Singapore Math 3rd grade going sloooowly

[blendergal]

We finished Singapore Math 2A and 2B (Standards) during 2nd grade, pretty much right on the money.

We started 3A at the beginning of this school year and we are just now ready to start 3B. I wouldn't say it's been difficult for DS, but because it covered so many new concepts (all the mutiplication facts! long division!) we had to go slowly.

I am absolutely not panicking about being "behind." But I am wondering: Have others had this experience? Were you able to pick up the pace in 3B? Am I understanding correctly that students should finish 6A/6B (Standards) in 6th grade?

 

[Plagefille]

Sometimes my kids breezed through sections, doing many pages a day. And other times we went at a snail's , or had to take breaks from the book to get extra facts practice. It really just depends on the topic and the kid. But yes, for two of my three, we went slowly through the facts and long division.

[Sarah0000]

My kid slowed down at that point as well. However, we did move forward into the basics of the next level (switched out of Singapore) while continuing to practice multiplication and division. 

[ExcitedMama]

We are still in 3A here. That tends to be how things are for us depending on scheduling. The B books always seem to go faster for us and we usually finish up easily by June. We use MIF so I’m sure it’s slightly different and we also do Miquon and BA so we jump around. I think it’s more important to learn the concepts well than to worry about timing. I think that’s the beauty of homeschooling. 

[forty-two]

Both my girls slowed down in 3A - as you say, all that multiplication and long division.  They did do 3B much faster.

Also, it's not the end of the world to be behind.  I did a (kinda failed) experiment with delayed formal math with my oldest, and she started 1.5yr behind and ended 1 yr behind.  In her case, I skipped SM6 and went straight to Pre-Alg in 7th (Dolciani), where she is doing fine.  But I could have completed SM6 in 7th and done Pre-A in 8th, and then gone into Alg in 9th.  My middle (I paused math until she was reading well) started a half year behind and is still a half year behind.  With both girls, we just started the next book when the previous one was completed, and picked up after breaks wherever we'd left off.  My oldest's situation really did worry me some, the closer we got to 7th grade, because it was my own darn fault, but it did work out. 

[Lori D.]

Singapore 3A/B is when you start getting in to the first of the harder word problems and using the "bar method", so more thinking needed, which slows the pace. Also, I have heard in the past that the Singapore Primary levels run roughly a grade ahead of average US grades -- so, much of 3A/B is more along the lines of typical 4th grade topics in US Math.

As far as finishing Singapore 6A/B in 6th grade -- no, not necessary. Singapore 5A/B and 6A/B cover a number of Pre-Algebra topics, and 6A/B has a lot of Pre-Algebra level problem-solving, so not a problem if you don't complete it until the end of 7th grade (or whenever YOUR student matures into it). You can always do a Pre-Algebra program, such as Art of Problem Solving in 7th or 8th grade if your student needs more time before starting Algebra 1 in 8th or 9th grade. Far far FAR better to go into the higher maths at a slower pace to have a super solid foundation, than to have to back up in high school and re-do.

(Side note to: @forty-two: Quite honestly, the average student really is NOT ready for Algebra 1 until 9th grade -- about half of public/private school students are doing Pre-Algebra in 8th and Algebra 1 in 9th -- and many more get pushed into taking Algebra 1 in 8th, come out shaky, and end up re-taking Algebra 1 in 9th (I know a number of real-life local examples of that). So no worries! Your DD#1 is right on track for her personal timing/development in math, and will be FINE for getting through Pre-Calc. in 12th grade to have a solid set of Math credits for college admissions!)

It's good to just take your time right now and get solid with these foundational math concepts. And if your student is "hitting a wall" with a topic, do a "side step" for a few days or a week or two with a supplement -- a manipulative with go-along booklet, for example -- and let the troublesome topic "simmer on the back burner" of the child's mind. Sometimes coming back after a break to something else makes the troublesome topic click more easily.

Edited March 9, 2019 by Lori D.

[blendergal]

Thank you for the advice and encouragement! In retrospect, we probably should have gone on to data/probability while we kept working on multiplication facts and long division in the background, but we didn’t. 😬 On the bright side, he’s really “got” those concepts now. So, onward!