I have an aunt who homeschools her girls on and off and she said that Singapore Math is the best out there. Are there any opinions?? I had never heard of it, so I wanted to see what others had to say.
everyone is going to have different opinions. Different curriculum works for different kids. My son thrives on Horizons. I've never used Singapore so i can't giver a personal opinion but here is the website so you can read a bit about it. http://www.singaporemath.com/ I would find out the learning style of your child and search out a curriculum that teaches that way.
Well, I love, love, love Singapore math myself and I would definitely say it's one of the best but what would really be best should be determined by what would work for you and your children. Singapore doesn't require much prep but is almost exclusively sit-down book work. From another thread it sounds like you've got a pretty active son who might need something more hands on to keep him engaged. Rightstart Math might be a good fit. Simplycharlottemason.com has a Your Business Math series that's great for practice and review where a child has to set up and run a pet/sports/book store. My daughter considers it play.
Singapore's an advanced math that moves quickly. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have kids who are strong in the area of math. Personally, I hate it, but my son is very advanced in math and likes that it moves quickly. I would never try it with my daughter, though, who is definitely average in math.
Don't listen to those two. They don't know what they're talking about. Now I'd better run before the tomatoes start flying.
With Singapore Math, there are some gaps. But, it is very thorough. It explains things backward and forward. The levels are not grade levels. So you cannot go from grade 4 in anything else to level 4 of Singapore math. I knew someone who was doing grade 6 of Abeka and then tried to go to level 5 of Singapore and their child could not do it. She gave up as she did not want to feel that she was moving her child back any more than that. In reality, when you finish level 6, you have as much math as any other program at the end of grade 8. You are ready for Algebra 1. So backing up 1 more book (and they go by semesters) would not have hurt. But if this bothers someone, then the program will not work well. The gaps are so minor and are quickly picked up in algebra 1. (like negative numbers). I think Singapore is an excellent program. I would never say any program is "the best." It is not the program that I intend to continue to use. Not because it is not good, I have my reasons. It still was and is an excellent program and one of the best. There are programs I do not like. But Singapore is still a good choice.
For second grade I tried Singapore with my daughter. I used their test and she placed in 2A. She finished 2a but not 2b and we went back to Lifepacs. She didn't like it at all. It's a different way to teach to what she knew. I'd show her how they taugt it it and she just do it the way she knew how.
She's wrong. Teaching Textbooks is the best math ever. Seriously, it just boils down to what works for YOUR child. There are so many choices, it can be overwhelming to figure out what IS going to work. I find it helps to read reviews online, like at homeschoolreviews.com, before buying...but no matter what, you'll have some hits and misses. For example, all my friends LOVED Mystery of History but we didn't like it at all even though I wanted to. Good luck!
I've never actually used Singapore, but did get ahold of some samples at some point. After looking over the samples, I decided I didn't like it & wouldn't use it for my kids. I also think it would be difficult to switch to it from another curriculum, because it teaches Math in a way that's so different. I know some people love Singapore, but it's not for my family. My ds started using Mastering Mathematics last week. We've only done 7 pages, but I'm really liking it so far (and he's doing great with it).
I think Singapore is awesome! As another poster said, it depends entirely on your child. Go to the website and print off the placement test. I think you can even see samples lessons also.
I agree with the other posters that said it depends on your child. I have three that I have homeschooled, and they all learned differently and needed somewhat different things. So, noone can truly say, "This is THE best curriculum to use!" It may be for one child, but not for another! We liked LifePac math okay, we liked Teaching Textbooks more, and my younger two LOVE Life of Fred math! We detested Saxon, and didn't like A Beka math after 3rd grade. My oldest used VideoText Algebra, but it doesn't fit my younger two. So see, just from me you can get a lot of different opinions! I'd figure out what your child's learning style is. If he's hands on Right Start or maybe Math U See might work. I'm not saying Singapore won't work, I'm just saying that the "BEST" curriculum is elative to each child, and there are other curriculums to explore that may fit your child better.
My oldest dd loved singapore until 3rd grade. Then It got moving to fast for her. She still likes to have the singapore intensive practice for fun but we are using abeka for our main math program now. I am looking at using it for my youngest who is starting kindy this fall. I found it gave my oldest a great start on math. She is really good at figuring in her head now. My second dd couldn't stand it though. So I have to agree with everyone else and say it depends on your child. One thing I do is print off as many sample pages as I can and let the girls try it out.
Thank you all so much for your opinions. I do know that each child is different, and even having some of you point out other options is great. My son needs to be more hands on, so I think I will look into some of the other ones you all suggested. As for my DD, I think singapore might work great since she is only 6 and nearly at a 2nd grade level with math and she love love LOVES workbooks. I feel so lost sometimes when it comes to curriculum and all the choices out there.
There are lots of different workbook programs she might like....Horizons and LifePacs come to mind. We JUST switched from LifePacs for 2 years to Saxon. My dd is LOVING Saxon she gets up in the morning can't get her to eat breakfast - but she does the warm up problems. Go figure. But she loved LifePacs because she felt she accomplished something in finishing each "unit" Neither kid liked Singapore.... they both got confused - LOL....and ds is strong in math....but then it doesn't take much to confuse my kids (I think they get that from me)....
We have never tried Singapore but have used A Beka, Bob Jones, and Making Math Meaningful. This year we are using Life of Fred.
It's interesting to see how different programs are for different kids! One thing my three definitely agreed on--they detested Saxon! DD is a bit advanced, and oldest ds too, so the repetitiveness drove them crazy! Actually my younger ds was okay with it, but didn't like it very well. I liked it, but they didn't, so we moved on. That's one thing I love about homeschooling---I will NOT force my child to work through something they don't like at all (as can happen in a school classroom), because there are so many other programs available that they may really like! This shows why noone should say, "This is the best program out there!" Saxon seems to be the best program for Dana's dd, but it's the worst for my kids! I could say, "Life of Fred is the best program out there!" But that wouldn't be true for Crazy Mama's ds! So, again, find what best fits YOUR chldren!
