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Natalia
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| Posted: Feb 08 2010 at 7:37pm | IP Logged
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I have heard really good things about MEP Math. It is a British program that is available for free on the internet. It looks really similar to Singapore,which we already use.
I am thinking in using it as a complement to Singapore for my 2nd grader but I am a little confused as how to begin and how to use it. Anyone here has used it? any comments? tips? instructions?
TIA
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AtHomeScience
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| Posted: Feb 08 2010 at 8:49pm | IP Logged
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We use and love MEP! You probably heard good stuff from me because it seems a lot of people have had math questions. We've been using it for about a year and a half.
The Practice Book is the student's book. I print these and put them in a 3-ring binder. You can also have them printed and bound professionally. I give them this and a blank composition book.
The Lesson Plans is the teacher's book. I look at these from my laptop instead of printing them. This has additional problems you do with the student. Any activity with a Q (Q1, pg. 7 for example) is in the Practice Book while all the others are not.
The Copy Masters are used to make overheads; however, some of the graphics are in the student book and some are not. For ease you can print them all. The bottom right of each page shows the lesson and problem, for example 24/3 is lesson 23, activity 3. I compare that to the Lesson Plans and print any that correspond to an activity not already in the Practice Book. I hole punch them and add them into their ring binders each week.
Every day I sit with the laptop and they sit with their binder and notebook. We work through the problems for that lesson for 40 minutes. I make a point of finishing everything that we need to do together in that time; anything left in the Practice Book they do for "homework" later in the day.
Every 5th lesson (Friday for us) is a review for the week. That lesson I call a "test" and they work on it independently since there are no additional activities in the Lesson Plans.
When we started last year, we only did MEP 3 days a week and it often took us 2, sometimes 3 sessions to finish a lesson. There was a definite learning curve for both teacher and student, but maybe using Singapore you will find the transition easier. Now we're in Y4, Y3, and Y1 5 days a week and all are doing well.
We are almost half way through Y1 and my guess is that will be too easy for your 2nd grader; unfortunately none of my children have yet used the second half of Y1 or first half of Y2 so I can't say where in there you should start. I'd probably start at the beginning of Y2.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
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Natalia
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| Posted: Feb 08 2010 at 9:47pm | IP Logged
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Kris,
It was you! I have heard about this program on TWTM boards a while ago and I think Willa has used it too but I did see something on your blog recently. You are all I am not:math and science inclined. I do not have a mathematical mind at all! But this program looks good to me!
My son is 7, almost 8. He loves math. At present we are doing Singapore 2A. I think these two programs could complement each other but I am not sure how to go about it.First, I am not sure where to start him. If I start him. Is Year 2 the equivalent of our second grade? Would I be missing much if I start him there instead of maybe on Year 1?
Is the practice book, the lesson plans and copymasters the only things needed or is there a textbook or any kind? I also have heard of needing a code for some files but I don't see any place asking for a code. Do you know anything about it?
In a more practical sense, do you print the material yourself or have it printed somewhere? I was thinking about sending it to Kinkos or another place similar to save on ink but, they are funny about copyrights. Have you had any experience with that? Do you print all the material at once or print as you go?
We are going to be traveling to TX this weekend and I won't have time to look into it in more detail until a couple of weeks from now.Then I am sure I will have more questions about the lessons themselves.
Thanks,
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http://pannuestrodecadadia.blogspot.com
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Feb 08 2010 at 10:03pm | IP Logged
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Natalia.. I would think if you just include that front page with all the links... and the copyright information.. you should be fine at Kinko's.
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AtHomeScience
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| Posted: Feb 10 2010 at 4:00pm | IP Logged
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There's a wonderful Yahoo group for homeschoolers that use MEP. Most of them have come there from Ambleside Online. It is MEP-homeschoolers. They have corrections, answer keys, tips on where to start, etc. as well as the password (which is CIMT4maths and is case-sensitive.)
There's some other book you can buy from the school system in England if you want to pay that kind of shipping. You don't need it, but I'm not sure what it has in it to see if it is something you may want.
Ds#1 is just at the half-way point of Y1 and he is finishing up on the number 9. My guess is that he will be able to start at the beginning of Y2. Most people start Y1 in first grade, though completing Y6 is the same as US grade 8 so I'm not sure what age kids are in what grades in the UK.
I am thinking of having the practice books printed by the half year. Ds#1 and Ds#2 are 6 weeks into Y4 and Y3 respectively so I won't do there's for a bit. I have to get out and have Ds#3's printed soon! I know plenty of people on that Yahoo group have had them printed, though I'll have to search the archives about it.
Thanks, Jodie for that tip--I will do that when I go to Staples!
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Michiel
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Someone, somewhere (probably here) mentioned MEP math sometime, and I bookmarked it. When I took my older ds from Catholic schools two months ago, I printed out Y5 for him. He is working his way through it, and I am very happy with the entire program. I don't do a lot with the teacher stuff for him, because he is very good with math. We both like that he doesn't have pages and pages of exercises. If he has trouble with something, I make extra problems in that area, and we linger. Otherwise, we plow through.
I just started my younger ds on Y2 today. He is NOT a math whiz. We'll probably move a lot more slowly through the material, but move we will. (Or die we must.) He is just glad to be doing math like the big boys.
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AtHomeScience
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| Posted: Feb 10 2010 at 9:35pm | IP Logged
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FYI, The Lesson Plan often do have problems that you work through before the kids are given a similar problem in the Practice Books. But they also contain a lot of mental math activity that is excellent, and can only be done with two people. It also has exercises that are done verbally, which is another good skill to have.
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Natalia
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| Posted: Feb 10 2010 at 9:41pm | IP Logged
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What about answer keys? are they included in the Lesson Plans or are those the files you need a code for?
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AtHomeScience
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Yes, well, that's another problem. The answers are in the lesson plans, off to the right, but not always. Usually you can figure it out, and people will post to the group if there's something they can't figure out. The day 5 review page does not have answers until Y4. The files section of the group does have files with answers for Y1 and Y2.
The only files that I have encountered that need a code have been practice books, I think 2 of the six each year.
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4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: MEP math, anyone uses it?
