who need more structure and order.  I have one of those kids as well. :svengo: Too much variety pushes them over the edge; they crave a smooth, logical flow to their days.  Work with that.

 

DO NOT try to make everything in your math line up topically.  You will end up throwing teacher's manuals across the room and using words your children shouldn't hear.  Your children will also get bored with endless pages of work on the saaaaame old thiiiiing. 

 

 

[carla1971]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. My kids have been on Singapore thus far but they are bored of it, especially my daughter who never liked it much in the first place. So the idea was to take a break and try something different in the summer, not so much going ahead with the curriculum as stretching what they know in different directions, which is why I decided to try multiple resources (but good point about not making them do the same thing across several books!). If that works, I'll probably follow Zoo Keeper's suggestion of pulling out 'fun' math every once in a while (my daughter in particular needs some variety). That said, I'm also considering switching my youngest to Beast if she likes it (and yes, we are starting with the earliest available book) and my eldest to AoPS.