Beast Academy 5 or Math Mammoth 6?

[Jennfam]

Hi! I am jumping back in to full time homeschool with my girls this year after a couple of years in a hybrid school. My oldest, 11, will be in 6th grade. I purchased all of Math Mammoth a few years ago while homeschooling my boys. It was a co-op purchase and we actually never used it. Anyway, I'm trying to decide if I should do BA 5 with her even though she's done a 5th grade math curriculum. The website states that they recommend most students doing a year "under" their current grade level. When looking at scope and sequence for both MM and BA, the topics are the same. I'm just wondering if MM6 is more 6th grade level or if BA5 would be what she needed. I'm hoping I'm making sense. 🙂 Not exactly sure how to word my actual question. 

Also, I'm planning for younger sister using BA 3 or 4. Part of the reason I'm trying to decide about BA for older sis is the "fun" of BA - thinking she may give me push back with MM when sister gets a "fun' math. 

Anyone have opinions on the "leveling" of BA?  Anyone used both BA and MM that can give input?

Thanks!

Tracy

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by Jennfam

[fourisenough]

BA and MM are just so completely different; I think they are ‘right’ for very different learners. Do you have the revised MM that goes through Level 7? Or the original edition which ends with 6? My DD14 did MM 1-7 and dabbled with a few levels of BA for fun. She was super well-prepared for Algebra 1 & Geometry based on that foundation. Even though she is mathy, BA alone would never have been enough repetition and practice to reach automaticity with most concepts. Since you already own MM, I’d give it a try and see what you/she think.

Edited June 18, 2019 by fourisenough

[EmilyGF]

I sort of split the difference with my rising 5th grader. I have her in a solid math program (Right Start) that I teach her daily and then I have her do Beast Academy online for 15-20 minutes per day. She gets interesting problem solving and she reads the comics when she feels like it. When she finishes the end of Book 5, she'll go into AOPS prealgebra, but I'll keep a parallel curriculum going until then.

Neither of my girls really learned well when we used the BA books as a stand alone curriculum. I think it didn't jive with how I teach and so it was hard for me to teach well.

Emily

[CAtoVA]

My oldest DD (rising 6th; just turned 11) used BA Level 4 as a supplement to Singapore Standards 5A and 5B this year. I have all of the Beast Academy Level 5 books but we just did not get to them yet. My plan is to used them next year in 6th with Singapore Standards 6A and 6B. I will also use selected topics from Math Mammoth 7 as needed (I already have all the MM materials) to make her 6th grade year a complete pre-Algebra year.

I have used BA with two kiddos for about three years now and I find that the topics vary regarding how advanced they are. For example, variables with equations are in the level 3 books so I actually skipped that section last year (when DD was in 4th) and used it this year instead as she was doing more algebra and advanced problem solving with Singapore level 5.  I love using Math Mammoth for targeted practice such as multiplying decimals by decimals, finding the percent of a number, etc. I have not used MM as a "stand alone" just as a supplement.

[madteaparty]

8 hours ago, EmilyGF said:

I sort of split the difference with my rising 5th grader. I have her in a solid math program (Right Start) that I teach her daily and then I have her do Beast Academy online for 15-20 minutes per day. She gets interesting problem solving and she reads the comics when she feels like it. When she finishes the end of Book 5, she'll go into AOPS prealgebra, but I'll keep a parallel curriculum going until then.

Neither of my girls really learned well when we used the BA books as a stand alone curriculum. I think it didn't jive with how I teach and so it was hard for me to teach well.

Emily

See this is sort of what I wanted to do (teach a different program, in my case MEP or Singapore which are two i get 😂)  and let her loose on BA online which I’ve bought for both DD and the neighborhood kids lol (they all go to school at the moment), but I quickly found out BA, at least in this house needs teaching BA. So this summer at least I’m doing a mix of MEP and full bore BA (book and online). This fall she does integrated math and in January I believe we will pick up more of the same. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by madteaparty