Mumkins wrote:So should I just work on straight facts then and not use MUS? I like it because they had little tricks, like "9 it wants to be a 10" song. Where if you were subtracting 9, you'd think "subtract 10+1" You use the same principal with 8. Or doubles plus 1 for 5+6, 6+7, ect. But they've been through them before. Maybe we should just do flash cards. Subtracting is really hard for my oldest, even at a level like 7-3.
I'm not well-versed in MUS and each child is so different, I hesitate to say there is only one way to learn the facts. For some children, the tricks are great and really help; for others, the tricks make it more difficult, as it's just one more thing to remember. For our family, we have found great success using Rod and Staff, which is a very traditional drill program, as our core program, and then Singapore as a supplement. I like the challenge and strategies provided by Singapore, but I've also loved how Rod and Staff has given our son "automaticity," speed and accuracy with the facts, skills I wanted him to have. I'm not suggesting you switch to Rod and Staff, but simply wanted to give an example of how a mixture of pure drill, along with Singapore, could be effective. I know many other families (Carrie and Julie are two) who just use Singapore and feel that is sufficient. Another factor to consider is that Singapore has it's own set of tricks, such as a number plus 98 is the same as the number plus 100, minus 2, and you might find two sets of tricks to be confusing to your dd. Just my two cents! Hope it's helpful.
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