Looking for Math Curriculum/Advice

[Junie]

I am trying to decide what math curriculum to do next with my dd5.

 

She is my 6th child and the sequence that we are using with all of the others is Abeka K-3 and then Saxon 5/4 through Algebra 2 or Advanced Math.

 

Dd5 started the Abeka K math book in October and finished it 5 weeks later.  She began the Abeka 1st grade book shortly after that and will be finished with it in just a few weeks.  (She would have finished it sooner, but Christmas happened and we lost most of the month of January because of my migraines.)

 

I am hesitant to start her in the 2nd grade book so young because I feel like she is going to hit a wall and get frustrated.

 

Dd5 loves to do math and will often do 10 or more pages a day.  I rarely (if ever?) tell her that it's time for math.  It is often the first thing she wants to do in the morning and she will cry if I tell her "Not right now."

 

She cannot read yet, so I have to be with her to read the instructions.

 

I will probably buy the Abeka 2nd grade book because we will do it eventually, but I'm wondering if there's something else out there in the meantime.

 

Any suggestions?

 

[wapiti]

I am hesitant to start her in the 2nd grade book so young because I feel like she is going to hit a wall and get frustrated.

 

She may or may not hit a wall; so what if she does?  You would coast until she is ready for more or back up for extra focus on place value concepts.  I would be reluctant to hold back math the child wants to learn - strike while the iron is hot :)  (Eta, my guess is that actual hitting of walls is far less common among mathy kids than the prevalence of wall-hitting fears would indicate)

 

If you are interested in other approaches and/or more depth, you might look at Miquon, or, perhaps supplement your current program with Singapore's IP and/or CWP workbooks, on level or a level behind.

Edited March 3, 2016 by wapiti

[LisaKinVA]

My second and third child did this, but got bored about half way through the workbook (although, they could read, so I didn't have to be there). My daughter's wall never really happened. My son's hasn't either, he just no longer does the work as intensely.

 

You could get some supplemental materials, tangrams, puzzles, geo boards...or you could get a program that was more conceptually based like Math Mammoth or Singapore to divide up the math time. My 7yo does Abeka in the morning and Math Mammoth in the afternoon. We haven't started Fred yet, but that is next. She loves math.

[Junie]

Thank you for the suggestions.  My dh and I looked at some Singapore-inspired workbooks on amazon (they had sample pages) and they look like they will be a good fit in addition to the Abeka.  

 

She is doing well with Abeka, but gets bored doing the same kinds of activities/problems over and over.  I think looking at math in a different format will be good for her.

 

Doing one book in the morning and one book other times of the day also seems like an idea that might work.

 

Thanks!

[ondreeuh]

Those Singapore books align with the Singapore primary math books and Math in Focus, but they are meant for reinforcement, not initial teaching. I use Math in Focus which I paid like $8 a textbook for on the Amazon Marketplace. The books are colorful and easy to teach from, and the workbooks are clean and fun. I do supplement with 70 Must-Know Word Problems and Math Minutes. It is pretty easy to accelerate through easy chapters and you can use those extra practice books you linked if the kid gets stuck.

[Tumbatoo]

My dd does this, but she does read, so that helps! She especially likes to do a couple of hours of math before bed. I tried slowing her down, but that didn't take, so now we're trying different approaches instead of just powering through it. We use Singapore Primary math, but when she hits a wall, we'll switch to Miquon or MEP or something else that takes a different approach. I got a trial of Dreambox and she loved it so much that I now have a subscription. That allowed her to back up for a bit and just have fun with the math. She's still powering through it, and will finish second grade math and move into third before she finishes her K year (which to be honest is starting to make me nervous), but at least she'll have a good foundation. We have approached problem solving from many angles. I'm thinking Beast Academy next.