How should I catch my kids up in Singapore?

[Mumkins]

I posted awhile back that my oldest, 4th, placed into 1B. My son who is mathematically gifted is suppose to be in grade 2 this year. I decided to just start them both in 1A so they get the whole feel of Singapore with no gaps.

So I'm trying to decide how to do this. I want them both done 2B by the end of the year. I really don't want to overwhelm them. I want DS to get on pace and I want DD to catch way up. Being 4 years behind is way too far. If we cover 2 levels a year for her, she'll be on grade when she finishes 6th. I think because she's older, she'll have an easier time catching on, I hope.

I'm trying to decide if I should look at the pages and divide them up so we finish all 4 books this year. Or if we should set a 20? minute timer so that she doesn't get bogged down. Or if you have another idea?

I'm also wondering how I should handle stuff she already knows. They both know 80% of what's in 1A, but I want them to learn everything the Singapore way. Should I show them and if they get it 100%, move on to the next thing? Or again, just do the timer thing. If they know it, like counting out stuff, it should only take a few seconds per question as they fly right through. Then when a new topic comes, we can do it at their pace.

Any advice is appreciated.

[sw1ssm1ss]

My oldest is younger than your son and daughter, so I don't have much specific advice about catching up. I do have a couple questions, though, that might help other people respond more specifically.

Is your daughter four years behind? It sounds like she's three years behind at the most. Also eight sounds pretty young for a fourth grader, and six is young for a second grader. Are they about to have their birthdays? Or are they just young? Of course, a lot of homeschooling families start kindergarten at age four, and I have no problem with that. We chose not to do that, though my daughter is bright, because we feared that it would stretch her later. I guess what I'm saying is, is there a need for your kids to graduate from high school when they are 17? If not, maybe they don't *have to* catch up now.

What has been your daughter's experience with math so far? If she's been working on grade level with pretty good results, I think it would be fine to do the timer thing and move through the books as quickly as possible. But I do think there's a possibility that *knowing* that she's supposed to hurry up and catch up may make math more stressful for her, which would make it harder to learn what's in front of her, even if it is something she *should* know. And I know for me, as a mom, there is nothing more frustrating than a child struggling with work that *I* know should be easy for them.

It sounds like you're really committed to working through things "the Singapore way," and I think that's great. At the same time, you don't want to taint Singapore for your kids and yourself by making it rushed and stressful.

[Mumkins]

My 8yo will be 9 a week from today and my 6yo will be 7 in Oct. Here grades are done by all children born in X year are in that grade. I know there's different cut offs other places. I know some June, some Sept. and some Dec. My youngest DD will be 4 when she starts K this fall, but she's 5 in Dec. She'll be doing Little Hearts next year.

Do to switching around from just about every major math curriculum, trying to find *the one*, she's definitely lacking in math skills. It's been a struggle from day one with her when I got her horizon's for grade 1 after being in K at school. We were both in tears. She got 86% on 1A, but I really think we should just go back and start from there. She just slid by and maybe doing some easy stuff will help her gain confidence. She places into TT3 or ACE 2. That's the only ones I've tested her for. I think once she gets her facts down, she'd place a lot higher.

I don't want to make it rushed and stressful, but I do want to do a considerable amount of catch up. That's why I was looking for the best way to proceed with that. Maybe it'll be easier to get a feel for it once I get the book in my hands.

[GinainMD]

Could you do a lot of the work orally and then maybe "test out" of some of the earlier work? I have a dd whom I consider to be "behind" in math and I have to remind myself that these are some of the reasons we are homeschooling. What about doing the odd problems only provided she understands the concept being covered? Just some things to consider. Let us know how you work this out. Blessings.

[mskogen]

I had a similiar situation with my oldest. We switched to singapore after a few other maths. We left Math u see Gamma (multiplication), he tested into 1b. This was March 2009. He knew most of the concepts, just not the way Singapore did math. He didn't understand the why's of math. The way I approached math, as I wanted to catch him up too, was if he understood and got a concept we went quickly. However when it was something new or he didn't catch on we went slow. The early books are really setting a foundation for the later books. You will understand what I mean when you get to 2, 3, and 4. I say this to encourage you not to rush through the books too fast. Let your daughter set the pace. I did math year round and now my son is at his level.

Now your son who is going to be 7 doesn't have as far to go. I would use the same strategy. But you don't have as far to get him on level. Going into 2nd grade in singapore is either 1B or 2A. A good goal is to be done with 2A by the end of 2nd grade.

Remeber the goal is to savour and enjoy rather than getting through the books. If you have more questions please ask, as I have recieved alot of help on the boards. Hope this helps. God's blessings for this school year.

[MomtoJGJE]

It doesn't sound like your son is behind at all... I believe that I've seen before on here that in singapore they start the kids at age 7 in 1A.... so it sounds like he's right on target. We are finishing up 1B this year with my dd who just turned 7 and according to the end of year testing we did in May she was at a 3rd grade 5th month level in math... so basically 2 years ahead of grade level. I would at most with your son try to get him through 2A, but probably wouldn't even do that.... what guide are you using with your son?

For your dd, I would let her go at her own pace. Work until she either gets bored with it or gets to something too hard that is new. Then stop and let her process it. Just do that and she'll get to where she needs to be. Not everyone is great at math. I don't know that I'd set a goal though, because the way my personality is, if I set a goal and don't make it I blame myself and the kids... If I were to set a goal, I'd make it a very very light goal, like finish 1A/B/2A before next school year (including working in the summer)

[Mumkins]

I'm in a rush, write more later. I just wanted to comment on my son. I started grade 1 with him in K as he came to me doing math problems on his fingers and we switch to grade 2 mid grade 1. So, I feel like she should be part was through 3 by the end of this year. I will be happy though if he's even just on grade level, finishing grade to at the end of 2.

[Kathleen]

I haven't read all the replies here, but just wanted to mention that I wouldn't worry too much about finishing 6A/B by 6th grade. Carrie has said that typically kids who complete Singapore 6B are ready for Algebra - and being ready to begin Algebra with a young 7th grader would seem pretty advanced to me. I think to really let things soak in and be learned/processed, you just can't rush too much. I think I'd maybe think on doing math all year and continuing on a lesson at a time and maybe getting through 1A/B and 2A this year.

We're using Singapore a level behind "grade" level with my oldest, and I'm totally comfortable with where we're at. He's using 4A/B this year as a "5th grader".

Kathleen

[Tree House Academy]

My best advice is to put the where they place and go at a speed that works for each of them. If your older dd can do the work faster, let her go ahead. Singapore was wonderful for my older son when we first started homeschooling. He still prefers it to CLE (which is what we are using now) but he needed cle for the constant drill. Younger son adores Singapore because it is FUN and does not have long lessons.