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Ugg. I just want BASIC MATH for 1st grade.

6K views 63 replies 50 participants last post by  Lisa1970 
#1 ·
So I bought Right Start Math last year for my daughter for 1st grade.

We started in the Spring and it just seemed SO TEDIOUS. I set it aside and picked it back up for the Fall.

I can tell you now, this isn't going to work for us. It is too...waves hands around in the air and makes foofoo noises....not us.

I would like a VERY BASIC math curriculum. My daughter seems to catch on pretty fast. I actually had a Princess math book from the dollar store on the shelf and my daughter wanted to do it.

I didn't think she'd be able to do, but sure enough, she was doing addition. (ME: Where the heck did you learn that?) She's catching on very quickly. My husband has been writing simple math problems for her: 2+7 = or 4+6= and then he did 10+3=. When she was able to do that, I showed her how to do 100+3 and then 1000+20 and she got it.

I'm really ANNOYED that I paid all this money for a system that I personally find too foofoo and confusing. Does anyone have a good basic math program they can recommend?

She's a young 6 and can do basic addition with some minor subtraction thrown in.

Thanks!
 
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#8 ·
At this level, math is so basic I could never see the point of buying a curriculum. Why not just keep writing out subtraction and addition problems for her? Throw in some word problems eventually - you can just do them verbally if you want. Spend a little time on coins, time telling, and using a ruler, and you've got first grade math covered.
 
#9 ·
my favorite math curriculum (for the reasons you stated) are Christian Light Education and Rod & Staff. I prefer CLE personally. It is a huge hit with my daughter, and the layout of the book is so wonderful. For grade 1, we did not need the TM (or for grades 2 & 3 for that matter). My son is currently using Saxon, and I do love it actually...but I still prefer CLE, so we'll switch after this year (CLE is more advanced than Saxon, so we decided to hold off this year). Read reviews at homeschoolclassifieds for CLE they are awesome. hth.
 
#13 ·
#16 ·
I am using Singapore Math. I can tell you from comparing what the public schools are doing in 1st grade and what is in Singapore Math, only level 1A is what they would complete in 1st grade. My son, who is a 1st grader, tested in to 1B. So make sure you do the placement exam from the website if this is the program you want. I like it and used it with my olders. There are other programs I like too, but this is the one we are using.
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by elizawill View Post
my favorite math curriculum (for the reasons you stated) are Christian Light Education and Rod & Staff.
This really gave me a chuckle once I figured it out. I was thinking "Christian LIGHT???" Thought at first it was a watered down version such as Pepsi Light or ****** Lite.
Lillian
 
#18 ·
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.
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Lillian J View Post

This really gave me a chuckle once I figured it out. I was thinking "Christian LIGHT???" Thought at first it was a watered down version such as Pepsi Light or ****** Lite.
Lillian
lol. well, i'm sure ****** light mixed with any curriculum would work too
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by elizawill View Post
lol. well, i'm sure ****** 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....
 
#23 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma View Post
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.
 
#24 ·
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.
 
#25 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by jessicaSAR View Post
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.
 
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