hmrt Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I'm hoping someone will have some suggestions for what to do with my five year old. He is showing himself to have a natural bent for math and loves it. He is always mentally calculating, and with little instruction is able to do mental math, knows multiplication up to 12's, division is coming along, basic addition and subtraction are easy for him. He needs a more accelerated curriculum and I'm not sure the best way to keep him going. If it's too easy, he's very bored, and starts making up ways to make the problems more difficult. That or starts making chicken sounds, arg! We started out with Right Start A, but quickly skipped halfway into B, but much of that is too easy. I don't want to skip too many steps and make sure all the bases are covered, but he doesn't need lengthy explanations or activities to help him understand the concepts, he just gets numbers and relationships. Any advice? Move to Right Start C? I feel that getting through all of the Right Start lessons can be so very slow. The explanations of concepts and games are great, and work really well for my other children, but I'm not sure if sticking with the curriculum is a good fit for him, or if it will be at the right level or accelerated pace. Some have said Singapore math is quicker in pace - any experience with that? We also do Life of Fred as a supplement (which we love!) Is it advisable to skip levels? Or just try to go through faster? Are there any curriculum choices out there that would work better? Thanks in advance for any suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I suggest you look at CSMP http://stern.buffalostate.edu/CSMPProgram/index.htmlIt teaches in a very different way to most other curricula. It's good for mental flexibility to see there are different ways to tackle the same concepts. Having my dd translate from CSMP methods to traditional notation and vice versa was very good for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 My son was the same way. probably not as advanced at 5 yo. I would go straight to either singapore math or beast academy. For my comfort, I would zip on through the levels to make sure he doesn't miss anything. But I'm betting he can start BA 3. If my 3rd child is like my oldest that's what I would do. Knowing what I know now. hth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I would suggest you look into Beast Academy. It is a fantastic curriculum for math-oriented minds. There is little repetition so there is no boredom factor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Another vote for Beast Academy. Far less repetition than RightStart, moves along quickly, and includes a lot of interesting logic to add some depth and challenge. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
librarymama Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 What about Tiger Math? I think it's technically a supplement, but it seems to cover all the bases and might help you run through to find the point where he'll really be challenged. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 We used Mep maths at that level. Check out the blog mep101 which explains well and provides links. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrt Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 Thanks, everyone! I will look into BA more - and try to get over the monsters:) Looking at the content samples I could see on line, it looks really good. Thanks for the Tiger math suggestion too- I hadn't heard of it, but I think that is exactly what my oldest daughter needs. RS doesn't have enough drills for her to be quick and solid. She hates Kumon workbooks and they have too much repetition, and getting her to do extra math is like pulling teeth. This looks like it would be really manageable for her get done to supplement, and might be good extra for the others at some point too. I hadn't heard of the CSMP - thanks for the suggestion, Rosie. For those of you who have used Singapore - what level would you think of as a good starting point? 2? And any opinions on which edition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 We used MEP, too. It provided just the right challenge level by working with numbers in various ways. Beast actually recommends it as one of the precursors to their program. Now, we use Right Start for variety and Life of Fred for depth. If RS introduces it, Fred will hit it on speed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Can you post the link of BA’s recommend pre-BA programs? I keep seeing people mention it here but I can’t find it on their website! I know I’m totally overlooking it somewhere. It used to be in their FAQ, but it’s not there any longer. I’m guessing they removed it once they started putting out level 2. It used to recommend MEP or Singapore Primary, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Can you post the link of BA’s recommend pre-BA programs? I keep seeing people mention it here but I can’t find it on their website! I know I’m totally overlooking it somewhere. They used to have it on their site, but they had it on Facebook too in this post: https://www.facebook.com/beastacademymath/posts/881010131995526 Beast Academy We are a small team developing a new curriculum that is a tremendous amount of work. We will finish grade 5 before moving on to grade 2. There are lots of alternatives. The two we are comfortable recommending are Singapore Math and a free curriculum called MEP, which takes a little while to navigate but does have good problems and the added benefit of being free: http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I'd switch over to Singapore, probably start at grade 2 and just move on along through it. Add in Beast 2 once the entire grade level is complete. Personally, I like to suggest BOTH Singapore and Beast, as they complement each other very well. My son would complete Singapore, and then follow up with the Beast. And just a cautionary note... When my son was your child's age, he was tested (for speech issues...his connected speech was unintelligible) and they strongly recommended we find a mentor for him, to help him advance through his education. He was reading by that point and had been for a year. His math skills were not quite as advanced as your child's, but they may very well have been, had I pushed him through. Anyways, we made a decision back then to not accelerate our son more than a grade past his age-based grade level. There were a lot of reasons for it, but mostly...I didn't want him to hit pre-alg and alg before he was developmentally ready for it...and just because he was advanced at age 5, didn't mean he'd stay advanced. Plus, he wasn't a hugely motivated outlier genius kid. He was a bright boy, who still wanted to play with his Legos. In addition, I was seeing signs that I was burning him out. And so when he would finish a year of Singapore in half the time it should have taken him, instead of moving to the next grade level, I went deeper. We explored math through Beast, through Competitive Math workbooks, etc. He's 11 now, and once again I find myself needing to make decisions. He could absolutely start Pre-Alg right now and he'd do fine. But, I've decided to let him finish Beast 5 (even though he did Singapore 5 last year) and then we'll roll right into Pre-Alg, work on it over the summer, and prepare for Alg. 1 next winter. I have no regrets. I think he's a more confident, solid math student today because we did not allow him to accelerate too quickly. Anyways, just my own .02! Take it with a grain of salt, because every kid is different! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 Can he do three digit subtraction and addition with regrouping? If so I'd probably start at Singapore 3, but CWP 1 and/or Process Skills 1 (because I've heard there's not many word problems or puzzles in RS, maybe I'm wrong). But BA has been a good fit for my advanced boy. Its the only math program we do without considerable tweaking. I still use Singapore and Life of Fred as well though. Mep is also really, really good but at four and five years old my son would only tolerate the visually boring worksheets sporadically. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 We used Singapore and after jumping quickly 3 levels in 1 year we switched to MEP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 My mathy boy has been loving Singapore! We used RS A at 3, B at 4, & are finishing Singapore 2A this week (he turned 5 last month). We use the Intensive Practice instead of the Workbook which adds needed depth & fun, puzzley problems. Given where your son is, I echo the recommendation for 3A + Beast Academy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrt Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to share your experience and opinions- this is all very helpful! I ordered BA to try and am trying to decide whether to speed through Right Start for the moment since we already have multiple levels for my other kids, or add Singapore for him. Do people ever use the Singapore Intensive practice as a supplement? Would it work without doing the program? Or are there specific processes that are unique to the method that would make it not make sense otherwise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 You can use Singapore IP as a stand alone supplement if he needs extra reinforcement of certain concepts. One thing I thought Singapore taught better tan Beast was long division. You may want to supplement when you get to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 If he's truly gifted in math, then it's possible that going through a normal curriculum methodically - even Beast - won't ever suit him completely. Just something to consider, since you said you were concerned about "missing" things if you didn't go through RS step by step. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Do people ever use the Singapore Intensive practice as a supplement? Would it work without doing the program? Or are there specific processes that are unique to the method that would make it not make sense otherwise? As long as you & he are both comfortable with bar modelling, I don’t see why you couldn’t. RS is similar enough in approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 We used the IP instead of the workbook for some of Singapore. So textbook + IP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 My kids used the Singapore textbook and workbook along with the Challenging Word Problem supplement in elementary then moved into AoPS. (Beast Academy wasn't available for my kids) Singapore provided an exceptionally strong foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Thanks, everyone! I will look into BA more - and try to get over the monsters:) Looking at the content samples I could see on line, it looks really good. Thanks for the Tiger math suggestion too- I hadn't heard of it, but I think that is exactly what my oldest daughter needs. RS doesn't have enough drills for her to be quick and solid. She hates Kumon workbooks and they have too much repetition, and getting her to do extra math is like pulling teeth. This looks like it would be really manageable for her get done to supplement, and might be good extra for the others at some point too. I hadn't heard of the CSMP - thanks for the suggestion, Rosie. For those of you who have used Singapore - what level would you think of as a good starting point? 2? And any opinions on which edition? If you do SM you could start at 2. At the end of SM 1B it teaches time, and money. but you may have already covered that with RS. I don't know. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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