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mathmama
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 6:40am | IP Logged
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I am so excited. I spent all day yesterday researching math curricula. It was a snowy day here and the big girls were outside with dad most of the afternoon. It was just me and the baby in the recliner reading old threads about math...heaven 
Anyway, I have chosen Singapore, but I am confused about what I should order. Right now I am only schooling our 5yo dd. She is just about finished with a Seton K math workbook. I wouldn't say she has mastered much at this point. She understands addition and subtraction, but I don't believe she has this mastered yet. She can count as high as you would like her to. She is pretty good about telling time and knows about money, but certainly hasn't mastered that yet.
I was thinking about starting her with Earlybird Kindergarten Math Book B, but perhaps I should also get Book A and Book A and B for grade 1. But I am a bit confused about a couple of things. First, do I definitely want the Earlybird, or do I want Essential Math? Do I want to get the textbook and activity book? It says in their homeschool section that I need only get the textbook. Is the textbook consumable? Would it not be consumable if I got the activity book as well? What about the readers? Do I want to get the teacher's guide? Ok, on to the grade 1 material. Do I want the US Edition or Standards Edition? What about the home instruction guide? Are there any games/manipulatives you would recommend from them for K or grade 1?
I see that many stop using Singapore after grade 6. I haven't read a lot of reasons why except that it starts to get more challenging for the mom. Is this really the only complaint with the higher grades?
One last question (thank you if you have read this far  ). Where do you get your Singapore materials? Does the Singapore website have the best price or should I be looking elsewhere?
Thanks for all the great threads in the past that I have read about math curricula. I was about ready to order Saxon blindly on a strong recommendation from a friend. Thankfully I didn't do this as it would *not* be a good fit for our family. I also wanted to repost the link to this article on international vs American math. It put into words what I have experienced teaching college students and watching my dh teach at the university level as well.
I look forward to any responses. I hope to order the curriculum in the next couple of days.
Beth
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Beth, wife to Tom and mommy to 4 beautiful girls:
Therese 11/04
Anna Mary 6/07
Veronica 10/09
Theodora 11/12
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cvbmom
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 8:07am | IP Logged
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Beth,
I don't have a lot of time, but I want to reply. I would not get the Earlybird anything for your dd. My littles have done these with ease at age 4. I would get the Primary Mathematics 1A and 1B texts and 1A and 1B workbooks. I would also get the teacher's guide if you can afford it, because that's where all the "how to's" are for the program, including games, manipulatives, etc.. We got the US editions because the standards edition was created for US school use (you can read about it on Singapore Math's website). I bought the books from Rainbow Resource because at the time they were cheapest.
Sorry to be short, but I have to go. Please ask any other questions you might have that I missed :)
Thanks!
Christine
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mathmama
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 8:41am | IP Logged
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Would it be worth it to get the Earlybird for my 2.5yo (not to use immediately, but perhaps in the next year or so)?
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mathmama
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 8:45am | IP Logged
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cvbmom wrote:
Beth,
I don't have a lot of time, but I want to reply. I would not get the Earlybird anything for your dd. My littles have done these with ease at age 4. I would get the Primary Mathematics 1A and 1B texts and 1A and 1B workbooks. I would also get the teacher's guide if you can afford it, because that's where all the "how to's" are for the program, including games, manipulatives, etc.. We got the US editions because the standards edition was created for US school use (you can read about it on Singapore Math's website). I bought the books from Rainbow Resource because at the time they were cheapest.
Sorry to be short, but I have to go. Please ask any other questions you might have that I missed :)
Thanks!
Christine |
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Also, do you mean the teacher's guide or home instruction guide? I get the impression that the teacher's guide is really geared toward on site school. Thanks!
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Anna Mary 6/07
Veronica 10/09
Theodora 11/12
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cvbmom
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 9:01am | IP Logged
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A quick check-in again...
Yes, maybe your 2 1/2 year old might get into the Early Bird mathematics next year, especially with big sister "doing school."
And also, sorry about the confusion, I DEFINITELY mean the home instructor's guide. I forgot there was a difference.
God bless,
Christine
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mathmama
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 9:06am | IP Logged
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mathmama wrote:
| Would it be worth it to get the Earlybird for my 2.5yo (not to use immediately, but perhaps in the next year or so)? |
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Perhaps I should have read more before asking more questions :) In looking on the Singapore math site it seems that perhaps the Essential Math program is more geared to homeschooling. It is much much cheaper, but seems like a program that would fit our needs (for the younger ones when the time comes). Any thoughts?
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 9:10am | IP Logged
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I did use the Earlybird books for dd. They were easy and you could probably just get the B book and be fine. They helped dd experience success and feel part of school at the table. I wouldn't think you would need the TM at this stage. I just had the workbook and "winged" it.
Ds, who is 12 has done Singapore for about 2 years now. We have loved it.
Ds will stay in the US Edition because he has been in it and is close to done, I know how it works, and he is right on the edge of when they publish new home teacher guides for standards.
With dd, I am starting fresh and at the beginning so she will use the standards edition. She is 7, first grade and we started 1A but she wasn't quite ready to think that way so I put it away until next year and are using Scott Foresman and it is going better. I like the standards because it follows the US sequence of teaching and the materials look easier to follow.
When I tested ds he did look just like all the articles said. Great thinking skills in computation and all, math fact recall wasn't great. So, with that noted we work on them a lot.
I buy the home instructors guide, textbook, and workbook. Don't get the teachers guide. It was meant for classroom use and is hard to work with as a homeschool mom. A friend made that mistake and was amazed how easy it was with the home teachers manual. For 5A I did buy the challenging word problems book.
I also buy from Rainbow if they have the books and occasionally Singapore direct.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 11:49am | IP Logged
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We got the same as Christine, us edition, and we've been quite pleased with how the program works. I also don't recommend the early bird books. I just found that there was a lot that they wanted you to pull out things to manipulate and the point of having the workbook for me was because I had a child that wanted to do a workbook like their older siblings. I'm not inclined to do formal work with the younger kids but I'm not against letting them do counting and coloring and such in a workbook when they want to sit with the older kids. 
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Erin
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The only reason I have purchased the Early Bird is because child number 6 wants to be like the 'big kids'. Truthfully you can easily cover these concepts by just being 'maths conscious'. Reading maths books, talking maths.
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mom2mpr
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I also wanted to mention, I ran out of time earlier, that we use the textbooks as consumable. They are so inexpensive and ds dislikes writing so much. He just writes in the book. When there are little colored blocks to put answers in he does write above them so my old eyes can see his answers.
We use the texts as our first learning experience and if he gets it, we move on. We do the workbook for trouble areas. This works for him. I didn't buy the HIG (Home Instructors Guides) until about the 3 level. And then I didn't use them much--only when we couldn't get something when using the textbook. In the 4th level I have used the HIG a lot more. For 4B, all the time!! And I am not math savy at all.
Also, we are starting 5A(whoo whoo) next week and I am starting to think about our next step after 6B--though I have heard 6B is all review so maybe we'll skip it. He is flying through the books now, something is clicking and it is neat to see. I don't anticipate continuing with Singapore after 6B due to the mom intensive nature of it. I really don't have the time or knowledge at that level to feel comfortable and I would like him to become a little more independent in his learning. You are many years away from being in 6B but you did mention it.
There is a Singapore Yahoo group I have used for questions occasionally and it is neat to see teachers and others with experience work out problems there. Just FYI.
Enjoy the Singapore journey. You are lucky you found it early in your homeschooling. Poor ds had to start at 2A around 4th grade and that troubled him--but, it was where he was and he worked hard to get where he is today. Oh, and I did too!! And I am pleased with the results and math has been fun.
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mathmama
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 2:51pm | IP Logged
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I am glad to hear this. Math is and should be FUN!
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doris
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| Posted: Feb 11 2010 at 6:07pm | IP Logged
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Just to throw a spanner in the works... We're using 'My Pals are Here' which is working really well for dd aged 9 and ds aged 7. But it sounds like you've made up your mind!
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mooreboyz
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| Posted: Feb 15 2010 at 7:39am | IP Logged
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We use Singapore here a little differently; so, I thought I'd mention what we do. In the early years (up to 2a) I do not get the textbook. We just use the workbook. I started my now 5 year old with Montessori when he was 3 and when he turned 5 I added Singapore 1B for extra practice and because he likes working in the workbook. It works great for him; but, I don't feel the TB is necessary at this level. My oldest started with Singapore at the 5A level 3 years ago which is when I discovered it. He did 5A and 5B and then we moved onto Algebra...next time I will do Prealgebra first. My 10 yr old and 8 yr old have also been using Singapore for the last 3 years using the TB and WB. Each day they read a portion from the TB and then work the corresponding WB exercises. If they don't understand something they ask me. This works really well for us and is very low work for me. Do get the answer keys to save time especially after 3b. I really like Singapore because I think it helps them look at story problems in a whole new way...more logically. This worked great for my boys who like to do all their math in their heads. I have never used any of the teachers manuals and so I can't comment on them. I order through Amazon usually. I sometimes get the workbooks used (if indicate no writing) and sometimes through Adoremus. We reuse the textbooks.
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: chosen Singapore, now what
