abh413 Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 This will be my first year homeschooling formally. I've been teaching the basics & I teach as we go about life (which will continue). My daughter is currently 5 (October birthday) & will be in K in the Fall. I'm having the worst time choosing math... & I know it's different for everyone. I enjoy math. I do not care for Common Core. My daughter picks most things up pretty easy & also seems to like math. I'm not sure how I feel about certain manipulatives like an abacus. Here's my wants... 1. I would like a math that is fun but academic at an age appropriate degree. 2. I would prefer something reasonably priced (unless there's good reasons to spend more). 3. My daughter enjoys worksheets as well as hands on. She also learns well by song & just talking in the car. Here's my daughter's "specs" in case you need to know... she can count, recognize & write to 100+, she can count by 10s & is learning by 5s, she knows her shapes, can do patterns & grouping, is learning time & money (because she asked), is learning basic addition & some subtraction, & probably more that I'm forgetting. I'm not looking to move too fast but if she asks to learn I don't want to hold her back. I want her to enjoy math & have lots of fun for K. I'm open to all advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 For kindergarten (next year) I decided on Miquon with RightStart games for drill. That covers everything you want. So would RightStart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 I highly recommend RightStart for that age. But it is pretty expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) ... Edited July 14, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Based on my experience, I would look at Miquon, MM (likely to be 50% off during HSBC sale in August if the past is any indicator for the future), or MEP which is free for the printing. In any of those I would tailor the program to your dd, skipping unnecessary review and taking subjects out of order according to interest. All the have worksheets and carrying levels of teacher involvement. MEP is difficult to understand until you print a set of lesson plans and the relevant set of student pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 We love RightStart, but it's expensive and you'd mentioned you don't care for the abacus. Mathematical Reasoning is a fun workbook, which has some basic math as well as a lot of game-type pages that are more conceptual. You also might want to take a look at Family Math, Games for Math and Zoobooks, for a completely different approach. They allow for learning much more organically and holistically than regular workbooks, which I think is wonderful for this age. We've used them sporadically when we just need a change, and have a ton of fun with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Based on my experience, I would look at Miquon, MM (likely to be 50% off during HSBC sale in August if the past is any indicator for the future), or MEP which is free for the printing. In any of those I would tailor the program to your dd, skipping unnecessary review and taking subjects out of order according to interest. All the have worksheets and carrying levels of teacher involvement. MEP is difficult to understand until you print a set of lesson plans and the relevant set of student pages. I agree with SusanC that those three programs would be well worth considering. Your daughter sounds like she's off to a great start in math, so you'd likely be able to skip the kindergarten level of any of those (or, as SusanC suggested, go through the K program quickly and skip a lot.) Miquon is more fun and hands-on, MEP is more puzzle-y, and Math Mammoth is more straight-forward and worksheet-oriented, if that helps you to distinguish between the three. I wrote a full review of Math Mammoth here, if you'd like more details on that particular program. It starts at first grade, but your daughter sounds like she's more than ready for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 I loved Saxon at that age. We did it a year ahead. Saxon 1 uses manipulatives and game-like situations--you play store with your stuffies, for example. It's simple to teach. I would not worry if something comes up that she knows already. That allows for review, and increases confidence. The one thing I'd change is the meeting book (not the meeting, but the book). I used a large posterboard calendar instead, and it was colorful and fun. If it's too black and white for your child, use colored pencils. You can pretest to see where she falls in the Saxon materials, but I think starting a year ahead is really plenty for everyone. Like I said, I don't believe at always teaching at the challenge level, but allowing kids to feel competent and have an easy course once in a while. It takes time for mathematical thinking to mature, and I see lots of kids who learn rote counting and such quite early, but aren't really ready to go deeper. Going broad can buy time. Anyway, YMMV, as in anything! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DhanyaCali Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 We are using Right start math for K. We did the first 12 lessons spread out with DS at the end of pre-k. i t's fun. It's not "hard" to prepare and o, but I know there are ones that are very easy, ones that are more workbook central. But we love the toys manipulatives so it's worth it for me to take a minute to get out the right ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Shiller Math!! I think I am one of the few people on this board that is using it and I have NO idea why!! It is awesome! It is completely customizable. So you test your child, anything she gets wrong you put into their online lesson generator. They then tell you what lessons to do based on her needs. You can even do the test before you buy so you can get an idea if you would like it. The lessons are simple yet fun and educational and build upon one another. It is also completely scripted. You often do more then one lesson a day, going for as long as your child is having fun (there are guidelines in the parent book, my son is 6 and we do 25 minutes a day). The songs are catchy and I truly believe my 22 month old is learning with them along with his brother. A few of them have become our favorite songs. You pay one fee for three years up front. That is scary, but you then have 3 years of math and all consumables for 5 years. You also get all the manipulatives for those 3 years. So that is a bargain when you think about it that way. My father in law has his PhD in artificial intelligence, and a masters in something else (translate, he is VERY scientifically minded) and he looked through the books of lessons and said that it includes stuff that is important for understanding higher level science later on. I only have the first set too! Thus reinforcing what my DH (PhD in biochemistry) and I already thought about the program. If you have any questions please ask. I really have no clue why this isn't a more popular program other then people don't know about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
againstthegrain Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 We use Rod & Staff Grade 1 for our K math. We like the worksheets, the handwriting practice with the repetition and our 5 year old enjoys the simple hands on felt board the teaching uses (ducks and a pond). It was very reasonable price wise and using a teacher's manual is definitely optional if its' not your first go at homeschooling. If it is your first, then the teachers' manual may be helpful. We purchased our workbooks (there are 2 for the grade 1) and the teacher's manual for maybe $20 on a used curriculum page :) When we need a change of pace we add in some dice addition games or such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBadd Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 A friend who homeschools her 6 kids recommended Singapore math for K. We the Early Bird K and loved it! Math is now my 6yo's favorite subject :) He likes the workbooks and activities. It's reasonably priced, and I enjoy teaching it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Our primary is Miquon, but also RS Activities and games and Singapore 1a. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abh413 Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Thank you all for the responses & especially the descriptions of what each program looks like for you. I still haven't decided but I've found the opinions of others informative. Thank you again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 In reading your wants my first thought is MEP. By the way, math manipulatives aren't just gimmicks. It is important for kids to have a concrete connection to math - math is a representation (a model) of our world in symbols. Kids who don't connect the numbers, symbols, and other elements of the language of math to concrete world will eventually hit a ceiling of what they can understand and have difficulty using math to solve real world problems. You don't have to buy into fancy manipulatives, or use many different things, but make sure to build a solid concrete foundation. RightStart does this *very well*, but it is very pricey. Singapore has great information in the home instructor guide to teach concretely (procure manipulatives separately), and is less expensive than right start, and you can get non common core since it's important to you. Many parents skip over the HIG and teaching concretely with lower levels of Singapore, then around level 3 it gets hard, and people discover they haven't laid the foundations necessary. I have used both of those and find them very solid. I haven't used MEP, so maybe someone with more experience can comment on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I'm using horizons. It's traditional and colorful, and a year costs about $75. I did earlybird Singapore with my dd who was 5.5 when we started (-and we started with earlybird b because a was recognizing numbers and simple counting) and it was fine for her, but it sounds like yours is a bit farther on. She might be ready to go right into horizons 1, or Singapore 1. Definitely Saxon 1. Look for placement tests and samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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