Switching from MM to MUS in 5th grade

[Wheres Toto]

My youngest has been struggling with math for a while now.  We've used MM from the beginning but 4th grade stepped things up quite a bit and she gets overwhelmed by the number of problems, the crowded pages, etc. the usual complaints.  

 

I've been doing a ton of looking into other programs, reading reviews, old messages on here, thinking about how she learns, what her goals are (as much as she has any at almost 10 years old), and I think at this point in time MUS would probably be our best bet.   

 

I'm wondering where to place her though.  She is almost done with the division chapter in 4B.  She understands long division fairly well, with single digit divisors so far.    She can do multi-digit multiplication but does not have her multiplication facts all memorized.  We continue to work on that while she uses a chart.

 

I'm not worried about taking a step back, especially because MUS doesn't do grade levels.  I am (mildly) worried about paying a lot of money for something she'll race through in a couple months.   I'm trying to decide between Gamma (would start over with multiplication, will probably move through it fast) or Delta (division).  Either way we will continue to work on memorizing her multiplication facts. 

 

Along with that, are there any opinions on the necessity of getting the manipulative kit for these levels?   There seems to be a digital pack that includes digital manipulatives, that would cut the cost down quite a bit.  My kids are very used to doing things on screens, so I think that would work fine but I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing?

[MerryAtHope]

Have you had her do the placement tests? I'd see how she does--maybe she would test out of Gamma. Either way, I do think it's worth it to spend time memorizing math facts as you go. Long Division and upper math can be challenging if those facts aren't down.

 

I get the concern about not wanting something to be too easy and having to buy more than one level in a year--that can add up! However, sometimes there is a real benefit to starting on the easy side and building up a student's confidence and math fluency--that's definitely worth considering. 

 

I think the manipulatives make it more fun, and they also make it easy for the child to teach the concept back to you (which is an important part of mastery-based learning). If you can swing them, I'd go for them. MUS has really good resale value for both the TM/DVD's and the manipulatives, so you can recoup at least some of your expenses when you are done with the materials. 

 

HTH some!

[Wheres Toto]

Have you had her do the placement tests? I'd see how she does--maybe she would test out of Gamma. Either way, I do think it's worth it to spend time memorizing math facts as you go. Long Division and upper math can be challenging if those facts aren't down.

 

I get the concern about not wanting something to be too easy and having to buy more than one level in a year--that can add up! However, sometimes there is a real benefit to starting on the easy side and building up a student's confidence and math fluency--that's definitely worth considering. 

 

I think the manipulatives make it more fun, and they also make it easy for the child to teach the concept back to you (which is an important part of mastery-based learning). If you can swing them, I'd go for them. MUS has really good resale value for both the TM/DVD's and the manipulatives, so you can recoup at least some of your expenses when you are done with the materials. 

 

HTH some!

 

Thank you, this is helpful.   I think the bolded above is something I really need to consider.  She doesn't have much confidence in her ability to do math, even though she can often do it if I sit with her.

 

After thinking about it more, I decided to just ask her what she thought.  I explained that it was a different program, that did mainly one type of math each year, had videos and manipulatives.  I asked her if she thought she was ready to start with division or if she thought it might be good to go over multiplication some more.  She chose multiplication and said the program sounded really good.   Sounds like we're going to go with Gamma.   :001_smile: