Singapore Math

by Amanda

We've used Earlybird 1A-2A standards edition, and Primary Mathematics 1A-2B U.S. Edition.

We really like this program. It is visually interesting, but also mentally stimulating. Singapore doesn't just teach children how to find answers to examples, it teaches them how to think mathematically. We tried a different program for a while, but soon my daughter started not liking math, which was unlike her. Singapore hadn't scared her off, she enjoyed doing it.

Earlybird is for Kindergarten. All 4 books can be done in one year. They simply and easily introduce mathematical concepts at a basic level.

Primary Mathematics spans grades 1-6, though for proper placement when transitioning over to this series from another, you should have your child take the placement test available at their site: www.singaporemath.com

Singapore is a mastery approach rather than a spiral approach (as opposed to Saxon.) Singapore is also not scripted so the Home Instructor's Guides can be very helpful to give more background as well as information on using manipulatives and more practice with mental math.

The biggest complaint (if you want to call it that) is the difficulty at first at trying to figure out what to order. There are the textbooks (2 per level), the workbooks (2 per level), Extra Practice books, Intensive Practice books (2 per level), Challenging Word Problems books, Home Instructor's Guides (2 per level) and Teacher's Guides.

At the barest minimum, you need the textbooks and the workbooks. Extra Practice books give additional examples similar in difficulty to the examples in the workbooks. Intensive practice books are a little more difficult. Challenging Word Problems books are a significant challenge and are meant to challenge the student further and get them to think more creatively about solutions.

Many people work in the Challenging Word Problems book a level behind where they are working in the text. Though some people like the setup in the teacher guides better, they are designed for classroom teachers, whereas the Home Instructor's Guides are designed specifically for homeschoolers.