I know that we’re early on in our homeschooling journey, but we’ve already encountered some bumps in finding a math program that works for us.
When we started doing our pre-school / after-school work at home, I decided to use Saxon Math because it was a program that I had used in the past. I liked it and knew it, so it made sense to use it.
Or so I thought.
It may have made sense to me, but it didn’t so much for my girls. There were some bits that worked well: the daily calendars and meeting times built some strong patterning and counting skills. Unfortunately, the program seemed to jump from topic to topic before we had the opportunity to really explore them.
This year I started Tasha with Saxon 1 and we slowly ground to a halt. First of all, the leap from K to Gr. 1 in terms of writing was enormous. In the K level, the student doesn’t have to print, but in Gr. 1 the child faces 2-3 worksheets daily. Granted, I was using Saxon 1 with a student who didn’t quite have Gr. 1 printing skills, but even when I had her dictate the answers to me she found the sheets visually daunting.
What started to worry me, however, was the leaping from topic to topic, which became more problematic at this level. Tasha is a child who likes to absorb things and make connections, and the rapid shift in topics from lesson to lesson was preventing her from doing so.
I’ve since learned that Saxon Math is a spiral program that works for some children because it builds understanding very slowly and incrementally. For children who like to understand the connections and “whys” of something, however, a program that works towards mastery in a topic before moving on may be more appropriate.
I did some research and discovered Singapore Math. I decided to take the plunge with Tasha and dropped Saxon 1 partway through the year. (This was a Big Deal for me, because I don’t believe in dropping programs midway through a level.)
Within days of starting Singapore Math, she was excited and begging to “do more math.” I’ll write more about how we’re using this later on; for now it’s enough to say that this is a good fit for her. She’s excited about math and she’s making those connections that she loves.
For example, this happy squeal was heard a few days ago: “Hey, mom – if 4 + 4 = 8, then 4 + 5 must = 9 because I just have to add one more!”
I love it.
____
For my fellow Canadians, Blue Mantle carries the full Singapore Math line, including the Challenging Word Problems. I recommend the Standards Edition because the Home Instructor’s Guide is excellent.
I’m following the Math instruction with great interest, having been taught back when flash cards and rote memory were the norm. Because I missed a month of school due to illness at the beginning of Grade 3 I missed the hours and hours of math flash card drills. I had to do a lot of catching up.
But I always felt doomed in math – it seemed such a struggle compared to the other subjects that I loved so much. So I ended up with my own creative way of doing Math in my head. And I don’t think I can explain it, but it involves working with a few basic simple known calculations and doing my own version of adding or subtracting the necessary number. Not that I’m any sort of a mathematician – but it’s enabled me to survive that huge gap in my early education and fake my way through life.
What fun for kids to learn in their own style! Some of us have our own definite ‘styles’ for whatever reason that may be!
I would love to know how you feel Singapore is working for you now. Are you all still really excited with it? I am starting my children on Miquon Math but I am hoping to add Singapore within the next few years. I hope you keep reviewing it so I can learn through you!
We are still really enjoying Singapore Math! What I’m finding is that with my Gr. SK/1 daughter, Singapore is our main math spine and will continue to be so. Some days, however, she asks to do Miquon Math like her younger sister is doing, and so I have a folder handy of those lab sheets that are appropriate for her. Most often she asks to do Singapore Math, as she enjoys the lessons and the worksheets. I am very, very glad that we made the switch to this math curriculum for her, because it seems to fit well.
I will keep reviewing it – we are slowing down a bit for the months of June and July, but intend to start school in earnest again in August.
Great choice in Miquon Math, too — that has been a lot of fun for us.
I am using the Singapore standards but without the Home Instructors Guide. How helpful is that guide?
I’ve heard that the Standards Edition HIG is of a much more superior quality than the other versions; I can’t compare as I haven’t seen those others, but I can say that I find it very helpful. Even with Gr. 1 math (where the problems aren’t very taxing for me to figure out quickly!
) I find that the HIG gives me a new perspective on how to teach the concepts. By using it I as an instructor become aware of the depth of the Singapore Math program and appreciate the value of the different exercises.
I have a strong math background, but I find that my own facility with math doesn’t translate into me explaining fundamental math concepts in an appropriate way for a Gr. 1 mind. I can be tempted to expect her to quickly “get” the answer rather than watching for her growing understanding of the underlying principles. I need something like the HIG to remind me that memorization of facts needs to come AFTER a solid understanding of the operation has developed.
One other note about the HIG — it’s well-laid out. I doesn’t turn Singapore into a complete open-and-go program (i.e. it’s not scripted), but by quickly glancing through the HIG the night before or the morning of, it does make lesson planning quite easy. I also try to read ahead about a week or two so that I have a sense of the concepts coming up soon.
So in a nutshell, I guess I would say that I find the HIG essential for me. I know, however, that some parents are very comfortable using Singapore Math without the HIG for the first couple of years, and are seeing their children’s math develop wonderfully. Some have read Liping Ma’s book and feel that it has been enough guidance for them as instructors; others simply feel that the workbook / textbook combination is strong enough.
Hope that this helps …
Thanks. That is indeed helpful.
Do you still incorporate it with Miquon Math? If you do, how do you go about using the two curriculums? How does it look like in your schedule?
I do incorporate Miquon with our Singapore Math program. It’s still a bit fluid (and I imagine it will stay that way because Miquon is so fluid), but I aim to have her tackle one or two Miquon labs each week. I let her choose from labs that I’ve pre-selected as being at her level or else as challenging her to think about something new. I also begin our math time with a short Miquon-type lesson in which both girls participate.
I had tried at one point to line Miquon up with Singapore, and then realized that doing so would kill the beauty of Miquon. (As well as me, trying to sort it all out!
)
Despite using Miquon, Singapore remains our spine curriculum for Gr. 1. We started out using the Textbook / Workbook until we had a couple of units under our belts, and then started adding in the Challenging Word Problems. (I LOVE those!) I have the Extra Practice book that I haven’t felt necessary yet, and am planning on using the Intensive Practice as a review about a level behind.
Right now we’re still only homeschooling 2-3 days/week, as Tasha is in public kindergarten 3 days/week, so I am not sure how our schedule will all shift once we start homeschooling full time … next month!
Thanks! This has been so helpful. I just ordered the Miquon and it hasn’t arrived yet but I am looking forward to seeing it. I will have to go order the Challenging Word Problems book though. I look forward to following your homeschool journey.
Julie
I love the smiles on your girls faces! Yay!! for fun math programs!