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Living and Loving Numbers ( Forum Locked)
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Topic: abeka w/ mus

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sunny
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Posted: June 17 2009 at 12:26pm \| IP Logged

I purchased Abeka K5 but am so blessed to have received mus primer teacher manual and videos free. Mimip, am I correct that you prefer using Abeka but using MUS for place value? I thought this might be a good place for this discussion, as I would really like to unsderstand how exactly you do this and I would also be sooooo thrilled to hear other responses regarding both curricula.

Sharyn
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Posted: June 24 2009 at 8:13am \| IP Logged

My dd started with MUS. We almost completed Alpha before I switched to Abeka.

I really wanted to stick with MUS but dd didn't like it at all. It was so hard to get her to complete a lesson. We tried getting her to do less questions, putting a tick next to what we thought she needed to work on most and so on, but it got to the point where she would say 'I don't know' when asked to answer even the simplest sum. Not because she didn't know the answer but because she just didn't want to do it any more.

I don't think she's ever going to 'like' math, but she does work steadily through her Abeka bk. She likes the pictures and the variety of Abeka. I like too that it deals with money, time and measurements as part of the lessons. A little bit of everything in a lesson which makes it interesting and it seems to review things enough for her to remember what she's learnt. I like that we open the book and its all there, I don't have to think about adding anything.

We do use the MUS blocks for manipulatives though with the Abeka. I also use the things I learnt from MUS to help her work through to an answer. Not having learnt this from Mr Demme I'm not sure how well we would be doing with the Abeka.
MUS is great for explaining place value.

I think I remember reading on The Well Trained Mind website about combining different math curricula, but I don't think it said how. I have been giving it a little thought lately, but with a 2 mnth old it has only been half a thought. I would certainly love to know if works for others and how they do it.

Sharyn
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Posted: June 24 2009 at 8:26am \| IP Logged

Here is what I was talking about from TWTM http://www.welltrainedmind.com/J01singapore.html

It's actually a review of Singapore math but if you scroll down most of the page to the paragraph beginning "Which method is better?" She says a few things you might find interesting to have a quick read of.

Sharyn
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Posted: June 24 2009 at 8:28am \| IP Logged

Sorry, not quite sure why I didn't get the link to work.

sunny
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Posted: June 24 2009 at 9:14pm \| IP Logged

wow Sharyn! I really was not expecting this reply. I dont know exactly what I was expecting, but it seems I am being lead to discover something! I couldnt decide between MUS and Abeka and then it just somehow fell into place that I have both curricula. Now I read from the link you recommended, "In my opinion, the best way to do math classically is to use more than one program simultaneously...Treat one program as primary and the other as secondary; when you cover a concept in the primary program, look it up in the secondary program and see whether it is explained and illustrated differently"
Not sure I will be able to follow through with this, but for now it is the plan.
Thanks for your input!!

sunny
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Posted: June 24 2009 at 9:20pm \| IP Logged

I also really meant to say how interesting that the TWTM site also considered MUS and ABeka a good combination.
(I must be tired...I am rambling, missing the point and my typing is awful! My apologies!)

Sharyn
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Posted: June 25 2009 at 6:22am \| IP Logged

It seems thinking on this a little again has got me thinking on it properly now

My ds is in yr 1 currently doing just Abeka, but I do have MUS Alpha, so I think I will give this a try too.

Starting next week I'll get him to try 4 days of Abeka and one of MUS. On the MUS day we will watch the video and then do part to all of one lesson. I will skip lessons altogether where I think he knows it already.

One day a week to learn something else from a different angle should be enough, to then go and use those skills with Abeka. It will be interesting to see how we go anyway, even if just for a little while.

Since you have the Primer level give it a go, but be careful not to make things unenjoyable for either you or your child. K is a time for learning that math is fun more than learning anything in particular. It will all be gone over again in yr 1 anyway.

I really recommend the MUS blocks though, they are great manipulatives to team up with Abeka.

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