alpidarkomama Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 My DD, 5-1/2, is just about to finish the Kindergarten math books. It looks like the first 3/4 of 1A is nothing new (?). Is it worthwhile to do all that review and work on speed??? It seems like an excessive amount of review to me, but I also don't want to rush things for her. Thanks to those of you who have been there already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 It is worth doing as it reinforces the skills and they begin to memorize the facts.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 It's good reinforcement and good for building confidence, as well. If it's going smoothly, you could skip going over lessons in the textbook and just complete the workbook exercises. That would allow you to keep lessons really short or to double up until you reach new material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 My ds is 5.4 and we are starting 1A next week (finished EB B this week). We are going to do all of the review because we need to get our facts down now and I love the way Singapore does that. I also picked up the Extra Practice and Intensive Practice books so we could have more practice than just the textbook and workbook allow. Practice makes perfect. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thanks, everyone! We'll just start at the beginning and zoom through. :) I sure do love Singapore Math and how it teaches concepts. We also bought the Level 1 i-Excel workbook from them. It looks like a terrific book for teaching mathematical logic! We'll add in a problem per day or so. Fun!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeDeeMarie0 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 We have used Singapore for six years and have loved it. I would not skip any of it, even though they seem to know it well. Although, we do skip reviews though, if they did well on all of the exercises. But I wouldn't skip a bit of the textbook, because they seem to reinforce things with problems that are a little different or just a little more difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Don't skip. 1A can look deceptively simple. Your child really has to be pretty good at holding numbers in her head and manipulating them mentally. They have to be very comfortable with the combinations that make 10. Later in the book, when adding say 8+6, they don't just memorize 14. You can do that, but you really want them to learn to make the 10 so that later they will be able to add 78+6. I actually delayed starting 1A after finishing EB last spring with my youngest. Having gone through it with my now 3rd grader, I believe that what is asked of the child is a lot harder than EB. Back to the 8+6 problem, they need to be able to identify that they need 2 to make the 8 a 10, subtract the 2 from the 6, and add the result to 10. In their head. Fairly quickly. I'm sure it's easy for many kids, but don't underestimate the difficulty and be prepared to slow down and take all the time your dc needs to gain facility with this. It will pay off in the long run. -Former math teacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I agree. I like to hold off on 1A until my child is 6. I feel that 1A is a big leap from EB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 Thanks, Ali. I just read carefully through every page and realized exactly that - it IS deceptively simple at first glance. Now I see how it's at a subtly deeper level. I love this program, and see more why with each passing day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I took a whole year to do 1A with Hobbes, having done the EB books. We also played a lot of games that year, to reinforce the number bonds. The book lays the foundation for what follows - I definitely wouldn't skip it. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 My DD, 5-1/2, is just about to finish the Kindergarten math books. It looks like the first 3/4 of 1A is nothing new (?). Is it worthwhile to do all that review and work on speed??? It seems like an excessive amount of review to me, but I also don't want to rush things for her. Thanks to those of you who have been there already! Oh yeah, I remember that feeling. It reviews and then gets tougher. Getting smooth with the facts takes time and repetition. I vote keep going and at the first sign of slowing down, do so. Don't get lulled by the review. At this age you are building huge numbers of neuronal connections. Lay down the math tracks solidly, and your child won't have the math misery so many others get later on. IMO. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Thanks, Ali. I just read carefully through every page and realized exactly that - it IS deceptively simple at first glance. Now I see how it's at a subtly deeper level. I love this program, and see more why with each passing day. In Singapore they don't start 1A until a child is 7yo, so IF you hit a wall, order some of the practice books and regroup. :) My oldest soared through the EB books and into 1A. She did great with it till about half way through the book when they start taking away the pictures. She could do it with the pictures, but without them she had no ability to use manipulatives (nor did she want to) and she didn't have the mental ability yet to do them without some sort of manipulative. After a break we came back and she was able to move on. Now I just wait till my kids start 2nd grade to start the 1A book, but Singapore is not our only math program either. It just makes things easier on ME. ;) Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I was planning Singapore as a supplement for math crazy dd6, but not til the fall (he just finished RS A and he's now doing MEP math and some other fun mathy stuff.) Your post was a lightbulb moment for me-I think what I'll do is hold off a little on Singapore. I'm planning on CLE as his main math, and cherry picking some from MEP and RS B next year for conceptual "fun." I planned Singapore in there too (it's pretty short and to the point, and the more the merrier for him) but now with what you said I think I'll do just the ones I had planned and wait til 2nd grade to start Singapore. By then I'll be done with all I wanted to do from RS, so the Singapore can just replace that. Some of Sing will be review at that point for him, but that's fine. Anyway, thanks a lot because it helped me solidify something that I was going around and around in my mind about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yea, I love it when that happens! It has been nice because I haven't had to hold my 7yo hands half as much as I did the first two who started Singapore in 1st grade. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 actually reading in another post where someone had their dc do Horizons through third grade and THEN go back and do the Singapore from 1A. I personally don't plan on that, but I can see the advantage of having an extra year of maturity before starting it. I think in general I am seeing this with the second dc-waiting on things more than I did with my first guinea pig dd. And because my second is being introduced to things with more maturity, he just flies through the material. Thanks for the lightbulb moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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