Guest 270pam Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 ok, after finally understanding the difference in spiral and mastery math programs i have figured out the spiral method just does not get it for my daughter. i do not like the idea of her half way understanding something and then moving on and this is upsetting her and making her feel like she is not smart. i think we need a mastery program. my question is what are some good mastery programs out there? also she will probably eventually go to public school (due to sports) and i do not want her to be behind in math. she will be in 5th grade next year. we have used sos and horizon in past. she was in private school 1st & 2nd grade and the school used a beka. i think the spiral was ok for the first few years but now we are getting into some things that are more difficult for her to grasp. fractions and division etc.... please any suggestions would be apprectiated!! Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Pam, We're with you! We've been using Horizons, which spirals "out of control." I think there are other spiral programs that take a better pace. We're switching back to A Beka for that reason. My daughter needs a spiral program, but not one that skips around so much. Mastery frustrated her because she never felt like she was getting anywhere. That being said, we've used Singapore and MUS which I think are definitely Mastery programs. Look into those and see what you think. Both have placement tests and "levels" instead of grades. You could certainly find MUS used for cheap to try it out for the rest of the year. Singapore is still changing so I'm not as sure about their program anymore (we used the US edition several years ago), but I think it's worth looking into. HTH! Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CherylG Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Pam,We're with you! We've been using Horizons, which spirals "out of control." I think there are other spiral programs that take a better pace. We're switching back to A Beka for that reason. My daughter needs a spiral program, but not one that skips around so much. Mastery frustrated her because she never felt like she was getting anywhere. That being said, we've used Singapore and MUS which I think are definitely Mastery programs. Look into those and see what you think. Both have placement tests and "levels" instead of grades. You could certainly find MUS used for cheap to try it out for the rest of the year. Singapore is still changing so I'm not as sure about their program anymore (we used the US edition several years ago), but I think it's worth looking into. HTH! Blessings! Dorinda Hi all, We have used Horizons though 6th grade for years, but always supplemented the "struggling" parts with "Key to...". The series can be purchased individually, saving you tons of $$. They are about 3.50 each. We especially add "Key to Fractions", "Key To Algebra" and "Key to Geometry". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 they are very different programs, but both are solid math programs. If you are thinking of sending your child to school you might want the Singapore. Rod and Staff is excellent, but waits to introduce some things until a later grade, which works out fine in the end but could mean your child misses some things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in WA Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 MUS was the answer for my son who needs to beat a topic to death in order to learn it. Staying on one basic operation for a whole year worked for this child during the elementary years. In first grade he spent a whole year in Saxon 1, did great on tests and couldn't remember a thing at the end of first grade. After this we tried Horizons and another traditional program and encountered the same thing. Then the light bulb went off for me on the methodology of both Saxon and Horizons. We switched to MUS Gamma and math turned around for my son. He is now finishing Pre-Algebra. Thank you MUS. HTH, April in WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 (edited) Well, I think BJU is very good. It's not mastery like MUS, but it teaches concepts in chapters. You'll do an entire chapter on fractions, then an entire chapter on another concept, then later, in another chapter, you will come back to what you learned in fractions and build on that for an entire chapter. I like it. It works. My children could never do Saxon due to it's horrible incremental spiral-type teaching. We tried HARD and failed terribly. Horizon's always had the same feel to me as Saxon, so we did not even bother. I really like BJU. Now, having said that, I am seriously considering CLE Math 7 (Christian Light Education) for my son next year as a bridge to BJU's Pre-Algebra. BJU's Math 6 and 7 are very similar, so I am thinking to try something new and different with him for a year. I really like the looks of CLE...but it does have a spiral feel to it. You might want to check it out just in case though. It's much cheaper than BJU, but I honestly don't know if it is as good. ;) As for MUS, no offense to those who like it, but I personally would not consider MUS if your dd may be returning to ps soon. MUS's scope & Sequence is faaaaaar different from the ps system's. When my youngest son used MUS for a year...we used Gamma after using A Beka 1 & 2...I felt like he lost considerable ground in math! I know there are people who love and rave about MUS, but I didn't like it for him at. all. I do think it's an exceptional program for children who struggle in math though, and had I known about it when my oldest was in elementary, I would most definitely have used it with him. Edited April 16, 2009 by Melissa in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 seems like one of the best mastery math programs to me. It will keep up very well with ps, at least it does with ours. MUS is probably the best mastery math program, but I agree with Melissa that I wouldn't use it when planning to return to ps. You will get everything you need with MUS and most of those who need mastery do very well with it, but, its scope and sequence is very different. If you don't plan to go back to ps until algebra or later, that won't matter and you might still check out MUS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmom Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Ray's arithmetic is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 BJU seems like one of the best mastery math programs to me. It will keep up very well with ps, at least it does with ours. I don't consider BJU to be a mastery based program at all. I think it hops around quite a bit, and that's one of the reasons why we'll probably be switching to something else next year. Also, this year's DVD teacher (4th grade math) did not click with us at all, and I felt that her explanations were ridiculously confusing -- too many steps to reach a simple answer to a problem. I also don't like BJU's emphasis on estimation in 4th grade. I want my ds to know how to solve the problem first, and then worry about things like estimation. I felt like a lot of time was wasted with unnecessary concepts, and not enough time was spent on things like mastering the multiplication and division tables (as an example.) Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Singapore and Math U See are good mastery programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I don't consider BJU to be a mastery based program at all. I think it hops around quite a bit, and that's one of the reasons why we'll probably be switching to something else next year. Wow! Really? :confused: I am curious what other math programs you have used. It's not mastery like MUS for sure, but it's pretty close compared to many curricula out there. I agree with you about the over-emphasis on estimation. :tongue_smilie: If my son could do a few of them, I would let him skip the rest. I didn't feel it was that important. Also, this year's DVD teacher (4th grade math) did not click with us at all, and I felt that her explanations were ridiculously confusing -- too many steps to reach a simple answer to a problem.Cat She is known among many HomeSatters as being one of the worst teacher's BJU employed. Thankfully she only teaches two of the classes, and unfortunately they are both in 4th grade...but due for updating soon. It's not that she is a bad teacher really, she just isn't clear nor does she seem comfortable with her subject (She seemed a bit better with science though). Also, it seemed like in 4th they were really trying to emphasize the "whys" behind every. single. concept. showing them all the various steps with manips, etc. I didn't notice that as much in 5th and 6th. My son didn't LOVE the 5th grade math teacher in that he didn't rave about her like he did with the 4th grade reading teacher, but he did comment a few times that she explained things MUCH better than the 4th. And with 6th grade math....no complaints at all. ;) Out of sheer curiosity, what have you decided to try for math this next year instead of BJU? :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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