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Just a quick question. My 7 yr old son is finishing up Abekas 1st grade math. Since we're trying to switch over to HOD, I was wondering if I should switch his math to Singapore since that is what HOD recommends or stick with Abeka since he's comfortable with it. I've seen one sample page of Singapore but that didn't give me enough to see really what it's all about.

Are there any major cons with Singapore? Thanks in advance for your help!!!

Happy Easter,
Pam

We are doing Abeka 1st grade as well. We tried Singapore at the beginning of the year, but my dd loves the COLOR of the Abeka worksheets. (We had done these for K) However, since we are doing LHFHG, we did not have Carrie's scheduled hands-on math activites that go with the Singapore, so that might have made a difference. I'm curious to hear others' experience as well.

Beth

I'm planning to switch to singapore math for the next school year. I am also concerned about leaving something familiar. However, the singapore math website has a placement test that you can print and use to evaluate and place your children. This made the decision to switch a lot easier. www.singaporemath.com click on the placement heading then placement tests. HTH

Hi Pam! I think the switch to Singapore is easy to do at the younger ages. Though they're not as colorful, they are short and have fun hands-on lessons planned through 2B. It is harder to switch to Singapore at the upper levels, so you may want to make the switch sooner rather than later. Here's a past post where Carrie explains why she picked it, and I shared why I enjoy it, in case something may be of benefit here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4271&p=31537#p31537

Any math program may be used with HOD, so just pray about it, and you'll know what's best for your family.

In Christ,
Julie

I am a big proponent of "if is not broken don't fix it". However we did switch maths for second grade and I am glad I did. My children are doing great with singapore. I can see the fruit of what we did in the lower levels now that we are in the upper levels. My oldest ds can do math in his head (correctly) even when I have to write it down. I am tyring to learn the singapore way. It is slowly happening for me
Many kuddos for Singapore math. We did Abeka math with my oldest but I wish we had done singapore from the beginning with him.

Thank you all for your responses! I made a BIG goof though!! Last year, I ordered Beyond (the whole kit and Kaboodle) and found that I have Singapore 2B math. So I went thru it in detail with my husband and compared it to Abeka. What I found was Abeka 1st grade to Singapore 2B (is the 2 for 2nd grade though?) is they are almost exactly the same except at the end of Singapore 2B they are teaching multiplication. Abeka teaches the beginning concept of multiplicaton but only in grouping. (ex: 3 groups of 4=12). Also, Abeka does a ton of review where Singapore looks like it might move on more quickly but still at a decent pace. I, agree, that it'll probably be no problem to switch at this age.

Ladies, thank you so much for offering your advice and insight....I literally read and reread all of your responses to all of the posts so I can learn more from your experiences!!! You all are very, very helpful!!!!

Blessings,
Pam

Note: when it comes to picking the right program (beyond or bigger) I wish there was some "crisis" hotline I could call to validate what I should pick....I feel neurotic in making sure I have my son where he's suppose to be!!!! LOL!!!!

pamh wrote:...
Note: when it comes to picking the right program (beyond or bigger) I wish there was some "crisis" hotline I could call to validate what I should pick....I feel neurotic in making sure I have my son where he's suppose to be!!!! LOL!!!!

Oh dear - I don't want for you to feel this way! Is there some way we can help with this? Have you checked out these posts that compare the writing in the 2 guides? In this link, check out Kathleen's post:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3005

In this link, check out Carrie's post:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1516&p=11829

I'd do Bigger with a 7 yo that was already quite strong in reading and writing, especially if it was the first HOD guide that child was doing. If the child was still cementing those LA skills and was 7 yo, I'd do Beyond. Not sure if that helps, but keep asking questions until that neurotic feeling takes a hike, o.k.? We like to help here, and we never want you to feel that way!

In Christ,
Julie