How quickly did you go through MIF 1 and 2? Singapore users did you slow down?

[ExcitedMama]

I'm surprised at how quickly DS is going through MIF1A. I know Singapore is more popular and roughly the same so I'd be interested in hearing about Singapore as well. Does it start to slow down at some point as concepts get more difficult? I'm using charter funds for it and I need to figure out how to spend next semester's funds. Since we go year round I'm wondering how far he could be by the fall when I'll have the charter funds again so I need to figure how much of next semester's funds to spend on materials. I have zero interest in pushing him and I only want to keep going at his pace. At this rate I think he would easily finish 1B early next year and be moving into 2A well before the end of the semester but that's assuming it doesn't start slowing down somewhere.

[ondreeuh]

I would go ahead and get 2A with this year's funds. If I remember right, 1B introduces bar diagrams and that kicks up the complexity a notch. My son did 1A & 1B in Kindergarten, along with Horizons 1. In first grade he did Horizons 2 at the beginning of the year because he needed something quick & easy, but then he completed MiF 2A & 2B within 6 months. He started 3A that summer and is halfway through 3B now ...

 

The "A" book of each level introduces most of the arithmetic skills and IMO is more challenging. The "B" book continues to practice those skills through time, measurement, money, geometry, etc. We've always done something like Horizons or Math Minutes which provide spiral review, so the "B" books are pretty easy for my son and we can often combine lessons or even test out of chapters. So far in 3B the only "new" content we've hit is fractions. We could finish 3B by Christmas, and then I think we'll do Beast for the rest of the year.

[vaquitita]

We use PM, not MIF, but I would say 1 is pretty basic and 2 steps up in difficulty. And 3 even more so.

[zarabellesmom]

For first grade we did MIF 1A, 1B and part of 2A. We are midway through 2B right now and I think it goes pretty quickly. I'll need 3A by first of February at the latest. When we start that, we will start BA too and that slows things down.

[zarabellesmom]

My oldest daughter finished 1A through 3A before April her first grade year. Just to say, it really depends on the kid and some are going to zoom through.

[sbgrace]

I'm pretty sure I did 1B through 2B in a year. I'd purchase ahead. You can always adjust next year if you've got too much.

[ExcitedMama]

Thanks everyone! Now I understand why it always looked like kids were doing Singapore so far ahead from what I saw in signatures. I am so intimidated by Asian math that I didn't know it would move so quickly. I also had no idea that the A book would be harder than the B books. I just assumed each book would get harder. Now I just need to figure out how to budget my charter funds for so much math!

[fdrinca]

Thanks everyone! Now I understand why it always looked like kids were doing Singapore so far ahead from what I saw in signatures. I am so intimidated by Asian math that I didn't know it would move so quickly. I also had no idea that the A book would be harder than the B books. I just assumed each book would get harder. Now I just need to figure out how to budget my charter funds for so much math!

 

There could be some selection bias at work here, too - my mathy kids prefer Singapore to Saxon, which we tried at first. 

 

We go through about 3 books a year, although I've slowed it down with my older two and introduced the Challenging Word Problems book. We also slowed down around the time kids were expected to memorize their math facts. I'd rather have them using their working memory on the problem at hand, not the arithmetic behind it!