My four year old can add!?!?!?!

[lissiejo]

We were in the car on the way to grocery shopping today and out of the blue my four-year-old says, "Mommy, did you know that 3+3+3=9?" Um...yes I do know that. I figured she had just overheard her older sister at some point and was reciting what she heard. Then she started tossing out math facts like I had actually taught them to her or something! So then I started quizzing her a little and she TOTALLY gets addition for mathfacts that equal 10 and under. This is excellent...but...I'm not sure what to do with her now next year.

I'll be doing LHFHG with her for kindergarten. She is reading already on a 1st grade level, but I will be continuing phonics instruction and save the emerging readers for 1st grade. I had just assumed I would do Earlybird Singapore 2a and 2b, but now I'm not sure if it will be challenging enough for her. At the same time I'm concerned that Singapore 1a and 1b will be too advanced. I certainly don't want to push her too hard, but we all know what happens when our little sweeties get bored because the material is too easy! I really want to stick with a mathworkbook because she really likes having the written work. She BEGS to do written mathwork. I used earlybird Singapore 1a and 1b with her this year for preschool. It was a good fit, but looking ahead to 2a and 2b she's going to just fly through it and not be challenged at all.

Should I just up the pace for the earlybird and then start with 1a and 1b when she finishes? Should I just do what is written and not worry about boredom? Any other suggestions?

[lissiejo]

She reads constantly It's such a blessing to have two girls who beg to read!

That makes sense about those first books being a foundation. I may still speed it all up because she loves it so much and then just see if she's ready for the 1a and 1b a little early. Thanks for the thoughts!

[countrymom]

I think if you do the earlybird books with the fun activities Carrie has in the guide she will not be bored. I would not try to speed it up. 1A & 1B were designed for 7 yr olds and by the time you are in 2A you are doing multiplication , so definitely don't want to get too ahead. 2A & 2B also start mental math. Singapore math is fun and Carrie's activities add a lot. I think you'll be fine.

[kzacarkim]

I always struggled with math. Even though I have pretty smart kids, I want them to work comfortably, maybe bellow their abilities, so math is not a stressful subject for them as it was to me. I would rather have the concepts reviewed and solidified, giving them a strong foundation and confidence that they can do math! Early bird was easy for my son (5 yo in LHFHG), but he enjoyed it very much. He is doing 1A now and is doing great also. I agree with the previous posts that you can always add more math stuff such as computer games or other things, but it doesn't necessarily need to be part of school. Just my two cents .

[lissiejo]

okay and from watching curious George! Haha!

Yeah, Super Why definitely taught my girl a lot of her letter sounds!

Thanks for the advice ladies. I'll just stay the course and keep her at level. Although I did well in math growing up it wasn't ever easy for me. I tend to feel lost at times, especially when they aren't exactly at where I expect them to be, whether that is behind or ahead!

I love this board! You all help me keep my head on straight!

[MeadowWay]

This is pretty coincidental. We too were in the car on the way home from the grocery store.
My son who has some processing issues and is in gr. 1 at 8 yrs old , using Singapore 1 a. I have been having some flags raised about our choice of using this, mainly because it seems I am the one who is directing each step of the problems,and I am questioning is this b/c of his delayed processing or is it Singapore...
anyways back to the story, as we were riding in the car, he was playing with a mobi-go in the back seat, and apparently the game flashed the problem of 17 + 1 = on the screen, so he repeated it out loud to me and I said, just count up one. and he gave the correct answer, ok ok, fairly easy, but a bit later he said, mom, what is 12-6, is it another 6? Even my 16 yr old's head turned on that one.
So I still am on the fence with deciding on math again, and there are so many curr. to choose from, and so many claims to fame. conceptual. rote, mastery, abstract, visual etc etc etc...
But maybe Singapore is working and if it ain't broke ..............
Blessings
KK

[lissiejo]

So I still am on the fence with deciding on math again

I know. My husband isn't so on board with Singapore. He's really good at math and his opinion is that they make it too hard by teaching the mental math thing. We had a LONG conversation about this and I had to end up asking that he research programs because I didn't know what to look for. At that point he said, 'Okay, do whatever you think is best' I feel so very inadequate in this one area, but I think I would question no matter which program we used. So, for now, we're sticking with Singapore for 2nd grade and we'll see how it goes next year. It's funny because if they were in traditional school we would probably just accept the curriculum that was being used without questioning it too much. At least that is how I felt when my daughter was using Abeka at the private school she attended. Now that the decision is on my shoulders I scrutinize every aspect!