mommyoffive Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I would like to switch to a different math and the ones I am thinking about are MUS and RS. I will have a 6th, 4th, 1st, and K4 I am going to do BA too. What would you suggest for these ages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I love Rightstart. I really, really do. And I wouldn't suggest that you switch to it for either the 4th grader or the 6th grader unless they're very seriously behind. After all, Rightstart ends at Grade 6 (roughly, depending on mastery of course), and that last year is a geometry year. For the kindergartner or the Grade 1 it might work well. MUS has a very different scope and sequence than most programs. Are your 6 or 4 struggling with math? Are they struggling in one area or across the board? If they're struggling it might be helpful remediation, but otherwise it wouldn't exactly carry on from where they are, would it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 No they are not struggling. So you think it would be bad to switch the will be 6th to MUS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 What are they using currently and how is that going? It's hard to make recommendations without that sort of info. For the 6th grader, I don't think RS goes that far and MUS is an odd sequence to switch into that late in elementary. From what I have read here, MUS Prealgebra is a hodgepodge of topics not covered in the previous levels. For secondary math, algebra 1 and up, MUS is on the light side (e.g. some people use MUS alg 1 as a prealgeba, some use it for struggling students).In general, 6th grade is a weird time to switch within elementary programs. For an advanced student ready for prealgebra, it can be a perfect time to switch. BA would only apply to the 4th grader and is rather unique, so it may or may not be a fit - depends on the kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) Good thoughts to think about. I was going to use BA as something fun. The 6th grader used Saxon in 5th grade. Not really what I wanted to hear about MUS. I didn't know there were so many issues with it. I was hoping that it had more visual teaching aspect to it that might help. Edited June 6, 2017 by mommyoffive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 What level of Saxon did the 6th grader use and how well did it go? What do you think the 6th grader needs help with? What did the 6th grader use before Saxon?visual - are your kids big-picture, visual-spatial thinkers? BA is fun but is also designed to be challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) I had one K in RS level B this year and one K (his twin), in MUS alpha. Both have been wonderful for each of their different learning styles and my plan is to move my soon to be 1st grader into RS level C and my other soon to be 1st grader into MUS Beta. I love them so much I am in with both for the long haul I think. My soon to be 2nd grader is doing an excelerated MUS Beta throufh the summer and will do Gamma in the fall. She decided she wanted to do it too after watching her brother while she chugged through singspore and horizon. I have to agree with others though, switching at grade 6 wouldn't work well for RS and it would probably be tricky for MUS. Your K and 1st grader would have no problem. Your 4th grader...RS would be a really different way of thinking about math and they might need to backtrack. If they are not behind I probably wouldn't do it. MUS might be easier to move them into but again, it would be a learning curve. RS is SUPER parent intensive. I mean, you will be there for the whole math lesson every time. I wouldn't want to do it for kids at multiple levels. I love it for my one kiddo but that is my upper limit. MUS is more independent and there are videos which is helpful. I think it is really parent friendly. Edited June 6, 2017 by nixpix5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Not really what I wanted to hear about MUS. I didn't know there were so many issues with it. I was hoping that it had more visual teaching aspect to it that might help. Well, it's not that there are issues with it, exactly. It's an excellent program for what it does. It's just that it does addition and subtraction for a full level. And then the next level is multiplication. And the next level is division. Then fractions. Then decimals and percentages. Then negative numbers and order of operations. Etc. Most math programs combine those topics in each level, so switching from a combined program into MUS can cause some weird holes. If you start with MUS and go through it, and stay with it, it works quite well. What is prompting the idea of switching? What aren't you happy about with your current programs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 See if your 6th grader would test into MUS Pre-Algebra. For an older student it might be easiest to switch at that point. For the 4th grader, you could do the placement test and see where that one places. Switching for K/1st grade would be straight forward. My kids used Horizons 1-6, and switched to MUS at Pre-algebra. One of the reasons I chose it was because along with having all of the Pre-alg topics, it also included a review of fractions and decimals (MUS covers those in Epsilon and Gamma, but includes a review of them in Pre-alg, which I thought would be good to shore up before moving on). My oldest completed through Algebra 2, and my youngest through Pre-calculus, and neither one had trouble testing into college math. The visual component was definitely helpful here and I'm glad we used it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 I disagree that Beast Academy will only apply to the 4th grade. My coming 6th grader is working through BA 4 through the summer after finishing math mammoth 5, to keep her skills fresh. She doesn't love to have to work through difficult problems even though she probably could, so I used this level. And BA 5 is out so your student could jump in there (although it's completely different than others). I used RS through 4th grade. It's a great program but I wouldn't switch the older two either. What is the 4th grade student currently using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 See if your 6th grader would test into MUS Pre-Algebra. For an older student it might be easiest to switch at that point. For the 4th grader, you could do the placement test and see where that one places. Switching for K/1st grade would be straight forward. My kids used Horizons 1-6, and switched to MUS at Pre-algebra. One of the reasons I chose it was because along with having all of the Pre-alg topics, it also included a review of fractions and decimals (MUS covers those in Epsilon and Gamma, but includes a review of them in Pre-alg, which I thought would be good to shore up before moving on). My oldest completed through Algebra 2, and my youngest through Pre-calculus, and neither one had trouble testing into college math. The visual component was definitely helpful here and I'm glad we used it. Thank you for that. I will test them and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 I disagree that Beast Academy will only apply to the 4th grade. My coming 6th grader is working through BA 4 through the summer after finishing math mammoth 5, to keep her skills fresh. She doesn't love to have to work through difficult problems even though she probably could, so I used this level. And BA 5 is out so your student could jump in there (although it's completely different than others). I used RS through 4th grade. It's a great program but I wouldn't switch the older two either. What is the 4th grade student currently using? Is Beast Academy a complete program? I saw some others that are just using that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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