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Need help choosing math curriculum for 7 yr old new to homeschooling.


photogmom2
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Need help with math curriculum! I just withdrew my son from 2nd grade. He has been working with EUREKA math which is common core. He can’t stand number bonds but I’m wondering if I should find a similar curriculum until he settles into homeschool? I don’t want him to hate homeschool and fall behind if he decides to return to public school. Any suggestions?

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  • 2 weeks later...

That's tough, I am seeing this to be a common problem.  😞  How comfortable are you teaching math?  Are you willing to learn yourself and then teach your child?  I would just focus on what you want to teach... 2nd grade isn't that difficult figure out what you want your son to learn and then focus on those.  I use SCM Mathematics an Instrument for Living Teaching as a guide to what I should be teaching and focusing on.  I love it because it has the kids truly understand what they are learning and not just learning formulas, memorizing facts (without understanding) etc.  My son is in 3rd grade this year and I have done this approach with him for the past couple of years and its amazing what they can get if we direct instead of lecture...when they make the connections on their own it will stick and make sense to them.  Especially if you are planning on possibly sending him back to school I'd start from the beginning and make sure he understands early concepts because they build on each other!  Make it so your kid loves math again...you can do this!  🙂

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You might want to read through Cathy Duffy's descriptions.  https://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/math

Number bonds are just a way of expressing the relationship between addition and subtraction.  If he "can't stand" them it's probably because he doesn't understand them.  I wouldn't seek out a curriculum that avoids them, but you might want to do some additional teaching and assisting for that part.  It might work well to start each day with a number bond warm-up using manipulatives.  Just one number bond each day.

You should choose something you think you can teach well with.  Don't worry about having it be similar.  I love math mammoth, but there is less teacher support than some other programs.  Math U See, Rightstart, Saxon, Rod & Staff, and Singapore have lots more teacher support.

Edited by Syllieann
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Singapore Math uses number bonds but doesn't belabor them and doesn't involve tons of drawing (I help at an afterschool program where many of the kids' homework is Eureka).  It might feel familiar but not focus on the stuff that he hates...and if you're starting with second grade, there's only a little bit in the beginning - I think they were done with them after that.  Eureka always feels like badly implemented Singapore Math to me.  

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I used Singapore and really liked it, it had a bit of number bonds early on but not many.  Much of the common core math, like @ClemsonDana mentioned, looks like they took a few things from Singapore but didn't understand it, so badly implemented Singapore math.  Singapore math is more incremental and logical, we had friends who had biological children who kept up fine after their private school switched from A Beka math to common core, but an adopted child who did not get much protein his first few years before adoption could not keep up with the jumps that were made in common core math, he had been doing fine with A Beka math.

If his school does the normal sight words and balanced literacy, you may need to do some nonsense words in addition to normal phonics for reading.  My syllables page has some tests at the end, the MWIA will show if you need nonsense words, he should not have a slowdown or miss more phonetic than holistic words, and should not miss more than a 2 - 3 words on either list.

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On Reading/syllablesspellsu.html

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You are probably overwhelmed by the replies in this thread. @kiwik 's suggestion of deschooling and just playing with math is a good one for 2nd grade. There are so many fun ways to cover math.

Race to 100: divide a piece of paper into 6 columns, 3 for each of you (representing100s, 10s, 1s columns). Take turns rolling a die (or dice) and adding your rolled number to your previous score. First to 100 wins. Use Cuisinaire rods or dimes/pennies to do the math so they understand carrying 10 ones into the 10s column, 10 10s to 100.

Math War: using a deck of cards, each flip up 2 cards. Add, subtract, multiply (whatever you want to work on)the cards. Person with the highest pair wins that round. Rest of "war" rules apply.

Cuisenaire air rods.....lots to do with them. Colored rods and base 10 rods. 

Store: play with $$. Presto Chango is a $$ board game.

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  • 3 years later...
On 9/16/2019 at 10:57 PM, Clemsondana said:

Singapore Math uses number bonds but doesn't belabor them and doesn't involve tons of drawing (I help at an afterschool program where many of the kids' homework is Eureka).  It might feel familiar but not focus on the stuff that he hates...and if you're starting with second grade, there's only a little bit in the beginning - I think they were done with them after that.  Eureka always feels like badly implemented Singapore Math to me.  

 

On 9/16/2019 at 11:27 PM, ElizabethB said:

I used Singapore and really liked it, it had a bit of number bonds early on but not many.  Much of the common core math, like @ClemsonDana mentioned, looks like they took a few things from Singapore but didn't understand it, so badly implemented Singapore math.  Singapore math is more incremental and logical, we had friends who had biological children who kept up fine after their private school switched from A Beka math to common core, but an adopted child who did not get much protein his first few years before adoption could not keep up with the jumps that were made in common core math, he had been doing fine with A Beka math.

If his school does the normal sight words and balanced literacy, you may need to do some nonsense words in addition to normal phonics for reading.  My syllables page has some tests at the end, the MWIA will show if you need nonsense words, he should not have a slowdown or miss more phonetic than holistic words, and should not miss more than a 2 - 3 words on either list.

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On Reading/syllablesspellsu.html

Which edition of SM were you referring to here? Do you still remember any relative strengths of SM that Eureka didn't really do as well in?

Edited by Malam
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