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I am considering using Singapore for some of my dc for next year, and have a lot of questions, mostly trying to understand this curriculum a little better!

My upcoming second grader used Singapore Earlybird with Little Hearts for her kindergarten year. She did very well with it, but really wanted to have the same as my older kids (CLE Math). She's done CLE 1 for first grade and has done wonderfully with this. She's done well. . . . . but hates doing it! So we're looking into Singapore for her, which would be more enjoyable and less time consuming. I've also been looking for a math program for my soon to be kindergartener and am now considering Singapore for both of them.

I realize that HOD now recommends the Essentials math for kindergarten from Singapore, as the Earlybird books are now out of print, so that's no problem. It actually looks pretty easy for her, but we'll start at the beginning and keep moving on through with her. My upcoming second grader could most likely pick up the 1A/1B books and move through them at a quicker pace to catch anything that might have been missed because we did another curriculum this year. I have no doubts that she would be doing the 2A/2B books sometime before the end of the school year (next year ). Both of these dc LOVE to do school and are very quick learners!

One question I have (obviously for the future levels ) is if you would need the Home Instructors Guides or not? Now, I realize that the younger levels in HOD have the hands on activities in the plans, but I'm wondering about after that. I see in the catalog that the option is given to order the Home Instructor Guide and even possibly order the answer keys as well (for upper primary levels). So what does HOD recommend for the upper primary levels? Would I need to have these to be successful in using Singapore at these levels? And would the student complete the lessons fairly independently (at the upper levels 3A-6B), or would we do the lesson together leaving the workbook page for them to do on their own?

Other questions on this for upper levels would be what to transition to after 6A/6B? The catalog shows the choice of going up to the Discovering Mathematics 1A/1B (also from Singapore), but I've also read on the message board that some go on to Video Text. Which choice is better? And, would Singapore cover everything that my dc may be tested on in standardized testing?

Also, I have two older dc that I would have loved to have in Singapore from the beginning, but when I found HOD and Singapore, they were past the ages that people were recommending to switch them over to Singapore. I'm sure if we tried to place them in Singapore now, they'd have a lot of backpeddling to do, which would be really discouraging for them. So in this case, what would HOD recommend for math for children who are too old to switch to Singapore?

I am sorry for the ramble of questions, but I've been rolling all of these through my mind, and need help to clarify just how this would/could work for us. Thanks so much!

For levels 3 a and up you need the textbook. You can choose to use the HIG but it is not recommended to teach from only to help you when you are stuck. You teach directly from the textbook. The HIG are written by Sonlight and are not using the true Singapore method to teach from. There is also a lot of extra activities written into them. By level 5 or 6 many people find them helpful. I like them with the upper levels because when we get stuck on a problem it has each problem worked out and not just the answer.

When you are done with Singapore 6 then Discovering mathmatics is recommended. You will need to do a year of DM before you would be ready for video text. ( my understanding) That would be considered Pre Algebra. Then you can choose to continue with DM or go with video text. I think there is also one other suggested curriculum, No nonsense Algebra.

I can't answer all your questions but hope that this helps some. I tried to answer yesterday but then had kids needing me.

For some reason I thought Teaching Textbooks was going to be a recommended upper level math curriculum. Is that not correct?

Hi there, momtofive! I've used Singapore from K through 6, and moved into Discovering Math now, so I'd be happy to answer your questions!

momtofive wrote:I am considering using Singapore for some of my dc for next year, and have a lot of questions, mostly trying to understand this curriculum a little better!

Here is a little info in Carrie's words about why she chose Singapore math...
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=112

In case you may be interested, here are my top reasons for using it...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3152&p=23291

momtofive wrote:...She's done CLE 1 for first grade and has done wonderfully with this. She's done well. . . . . but hates doing it! So we're looking into Singapore for her, which would be more enjoyable and less time consuming...

So true! We have found Singapore to be both more enjoyable and less time consuming, both for my dc and for me as their teacher!

momtofive wrote:One question I have (obviously for the future levels ) is if you would need the Home Instructors Guides or not?...

Good question! We did not use the HIG's until Singapore 6A/6B, and we used it rarely then. However, I was glad to have it when I did need it! In general, it's a personal preference, but here are some thoughts on the HIG, in which I copied/pasted some of Carrie's comments...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6698&p=48902#p48902

momtofive wrote:And would the student complete the lessons fairly independently (at the upper levels 3A-6B), or would we do the lesson together leaving the workbook page for them to do on their own?...

One of the many blessings of Singapore Math is it does not take long to do but is still thorough and academically strong. I did stay near our dc for their math lessons after my teaching part, but it was not a big deal because the time was short. My thought was I'd rather be there to help as needed and make sure they were on the right track as the math is often higher level and involves multiple steps, rather than come back later and backtrack. It worked well and took less time anyway. Here I described how we do a lesson in 3A on up, in case it is helpful...
Singapore – how do you teach a lesson for 3A on up?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10836

momtofive wrote:Other questions on this for upper levels would be what to transition to after 6A/6B? The catalog shows the choice of going up to the Discovering Mathematics 1A/1B (also from Singapore), but I've also read on the message board that some go on to Video Text. Which choice is better? And, would Singapore cover everything that my dc may be tested on in standardized testing?...

Singapore definitely covers everything and then some on standardized testing. As far as what to do after 6B, we did DM 7A/7B (which is what DM 1A/1B has been renamed - odd, I know. For being a math program, the numerical part of naming it has been some type of obstacle. ). The jury is still out on that one. I am working through the end of 7A and then making a decision about how to proceed. I'll gladly share that at that time.
Singapore – how do you teach a lesson for 3A on up?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10836

momtofive wrote:Also, I have two older dc that I would have loved to have in Singapore from the beginning, but when I found HOD and Singapore, they were past the ages that people were recommending to switch them over to Singapore. I'm sure if we tried to place them in Singapore now, they'd have a lot of backpeddling to do, which would be really discouraging for them. So in this case, what would HOD recommend for math for children who are too old to switch to Singapore?...

Not sure on this one. How old are your dc, and what math have they done/are they doing, and with what degree of success?

Hope some of this helps!
In Christ,
Julie

Thanks, Julie! As usual, great thorough answers!

The older two children that I was referring to in my post, are going into 4th and 6th grades. They've each taken the placement test and are testing about a level behind their grade, which I know is pretty normal. So we're thinking of having them start there, and work their way up. Truthfully, we're still not sure that this is the best way to go for these two dc, and will prayerfully take our time deciding. We have decided for sure that our youngest two dc will be starting with Singapore next school year. I think it will truly be a lot of fun for our 1st grader, and then our little K'er coming up next year will start out with Carrie's recommendations for the Essential Math that Carrie advised as a good option in place of the now out of print Earlybird editions.


I've enjoyed reading the links you posted. Thank you so much for taking the time to address these questions, and for helping me to think through these options!

Blessings!

I'm glad you liked the links - I was hoping that wouldn't be overload on information! Always just cut me off if it's too much! I'm impressed your 4th and 6th grader took the Singapore tests and tested only a grade or so behind. That to me speaks volumes! I think you may be surprised here - I think they will probably do very well, but you'll have to see and share your thoughts down the road. My ds has always been a semester behind in Singapore, and he started with it. I've always thought it still seems advanced. I bet you will find that a year back in levels in Singapore is still pretty advanced, but regardless, I think you have chosen a good plan to proceed with.

In Christ,
Julie