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3ringcircus
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| Posted: April 17 2012 at 9:23am | IP Logged
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I haven't got the foggiest idea of where to start with 1st grade math. I know some of the names (Singapore, MUS, Saxon, etc.), but I don't understand much beyond that. Even if I did know the strengths & weaknesses, I don't really know his learning style. They do math in K, and his teacher says he is doing well, but I don't have a feel for his relationship w/ numbers.
He's big into science, and has a list of subjects he wants to study, so I think living math will be covered. He's usually in the clouds w/ all sorts of ideas spinning around, so not one to do well with worksheets. He seems naturally interested in measuring length, depth, mass, and speed, and telling time, though. I'm planning to get an ipad, if that makes a difference.
If this is too broad of a question, and you know of a link that might give this info., I'd love the help.
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Christine
Mom to my circus of boys: G-1/06, D-1/04, S-4/10
Started HS in Fall'12
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SallyT
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| Posted: April 17 2012 at 11:52am | IP Logged
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You might check out MEP math. It does have worksheets, but for his level you could easily just use the scripted lesson plans, which take you through a number of mental math activities and things which could be done together on a whiteboard. It's also free, so you could print out a lesson or two and try them out. It's very conceptual -- my kids have learned a lot about problem-solving (we use MEP in tandem with a basic skills-based workbook), and many of the activities are fun as well as challenging. Check out the first few lessons in Year 1 and see what you think.
There's also a useful yahoo group of homeschooling MEP users.
Hope that's helpful.
Sally
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Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 17 2012 at 11:57am | IP Logged
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I started by doing math ourselves.. I'd write out problems, we'd talk about math while doing stuff.. and see where we fell. I got singapore because once I knew how *we* would do math I found that it was a pretty close match to how we do it.
Remember that any math you can pull out dried beans and paper plates if you need real physical demonstrations. And I knew there was no way here I could keep track of a program that comes with all sorts of little bits and pieces.. too many smaller children that would love to get their hands on it.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Aagot
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| Posted: April 17 2012 at 3:09pm | IP Logged
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I use to think math is math is math. That is, until I discovered Right Start. No commisions here  just a mom who really enjoys light bulbs going off in her own head as well as her kids'. If you go to their website www.rightstartmath.com and click on "resources" you will find some interesting articles on the science of teaching math.
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: April 17 2012 at 3:40pm | IP Logged
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I really have no advice, but wanted to say I feel your pain! This is our fifth year of homeschooling and I still barely know how my oldest likes to learn.  And his style has changed over the years.  The only advice I can think of is to print of samples online and use them and see how they work out. If I had to do it over again . . . . I still don't know what I would use. 
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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ShannonJ
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| Posted: April 17 2012 at 4:07pm | IP Logged
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I guess the *right* math program really depends on you and your teaching style in those early years. We use RightStart which is manipulative based and teacher intensive, but so wonderful at explaining things. I learned so much myself with this program. Singapore follows a similar philosophy of Asian style mathematics but is workbook based. We used a couple of Singapore workbooks to supplement along the way. This was more experimentation on my part than anything. They are both mastery based (learn it and move on) rather than spiral (review frequently).
I also have Math Mammoth which is great because you can print off any anreas you would like to review or for extra practice.
Family Math is a great book for ideas of math games and activities that you can do with your 1st grader. Lots of living math ideas.
Look at samples from all of your prospective programs and just try to objectively think what would work best for your teaching style. Then just hold your breath and dive in!
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~Shannon
Mom of dd 12, ds 9, & dd 5
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 17 2012 at 4:46pm | IP Logged
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Aagot wrote:
I use to think math is math is math. That is, until I discovered Right Start. No commisions here just a mom who really enjoys light bulbs going off in her own head as well as her kids'. If you go to their website www.rightstartmath.com and click on "resources" you will find some interesting articles on the science of teaching math.
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Ditto. 
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 18 2012 at 8:02am | IP Logged
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We spent a couple years doing math games, activities from Family Math, and reading lots of living math books before introducing a curriculum. In the end I wanted something self-directed so I chose Math Mammoth. We started slowly when DS2 turned 6, having him do just 10 minutes/1 page per day. DS1 is 8 and does 15-20 minutes/roughly one lesson most days. We still do lots of hands on math in addition to Math Mammoth, and we use Life of Fred as a living supplement.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: Where to start with math?
