Singapore Math

[SherryTX]

Hey all - been reading a lot about different math curriculum, etc.

I have been a little turned off by Calvert - by the price and the fact that it appears they are are a year behind in some states. Although I know that I could just get the next year's texts, I have read a lot of negative things about the curriculum.

 

I have looked at a lot of the other programs as well - and so far Singapore appears to be the most bang for the buck. I am printing out a few of the assessment tests for my daughter to complete. I have a feeling that although she loves and is pretty good in math, she may need to start a level lower than what she was doing in 3rd grade based on what I have looked at on the Singapore site. And the price appears to be very affordable.

 

For those that have used or are using Singapore - what do you find the pros and cons? From what I have read on this forum, the biggest "con" I have seen is that some parents that are not great at math are nervous because there is a lot of prep involved. I am not great at math, but it doesn't scare me because I have the time right now, and I think I will be in no danger of getting lost for a few years haha. Also, my husband is a math genius, so he has agreed to help on the weekends and at night if she has trouble understanding the concepts if I cannot help her.

 

Please let me know what you think of the program. My daughter is really math driven. She often says that her perfect school day would be 50% math and 50% art. She is really excited about moving forward in math, but I am finding using the workbook her school let her keep isn't that challenging and I am constantly printing out additional things from the internet to keep her going on the math.

 

 

Thanks for your input!

[Tree House Academy]

We really disliked Calvert math. It was way too expensive and was not nearly the quality program that Singapore is. Both of my sons are now doing Singapore and we LOVE it.

 

I was nervous at first starting Singapore too. However, my kids took to it really fast - especially my oldest who had previously taken math in public school.

 

The one con with Singapore that I can think of is that, really, the workbook and textbook are not enough. I always buy the supplements - Extra Practice, Intensive Practice, and Challenging Word Problems. I don't mind buying those and I really like having the optional stuff there incase we need it. If it is obvious my son "gets" something, we do little extra. If there is something he is struggling with, then we use all of the extra resources for further practice.

 

My son is in 4th grade and he is finishing Singapore 3B right now. I took him back a level because they did not teach him everything in 3rd grade ps that Singapore teaches in 3A and 3B. :) I use the 3B Extra Practice book, the 3B Intensive Practice book, and I went a grade level down for the Challenging Word Problems (2) because he hadn't had much exposure to word problems and those can be a challenge for sure.

 

We won't be switching from Singapore until we run out of books!

Edited February 7, 2009 by Tree House Academy

[usetoschool]

I love Singapore. Used Saxon with my older kids but since we started using Singapore, Saxon seems boring and slow and we have completely phased it out. I like that it is easy to personalize - add challenging word problems, do some intensive practice, or skip those and just use the workbook if it is something that they understand readily. I like that the lessons are short and to the point. As far as I am concerned there are just enough practice problems to understand but not so many that it becomes tedious. I like the look of the books. Most of all I like that it teaches the theory and and understanding of what the numbers mean, not just how to get the answer. I was always in the smarty pants math class in school and got good grades but I think I understand math better now after using Singapore. But then I went to school during that whole new math business... ::shudder::

 

No cons really for us. We do use Quarter Mile Math on the computer to drill the facts just because I want them fast at that so they can work on the theory and not spend time on arithmetic and that is the most painless way we have found to drill.

[annabanana1992]

Here is another vote for "we love it." As suggested above - buy the supplements - especially the CWP. There is not a lot of prep, but it is not scripted ( I AM NOT a fan of scripted math, btw). 2 of my 3 had to back up a level when they started. 1 started from the beginning so she is on level. It is really a great math program. The HIG's are cheap and helpful. The HIG's for the Standards Edition (which I highly recommend - more built in review) supplement further by adding days to work on facts ( at least in 2B) and give you lots of suggestions on how to get the facts down. Don't be afraid to take the plunge - attitude is half the battle and it sounds like yours is great!

[dirty ethel rackham]

We have used Singapore with just texts and workbooks and found it to be just enough. We do add in math fact drill on our own as well as games and some other fun stuff. If we added in the supplement, it would just kill my children's love of learning. While it looks like there is not enough repetition, it is built in ... you need to use what was learned before to apply the new concepts.

[SherryTX]

I appreciate all the helpful input!

:)

[kalanamak]

Another vote of approval. I like the CWP, but do have the Extra and Intensive but only pick and choose something kiddo needs a little more repetition in. Sometimes, if he is feeling winded by something we are doing, I might do a review with the easier stuff I didn't do the first time around, just so he can do a little independent work and feel capable.

 

If you are anxious, the HIG really spell out goals and methods to them, step by step. Anything you don't write in is re-sellable.

[EKS]

I recently wrote a blog post about this very issue. Here's the link: http://theknittedear.blogspot.com/2009/02/curriculum-changes-part-3-cub-and-math.html

 

I highly recommend getting the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems books as supplements. They really kick it up a notch and for a strong math student they are indespensible.

[GWOB]

Another Singapore lover here! My son is currently in 1B. I went ahead and purchased the HIG because I personally wanted to get a feel for the program. However, many say it is not necessary. Basically, I look in the HIG to see how to present the lesson. We then go over the text pages, complete the workbook assignment, and occasionally do a couple of pages in the CWP book. At this point I feel no need for the IP and EP books. We use flash cards to drill math facts and I occasionally assign a Mental Math page from the back of the HIG. Singapore is a wonderful math program. You do not have to be "mathy" to implement it.

[alpidarkomama]

We're just finishing Kindergarten in Singapore (and before that did Saxon K), and will be starting 1A this week. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Singapore Math. I also got the i-Excel book, Level 1, and that has some great mathematical logic problems in it. I feel like DD (5-1/2) has really gotten a deeper understanding of numbers and how they work then we ever got with Saxon. The math is challenging, but the progression of skills is done quite brilliantly. We're very happy (in case that wasn't clear!).:001_smile:

[cworthy]

Hi all, I am new here and only in my second year of homeschooling my son (grade 5). We started last year with Singapore - I loved it, he hated it. He had been in public school through third grade and I think it was just so different from what he was used to seeing. I do think it is a wonderful program, but it may be a transition, depending on your child's background.

[Mommy22alyns]

I really, really like Singapore. I didn't find that the prep was bad at all, but I don't have a lot of experience. We were using 1A and started on 1B, and for me the HIGs were necessary. If you have confidence in your teaching, you may not need them.

 

I will say that we're not using Singapore right now because 1B got a little too hard for Becca. So we're backing off and using RS for now. But my goal is to work back up to Singapore - I'll have to follow her lead and see where we end up. :)

[gsesce]

My DS9 is on 3B right now and it just suits his learning style so well. He loves doing the mental math. We had used Sadlier Oxford last year for 2nd grade (through K12) and didn't like it as much. The Singapore books are clean, by which I mean they are not cluttered with extraneous stuff, and get to the point. There is plenty of review, and it moves at a good pace. We use the IP books at times, but not the CWP - I may change my mind on that, though.

 

An interesting site that posts comparative problems from Singapore Math and public school "fuzzy" math textbooks can be found here:

http://oilf.blogspot.com/

 

Of course, the Singapore Math problems always come out looking much more challenging!

[SherryTX]

My two daughters each did assessment tests this afternoon. The 9 year old, whom home schools found 2B to be really difficult - about a third of the material she wasn't familiar enough with so I had her skip those questions. Out of the rest, she did fairly well. I am going to have her try 2A just to make sure we don't have to go back to that level. (I pulled her out a couple weeks ago, and she is in 3rd grade.)

 

I had my 7 year old complete the 1A assessment - partly so she didn't feel left out hahah, but also I was curious as to where she was at. She did very well. I asked her whether she thought the test was hard or easy. She told me it was "in the middle". We may consider pulling her out in third grade, depending on how things are going with her - but for now, it was just a bit of a check in. She loves extra "homework" hahah.

 

After Rebecca (9 year old) completes the 2A assessment test, we will decided whether we will order 2A or 2B. The curriculum is so cheap we may just go with 2A anyway so she can breeze through it and get used to how Singapore Math operates.

 

Thanks again for everyone's input. I feel much better about selecting Singapore now, and feel like a very essential component will be will covered. Also, since she loves math so much, I think she will be very excited to get to do move forward faster than she would have in the public school.

[Jen in PA]

When I taught elementary school I got to use a few different curricula, and was very unhappy with everything I was given to use (especially Everyday Math...). To me the real appeal of Singapore is the introduction of word problems and real-life applications early on, combined with multiple strategies for approaching such problems. In math there is usually only one right answer, but more than one way to reach that answer, and SM lets the student choose the method that works best for him/her. I think SM's particular strength is that it goes beyong arithmetic instruction and becomes an all-inclusive brain training/logic training curriculum.

[mcconnellboys]

I don't really consider myself a math person, but I've never had any difficulty with Singapore and I've never found it to be a lot of prep work. I'm not sure what the prep would be. You read through the lesson with them and do some problems orally, then let them do the associated workbook page(s) for that day.

[DeeDeeMarie0]

I have been homeschooling four boys for six years and we love Singapore.

We tried Saxon, but my boys thought it was boring. We use the supplemental Singapore books, especially the Challenging Word Problems. These word problems are often two, three or four step problems in the uppper grades. I really believe it has given them a very good foundation. My oldest went all the way through Singapore and then started Algebra 1. They have all tested well in math on their year-end standardized tests.

The con is that they don't cover probabilites in the old version (which is what we have). I know they now have a new version that has probabilities. My second son is in 6A and he does the textbook independently and then goes on to the workbook. If he gets a problem wrong, I go back and make sure he understood the text. It has really been very easy to teach.