Bigger Hearts hands on math

[abrightmom]

As I am preparing to return to HoD full time after the holiday break I am strongly considering using SM 2A and 2B with my Bigger Hearts guy. He is an older 2nd grader, turning 9 in late May. Currently, he is using Christian Light Math and halfway thru Grade 2. I want him to grasp a bit more of the conceptual, mental math side of things and I think that SM presented Carrie's way may click for him. I love the textbook samples and the short workbook assignments combined wth the hands on activities. He simply cannot grasp concepts without a lot of the pictorial and hands on methods (and we often work over and over before something clicks).

I dislike the idea of moving backwards with my son but if I remember correctly SM for an average 2nd grade student's school year would be 1B and 2A, right? So, if he begins 2A in January with Bigger he's on the average student track for SM. In third grade he'd do 2B and then move to 3A unless he bogs down or flies. I intend to keep him working thru his Christian Light because he loves doing math and I believe the review is very beneficial for this particular child. If I sense that it is too much I would scale back.

Thoughts? Am I understanding SM's average student sequence correctly?

[agstefko]

My 2nd grader is only about half way through 2A and we are already covering addition/subtraction with borrowing and soon to get into multiplying. I started him in 2A after finishing about half of Teaching Texbooks 3 and don't feel it has been a step back so you could always start with 2A. I did notice a big jump from 1B to 2A and yes 1B/2A on their site is for average 2nd graders and advanced 2nd states using 2A/B.

[abrightmom]

Thanks. My 2nd grader is 8y7m already as we had to hold him back because he wasn't ready for first grade until he was close to 7. He is making slow and steady progress which is important to note. The concepts in 2A will be new for him because he hasn't learned any regrouping or multiplication. We have been camping on addition/subtraction, place value, and other topics (money, time, measurement, etc.) for a long time. Anything REMOTELY conceptual or with a teensy bit of depth of thought and it hurls him into the abyss. As I look at the textbook for Singapore I think the colorful pictures, white space on the page (not busy ), and hands on demonstrations MIGHT turn on a few lightbulbs. Still pondering this one.

Merry Christmas! It's almost here...............

ETA: In my Pre-Christmas merriment I forgot that DS8 has learned regrouping (borrowing/carrying/renaming). =)

[gratitude]

As I am preparing to return to HoD full time after the holiday break I am strongly considering using SM 2A and 2B with my Bigger Hearts guy. He is an older 2nd grader, turning 9 in late May. Currently, he is using Christian Light Math and halfway thru Grade 2. I want him to grasp a bit more of the conceptual, mental math side of things and I think that SM presented Carrie's way may click for him. I love the textbook samples and the short workbook assignments combined wth the hands on activities. He simply cannot grasp concepts without a lot of the pictorial and hands on methods (and we often work over and over before something clicks).

I dislike the idea of moving backwards with my son but if I remember correctly SM for an average 2nd grade student's school year would be 1B and 2A, right? So, if he begins 2A in January with Bigger he's on the average student track for SM. In third grade he'd do 2B and then move to 3A unless he bogs down or flies. I intend to keep him working thru his Christian Light because he loves doing math and I believe the review is very beneficial for this particular child. If I sense that it is too much I would scale back.

Thoughts? Am I understanding SM's average student sequence correctly?

Me too, and I couldn't be happier!

Yes, my understanding is that Singapore is 6 months ahead so an average course would be 1B/2A for second grade. It is actually the course my second son is currently on for second grade. He will be finishing 1B around the end of January and then doing 2A for the second half of second grade. I hope that helps!

[mom23]

Be sure to take the Singapore placement test; when we switched from Singapore to CLE math we took a step back in CLE. Of course, I knew my children were not clicking with math concepts at all, so that's not necessarily to say that Singapore was further behind CLE, just that my children were.

[Dandelion5]

Hhhhhh

[Kathleen]

I would definitely take the placement test on the Singapore website to find the best place to start for your child. I switched to Singapore with my oldest for 3rd grade. He had finished Saxon 2, and we took the placement tests. He "passed" the 1A, 1B, and 2A tests. But, on the 2A test, I could see that there were some areas we hadn't really covered much. My plan was to hit those areas of 2A and then start 2B (where he placed) for his 3rd grade year. But, as we started, I could see that because Singapore has a different way of presenting things and because the problems require more thought than other math programs, it was going to be a good fit to just do all of 2A. So, now in 7th grade he is doing 6A and 6B. I do not consider him behind AT ALL! He is doing great with math! And, I've looked ahead at the future with Singapore the way HOD is planning to schedule it. Grant will have time to complete all the advanced math he wants to up through Calculus in high school if we stick with the plan we're on.

So, my advice would be not to place your child too high when switching to Singapore. If you're in 2A and 2B for all of 3rd grade, you'll be fine. And, because of the higher level of thinking required...and making a switch, you might end up with a more successful experience this way. We LOVE Singapore here!

Kathleen