Ugg. I just want BASIC MATH for 1st grade. - Page 2

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by LemonPie

Check out Math Mammoth: http://www.mathmammoth.com/

It's been a really good fit for us.

I LOVE math mammoth. We learned basic math backwards and forwards with her worksheets.

[Savoir Faire]

Originally Posted by elizawill

lol. well, i'm sure miller light mixed with any curriculum would work too

I sometimes feel that teaching homeschool would definitely work better with a cocktail in hand

Also...I checked out the math mammoth and I liked what I saw. Printed out some different 1st grade worksheets just so that she's doing a variety of things.

You guys are awesome....

[pigpokey]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

Kumon Books http://www.kumonbooks.com has a math program that is made up of four books - addition, subtraction, word problems, and geometry & measurement. My daughter really liked them. They are about $7 each and can be bought online @ amazon or we've found them locally at Barnes & Noble.

I went this route because I found Singapore too frou frou and didn't want to keep printing free worksheets off the internet. It seems to work fine so far. There are times I will jump on the internet and print an extra worksheet from a free site because a child needs extra practice.

My gifted 5 year old has picked up quite a bit from the didj games. They don't teach they just *throw it out there* and you need to figure it out.

[jessicaSAR]

My recommendation would be to read Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, by Liping Ma before you make a decision on a curriculum. This has been one of the very most important homeschooling books I have read, and it really illuminates what good elementary mathematics teaching is. It especially explains the difference between procedural mathematics instruction (the hows) and conceptual mathematics instruction (really understanding elementary mathematics). It's one of those "I didn't know what I didn't know" type of books. Even my husband, who has been teaching high school mathematics for over 20 years, and is a grader for the Calculus AP exam, recommended it to his department as required reading.

Btw, both Math Mammoth and Singapore are excellent Asian style, conceptual math programs.

[sbgrace]

Originally Posted by jessicaSAR

My recommendation would be to read Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, by Liping Ma before you make a decision on a curriculum. This has been one of the very most important homeschooling books I have read, and it really illuminates what good elementary mathematics teaching is. It especially explains the difference between procedural mathematics instruction (the hows) and conceptual mathematics instruction (really understanding elementary mathematics). It's one of those "I didn't know what I didn't know" type of books. Even my husband, who has been teaching high school mathematics for over 20 years, and is a grader for the Calculus AP exam, recommended it to his department as required reading.

Btw, both Math Mammoth and Singapore are excellent Asian style, conceptual math programs.

Yes, this was foundational for me as well. For that reason I had our choices narrowed down to a few programs. In your circumstance I'm thinking Math Mammoth might be the best bet. You could download samples (she's got a lot of sample pages for each of her curriculum levels) and see what you think. MEP is free and I'd look at it as well though I don't know if it might be too complicated for what you're looking for as well.

[AAK]

Originally Posted by LemonPie

Check out Math Mammoth: http://www.mathmammoth.com/

It's been a really good fit for us.

We use Math Mammoth for supplement. I love it and it sounds like what you want.

Amy

[ChinaDoll]

Originally Posted by LemonPie

Check out Math Mammoth: http://www.mathmammoth.com/

It's been a really good fit for us.

we LOVE Math Mammoth - we've used Singapore with success but it's cumbersome with all the books. We like MUS, and use it to supplement, but we LOVE MM!

[kgianforti]

Rod & Staff is the most basic math I've seen. It's even called "Arithmetic 1". But I think the 1st grade books are a bit on the easy side.

[dotnetdiva]

Math Mammoth sounds like it might be more of what you're looking for. We started using this as a supplement this year.

[inky leeuhhh]

we are using singapore and we like it. my dd struggles with math, so i dont know if we'll get to 1b before summer time.

[vbactivist]

Originally Posted by zjande

I never did use a math curriculum with my son until he reached 3rd or 4th grade. I just wrote out his problems for him. It's such simple stuff at that stage, curriculum isn't absolutely necessary. This time though, I'm using Rod & Staff math. I like it. I think it's super basic & spells everything out for me. That's what I was looking for, since I have a whole pile of kids now.

HEre's a free math work sheet site I like, instead of writing out problems

http://themathworksheetsite.com/

[Igraine]

Another vote for Singapore Math. My son loves it! And I love that you can test your child and see where they are at and then determine what level. My son does not use the text book, so we will not be buying that next time.

Good luck!

[Lia & Eva's Mama]

I found this great site It may not be what your looking for but i like it. it is from pre-k to 8th grade.http://www.ixl.com/

[Island Mommy]

I had the same difficulty with RS Math when we first bought it. I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be doing and I kept referring back to the teacher's manual while trying to do the lesson with DD. DD started to say "I hate math" which made me really wonder if I'd made the right choice.
We left it for a while but started up again with it this fall. DD is 7 (8 in Jan) and we are about half way through Level B. Now, I read through the lesson and do a bit of role play before I do it with DD. And I pick and choose what I want to do. We don't do everything. We skip things here and there, I go back and forth. It's working much better for us now. Because DD is older than the program is designed for we are going to be able to skip most of the money and time sections (as she already knows this) and I skip all the calendar work (because I believe this is something that kids learn naturally day-to-day).
The reason I tried RS again was because I really want to teach DD math in a conceptual rather than a rote learning way. I tried MM (grade 1) at some point but it was all counting forward and back on a number line. This is DD's natural way to figure out addition/subtraction but I wanted to discourage that and get her to start thinking in groups of 5/10. And, it seems to be working now.
So, my suggestion is, don't give up on the RS Math just yet. Keep it in your arsenal, peruse some of the lessons when you have a minute and try to understand why a certain topic is being taught in a certain way.
I am going to get Singapore Math this year too and likely pull from both programs going forward.
RS Math works up to mental arithmetic of 2 digit numbers with trading in Level B and I'm a bit worried how that's going to go over with DD. Sheesh, even I have trouble with that!

[candipooh]

I tried Right Stat math. I loved it but the kids hated it. We moved to Math-U-See. That seemed to work at first but all three kids burned out. The 'mastery' program idea was not working out for them. This year as well as last year we have been using Excel math (click link to see sample pages). My kids love it. It is a spiral type program. It introduces a concept and you do only a few problems. Then you have the rest of the worksheet that is practice from other concepts. You get repetition of old stuff but you still get to move on to new stuff. With Math-u-See it was "don't move on until this is mastered"

This program seems to be working for us. It is the only one that we have not given up on after one year. All three of my children like it. Even my oldest that has many many learning disorders likes it. Granted, she is doing 2/3 rd grade work at grade 5 but she is learning and she is doing it every day.

Another thing I like about it is that it is fairly quick. You don't need to spend an hour on it. You also don't need to sit with them through the entire thing. You are with them through the first part/new concept and then they can do the rest by themselves.

[phathui5]

You could try the Kumon math books. They're very basic and you can find them at Barnes & Noble.

[dubatatamama]

Take my advice with a grain of salt because I have not started using it yet, but we chose Saxon because it uses a lot of manipulatives.

[PGTlatte]

I have been using Singapore. I like they way they show everything with pictures, but very simple pictures.

I looked at Math Mammoth but the pages and the graphics are too visually complex for our DS1. I also didn't feel the approach to addition or place value would be a good for for him. Singapore is working well so we will stick with that.

For worksheets I have been printing them from worksheetworks.com.

I also do a lot of word problems...I bought Singapore's book of word problems, Teacher Created Resources' inexpensive book of word problems, and a book of daily word problems from Evan Moor.

I also have purchased the 2nd grade book from MCP (Modern Curriculum Press) Math. I ordered it from Learning Things but Amazon has them too. If you want the newer version you have to make sure to get that because the older one is still around. Anyway I don't have the book yet but I looked at preview pages - they were hard to find !

http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.c...Locator=PSZ153

I decided to give MCP a try as a supplement because it gets very good reviews for being simple and straightforward, and that is what DS1 is all about.

[Bluegoat]

We really like MEP - we're only on the intake year, but the quality is good, it seems to have a conceptual focus, the lessons are short, and it's free.

[phathui5]

Originally Posted by dubatatamama

Take my advice with a grain of salt because I have not started using it yet, but we chose Saxon because it uses a lot of manipulatives.

I have to say that we used Saxon first grade math years ago and ds and I hated it. The endless repetition, the scripted lessons. It really just made me want to not do math.