Thank you so much for your patience as you waited for a decision for the Kindergarten math selection to replace the now out-of-print Earlybird Kindergarten Math U.S. Edition! I wanted to wait to have time to clearly think about this very important decision until I had completed Missions to Modern Marvels.
Our company also needed time to make one more request for a special printing of the Earlybird U.S. Edition specifically for Heart of Dakota. This request had to be considered in Singapore, where the copyright for the books is held, so it took time to receive a response. To avoid confusion, the Singapore based company does not desire a special printing to be made of the previous edition so that closes the doors on the Earlybird U.S. Edition for us.
The next consideration was to weigh the two other programs available through the Singapore math company to see which one of these programs would work best as a transition into Primary Math U.S. Edition 1A/1B (which is scheduled in the Appendix of Little Hearts and in Beyond). The two options included either the Earlybird Standards Edition for Kindergarten Mathematics or the Essential Math for Kindergarten. Both have an 'A' book and a 'B'.
After carefully reviewing the Earlybird Standards Edition for Kindergarten Mathematics, I find that it is missing the wonderful integration of concepts that was so apparent in the Earlybird Kindergarten U.S. Edition. Instead, the Standards Edition for Kindergarten now groups concepts in a similar fashion to other U.S based texts, removing much of what made the Singapore texts different.
The new Standards Edition for Kindergarten is now also very classroom oriented. This means that nearly all of the activities that were in the previous edition have been rewritten for use in a classroom setting. This makes the new Standards Edition for Kindergarten far less homeschool friendly than it was originally.
Another concern with the new Standards Edition for Kindergarten is that it has added almost all of the pages that were formerly contained in Earlybird 1A/1B along with Earlybird 2A/2B to make the new Standards Edition. In Little Hearts for His Glory, we did not schedule Earlybird 1A/1B, because the concepts in those books were more on a preschool or readiness level, and as such were already covered in Little Hands to Heaven. This means that almost half of the pages of the new Standards Edition for Kindergarten are now devoted to math concepts that are too easy for a typical kindergarten child.
I understand that in a classroom setting that kiddos may come into kindergarten with almost no math experience and be in need of more "preschool" math concepts, but at HOD we would overcome this by placing these children in Little Hands to Heaven. Typically, children who are ready to begin Little Hearts for His Glory are beyond the math concepts that were contained in Earlybird 1A/1B and are now included in the new Standards Edition for Kindergarten.
In comparing the Standards Edition to the Earlybird U.S. Edition, I also found that the higher level concepts from the previous edition had at times been omitted entirely (as in the case of learning to write the number words, matching number words to the numbers and to the same number of objects, learning about even simple fractions, learning that number sentences written vertically and horizontally are the same thing, teaching adding as counting on from a number through use of a number line, etc.). In many other cases, the higher level concepts from the previous edition were simplified so that they just required repetition, rather than real thinking to answer. So, when kiddos are on their 4th or 5th page of the same concept done the same way, you can imagine how much thinking is taking place!
I have to admit that I was very frustrated by my comparison of the new Standards Edition to the previous Earlybird Mathematics U.S. Edition. Even when the similar concepts remained, they were reorganized into chunks of pages that took away the connections among concepts that were found in the original edition. I fear the Standards Edition now looks like most other U.S. based math programs available. The novelty is gone.
So, with this frustration in mind, I now turned toward the Essential Math Kindergarten Edition. While this particular text does also group by concept, it is not nearly as young in its feel as the Standards Edition. The pages do require more discernment to complete and do not just simply repeat the concept the same way over and over.
The activities within the Essential Math Kindergarten Edition are quite good. They are much more homeschool friendly and much more thorough than those in the new Standards Edition.
The Essential Math Kindergarten Edition does cover all of the concepts I listed that were now omitted from the new Standards Edition. This makes is a better fit as preparation for the Primary Mathematics U.S. Edition 1A/1B that is scheduled in the Appendix of Little Hearts and within Beyond Little Hearts.
While the Essential Math Kindergarten Edition does not go in the same sequence as the activities contained within the Little Hearts manual, it does not need as many activities added to it because it already contains many good activities within its pages.
It will take quite a bit of time for me to go through and rewrite all of the math plans in Little Hearts. However, the good news is that you can purchase Essential Math Kindergarten A and B and get underway now knowing it is a good match for the Primary Math Series you will head into next year. We will have the Essential Math Kindergarten 'A' and 'B' books online in our HOD Store and in our warehouse for purchase within a week. If you need your books sooner than that you may order them from the Singapore website.
Simply move through the Essential Math Kindergarten books by doing no more than 2 pages each day along with the rest of your Little Hearts for His Glory daily plan. Don't worry about completing the Little Hearts math activities for now, as they will most likely not match your Essential Math pages. This pacing of no more than 2 pages each day will allow you to complete the Essential Math Kindergarten books in a school year without rushing.
We recommend using the activities at the bottom of each page in the Essential Math Kindergarten books as much as possible, without making extra work for yourself. As soon as we have daily math plans available, we will let you know.
Blessings,
Carrie