Moving to Singapore in 5th grade?

[anointedhsmom]

Would it be too hard to transfer to Singapore math this late in the game? For background he's doing Saxon 54 and while it's working and I'm hesitant to change for that reason it takes an hour a day. I'd really like to shorten our days so I'm wondering about moving him to Singapore. I'm afraid he'd be lost doing math the Singapore way. Years ago he did the Earlybird books and liked those and did well with them. When I tried to go to 1A I was lost (this was before I knew about HOD having lesson plans for the books) and went to BJU math. Mastery math didn't work well for him and he needs lots of repetition to cement math concepts (that's why we are using Saxon). I'm not sure Singapore would have enough repetition for him either.

I'm not really sure what to do right now so I thought I would seek some help from the wonderful wise ladies on the HOD board

Thanks for any advice and ideas!

[jjcmehl]

I think you should stick with Saxon at this point. Singapore teaches mental math earlier, and I think at this point it would then be difficult for your son to understand the method (essentially he would have to catch-up with the concept). Also, Singapore does not have a lot of repetition.

Hope this helps.

Maybe explore a different program, or divide up his Saxon lesson (a portion during lesson time and the remainder of the lesson after his other lessons are done).

Christine

[my3sons]

Hi Paige! More information always helps me. Maybe just printing off the free Singapore math placement tests would be a way to see how it would go for him? If he places fairly close to his current grade level, he'd probably do just fine with it. If he places far below it, he should probably stick with Saxon if it's been working well for him. Just don't be tempted to help him with the tests (I know I'd be tempted), but helping only inflates scores and doesn't give a true result of placement. HTH!

Singapore link:
www.singaporemath.com

In Christ,
Julie

[anointedhsmom]

Ack!! I was afraid of this. He bombed badly the 2A test. I can tell you exactly where the problems are though. He didn't do well on measurement and weight and he hasn't had much exposure to multiplying and NO exposure to division so he was lost on that stuff. I'm wondering if I could do some focused teaching on the parts he's missing and then test again and see where he places......?

I probably should just stick with Saxon but I just hate that it's taking an hour (sometimes a bit more) to get it done. I was just hoping we might be able to accomplish the same thing we get from Saxon using something else that doesn't take as long to get done each day. If I do take him out of Saxon I would probably add Quarter Mile Math just to add some fun math practice to help cement the concepts for him.

Is this a hopeless idea at this point?

[KTLM6]

I had the opposite problem. I tried Saxon, and my dd didn't do well at all. She did so much better with a mastery program. I stuck with one for a long time, but decided to give Singapore a try even though my dd was in 5th grade. To my surprise, she likes it better than the other program we were using and has done well. Saxon has a lot of review, which some kids do well with. To cut time, have you thought about just doing the odds or evens? Maybe have your son do all the problems for the new concept if he needs it, but then only do half on the rest. It might take a bit of time to decide which problems to do and which ones to skip, but not as much as doing all the problems every day. If your son is doing well with Saxon, I would be hesitant to change.

[my3sons]

...I can tell you exactly where the problems are though. He didn't do well on measurement and weight and he hasn't had much exposure to multiplying and NO exposure to division so he was lost on that stuff. I'm wondering if I could do some focused teaching on the parts he's missing and then test again and see where he places..?

Paige - I don't think this is hopeless at all! I do think I'd try your idea here, but I would try to do it Singapore style to get him going on this method of learning. Singapore is not expensive, so if he is working on beginning multiplication and division, I'd get 2A/2B Workbooks and work from Math 2A Section 3 (p. 67) through the end of 2A (p. 174), and Math 2B Section 2 (p. 30) along with whichever other sections would be beneficial. I don't think this would take long, and if you own the Bigger Hearts, you can do the hands-on activities too for a quick prep before he does the Workbook. If you don't own Bigger Hearts, than you can either get it, or instead get the 2A/2B Textbooks for the teacher instruction part. I'd guess you could clip right along with this, and then retest him and see what happens. Otherwise, you can always continue with Saxon, but I do feel your pain for the length of time - I wouldn't want to be doing math that long either - and I know my dc (as much as they do love math), like to get it done too. Hope something here helps!

In Christ,
Julie

[countrymom]

Based on the time you have been spending with Saxon and the fact that he still has not been exposed to much multiplication or division, I think I would try Julie's suggestion and downgrade with Singapore and see what happens. Singapore is hearty so you wouldn't be downgrading as much as it might seem. It may turn out the difference in programs is what you need right now. I can't imagine a child spending that much time for math and not having been exposed to those items yet. I am thinking Singapore might be a breath of fresh air. I would not worry about placement and just concentrate on having fun and assimilating to the new program.