So far I've only been a lurker here on the board, but I'm in need of a little help finding the right math curriculum for my 5-year-old. We did Abeka's K4 program last year and loved it for phonics, but found the math program to be too repetitve and slow-moving for her, and skipped quite a few of the lessons. Is anyone familiar with the Abeka math program for K5, and what did you think of it? I've also been looking at the Horizons math kit on CBD, but don't really know anything about it other than what I've read on their site. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!
I'm not sure this is a recommendation, but we just started using Miquon. My son is really left brained, so math is "easy" for him. I like that I only had to buy one teacher's book that will carry him through several years of workbooks. I have heard some parents who need to wait until first to start with Miquon, though, just because it's a little beyond your basic K math.
we're using Miquon and Singapore- though we're doing 1st grade. Miquon starts in 1st grade though we used it for the end of the K year as well. Singapore is our spine and dd loves it. The K books are full of color, no need for teachers guides because they give you all the tips at the bottom of each workbook page. They use "mental math" so it doesn't just teach wrote memorization. It teaches the process from the very beginning. There are 4 books for the K year and you can look at samples here. http://www.singaporemath.com/Kindergarten_s/83.htm just click on each one and it will take you to a page that gives the contents and there is a tab to click on for samples. I know quite a few people who use Horizons. I know it wouldn't work for dd, too much repetition as it's a spiral curriculum. I myself like the idea, but I know dd would hate it.
We used and enjoyed Horizons K math by AO Publishing. We used a Saxon Manipulatives set and Cuisenaire Rods along with it.
We used A Beka K5. I do not know how it compares to K4 because we never use K4. It was easy enough. We ended up using A Beka Math for many years since, except this year, and they all seem to flow the same. Patty
I am very impressed with Math U See. My ds just turned 5 is doing great with it! I am so impressed with he is learning already.
I like Horizons for grades K-3. It moves rather quickly. Each lesson covers many different topics. Of course, it's just one of many!
We have also used A beka 5 and used A Beka every year since, except for last year, we are going back to A Beka this year (7th grade). Dgs learned real well with A Beka.
We used Saxon 1 for Kindy Math. we did not complete the book so we will contine it this year for 1st grade math. Madison would have been bored to tears with Saxon K math. I use all different things for manulipitves too, I dont buy theirs.
The only manipulatives that I bought were the cuisenaire rods, and I paid $2 for the whole set with two books at a fair. Aside from those, we use raisins, cheerios, apples, cats, crayons, army men, dinosaurs, you get the idea. Edited to say: I take that back, I also bought a set of fraction manipulatives, but again, I only paid $.50 for them.
We used Saxon 1 for K for dd also. It was easy, and we went through it fairly quickly, skipping where it got too repetitive. DD liked the program---with calendar, counting, weather, etc. She thought it was fun, but also let me know when she needed to move on!
We really like Rightstart Math (just to throw yet another name out there and confuse you even more!). I would at least check into it if I were you. It teaches math not in the traditional American/European way (depending on counting strategies), but it is Asian based relying on visualization and the abacus. If you have any questions, let me know! There is a great Yahoo! Group where you can get some answers. Many of the moms there used other programs (Saxon, MUS, etc.) before settling on Rightstart.
We're going to use Math-U-See as soon as I can afford to purchase it. (Probably with income tax return Feb/Mar. My middle boy turns 5 in May.) It's very visual/kinesthetic for not only the beginning level but all the way through the upper maths. I know this is what will work best for my particular kiddo.
