Making the switch (Math)

MamaBear23Cubs · Post by **MamaBear23Cubs** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:59 pm

I am still jumping around with math. I started out with Lifepacs and switched to Horizons Math (current). I still end up going on to the computer looking for extra work to help enforce something new or having to explain how to do the problems differenlty from the manual. I have thought of giving Sigapore Math a try. Has anyone switched their math to Singapore? Was it an easy switch? I like how the books have hand on activies for math and then you go to the singapore workbooks. I have done some of the hands on and then go to our horizons but it just doesn't seem to work. We are working slow on Horizons. We just finished lesson 60 and we started back in August.

paliz · Post by **paliz** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:05 pm

I'm not much help but I'm thinking of switching to Singapore for next year. For our family it's more that horizons just doesn't seem to be working especially in the mental math area and so I'm going to have to be working on that. Did you give your child the placement test for Horizons to make sure you started at the right level?

MamaBear23Cubs · Post by **MamaBear23Cubs** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:12 pm

My daughter took the placement test and she didn't get past 1B.

water2wine · Post by **water2wine** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:21 pm

Maybe someone more experienced could attest to this but in my mind it would be a very easy switch. To me they take a similar kind of thinking. So in my mind if you get placed right your kids should do well with Singapore. Hopefully someone with more experience will confirm that.

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:10 pm

I agree with water2wine's comments, and you are so right in picking out how the hands-on activities really reinforce the math skill. I think that alone is reason enough to switch if you're considering it. We've been happy with Singapore, and had done some other experimenting prior to it. I think Singapore teaches difficult topics in a simple, short way. I am a fan of doing 10 problems instead of 50 to have a child show they understand a skill. I LOVE math, but nobody should have to show success 50 times to prove they know a concept if they can do it right after 10. Just my 2 cents!

Post by **Carrie** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:50 pm

MamaBear23cubs,

I can't remember the ages of your kiddos. For the child that placed in Singapore 1B, do you happen to have the guide of ours that utilizes Singapore 1A/1B? (Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory). If so, you could make the switch to Singapore fairly economically and quickly. You could just order the 1B workbook and follow the lessons in the guide to give it a cheap trial run for the last half of the year.

Sinapore is pretty advanced in scope and sequence even though it appears simplistic by the page layout and number of problems. Just to give you a frame of reference for what I mean, Singapore Primary Math only goes through 6A/6B and after that kiddos are ready for Pre-Algebra.

Hope that helps!

Blessings,
Carrie