My4arrows Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 I am looking at BA for my DS (1st grade) who excels in math. He is currently flying through MM grade 3 and I was thinking of getting BA as a supplement or maybe as his main math curriculum. Looking at the 3rd grade level, it seems like he already knows all of A and B. Would it be a good idea to do these books anyway just so he can get used to the program and have some challenge from the work pages or to skip ahead to book C where he would begin some new learning? Since it is expensive, I'd rather not have to spend extra on things he already knows and doesn't need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 It will be worth the expense. The topics covered in Books A and B "appear" easy but...once you start digging in...whoah. The first chapter of Book A is arguably the hardest chapter of the entire 3rd grade series. That skip counting chapter? I was a bit miffed when I first saw "skip counting" in a 3rd grade curriculum known to be for accelerated math kids. But when we got to that chapter, it challenged ME and stretched MY math. You will see how Beast lays down the foundation for much higher math, through those two books. Definitely worth it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Agreed. We use Math Mammoth as review. While I think it is a good curriculum, nothing in Beast Academy 3 is actually taught in MM, even if the names of the topics are similar. It won't be getting used to the curriculum. It will be new and challenging. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cake and Pi Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Also agreed. When I switched my DS#1 over to BA, he had already finished RightStart E (4th-ish) and "knew" all the topics in BA3 except for having only a brief exposure to variables. So I picked up the 3C and 3D to cover that section and give him some "review" to ease him into BA. I could LOL thinking about it now -- review! Ha! The general concepts may be familiar, but BA takes it waaaaay farther, applies the concepts in interesting and unusual ways, and turns drills into puzzles so that even if you can quickly compute the answers, you still may spend a while figuring out the solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat w Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Yea. I thought the same thing. No way. Beast goes wayyy deeper than anything I've seen. My boys love the comic strip. And I make it like a fun game. It takes us a long time, but its fun and something I do at the end of math as a reward for. Doing the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat w Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) Doing their math well. :) yes. Sneaky I know. Edited December 6, 2015 by Kat w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 We are just about to finish BA 3B while we are currently about halfway through SM 4A. I followed the advice of others on the board that suggested doing BA after finishing SM3. I'm really glad that I did that. While the topics appear similar on the surface...it goes far deeper and really stretches my son. I plan to continue to do it tandem this way as I still value SM and the way it teaches concepts and problem solving as well. Both have their strengths and complement each other IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My4arrows Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Thanks for the advice. After talking things through with DH we agree that we will start at the beginning and move on from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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