4Real Forums: instead of math-u-see?

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Topic: instead of math-u-see?

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kbfsc
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Posted: Aug 03 2009 at 8:11am \| IP Logged

My husband and I have been discussing making our curriculum order since May... and now it's August, I'm expecting our fourth any moment, and the economic situation has not been friendly to us. Ahh! I had my heart set on Math-U-See for my second grade son and Kindergarten daughter - but the look on my husband's face when I told him how much it would cost is really motivating me to look at something else.

I know the choices out there are frequently discussed here... But could I please ask for advice about what you all might choose instead of MUS?

My son is, I think, overwhelmed visually by worksheets. Lots of review takes the wind out of his sails. We wrestled a lot with math last year, and in the end I didn't force the issue much. We made good progress on the MCP materials we used (we used Catholic Heritage for just about everything), but I didn't do drills or much in the way of duplicate exercises. I'm not sure if that was laziness on my part or if it was good discernment because it just doesn't seem like first grade is the place for war over math...

My daughter, on the other hand, cannot wait to begin. (I'm actually afraid that he eager beaver attitude and perseverance in general might just cause her to pass him up. Another topic, though.) I think she is, by contrast, a visual learner.

What to do?

mom3aut1not
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Posted: Aug 03 2009 at 8:53am \| IP Logged

Have you considered Singapore math?

www.singaporemath.com

In Christ,

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Deborah

Milehimama
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Posted: Aug 03 2009 at 9:38am \| IP Logged

I really like Miquon Math. You need the workbooks and a set of Cuisenaire rods. The worksheets look like they are hand drawn, and it's very kid friendly.

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Becky Le
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Posted: Aug 03 2009 at 1:47pm \| IP Logged

Hmmm....One possibility is to use Math Games from Right Start Math ($50). There are a ton of manipulatives in there you can use to teach and reinforce all of the basic skills that are required in 2nd grade and K math. Then you can supplement that with online resources, like the drills at MUS.

The only major thing I can think of that is missing from Math Games that is covered in 2nd grade is telling time with a traditional clock. I'm sure that could be easily improvised though.

Another thought if you're really set on MUS is to see if you can buy the blocks used. It doesn't violate any single use copyright laws if it's just the blocks. Then your only big necessary expense is the student book since you could get by w/o the DVD and teacher manual if you really need to and are comfortable teaching the material.

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ladybugs
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Posted: Aug 03 2009 at 4:29pm \| IP Logged

Can you buy the DVD's used? Can you use a charter school?

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LLMom
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Posted: Aug 03 2009 at 4:32pm \| IP Logged

I PM you.

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kbfsc
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Posted: Aug 06 2009 at 2:46pm \| IP Logged

Thanks, all, for the suggestions!

Can you believe it? - I think we're going to go with MCP again. The continuity of it all feels simple for me and, right now, I need simple. We're going to skip lots of the review and try to add more math games to our routine. Hopefully last year's trouble can be remedied along these lines... and husband won't lose sleep over the price of our math program.

LLMom, I'm new to all of this and am not sure how to respond to your PM. Sorry! Thank you for your kind offer!

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