Need help with K math

[TracyR]

Okay . First I'm going to start and say this is my child who LOVES workbooks . We do hands on things as well . But she always wants to write in a workbook . So the Saxon K I have right now isn't cutting it for her . She loves her Kumon workbooks but is almost done with this those .
I'm looking for a more formal math program for her . One that is inexpensive ( is that possible anymore ? ) That spirals , she needs repetition when it comes to math .
I am open to any suggestions wether Christian or non .
My other girls were more hands on with math so I really never did a real formal program other then Saxon K which is just a hands on program . But I have a workbookie kid .
I do to buy her ones from Walmart and such but I'm wanting a more formal math program now .
I wish that CLE had a K math program . She's past the ABC series .
Suggestions ?

[jg_puppy]

I am planning on using the Horizons K workbook with my ds this year. I don't plan on using the Teachers manual because we are going to use Singapore as our main math program. I just know that sometimes he wants a workbook since his sister has one.

Jan

[3lilreds in NC]

You could check out Singapore's Earlybird Kindergarten Math. It would probably be more challenging for her than Saxon K. If you have the Saxon Elementary manipulatives, you could try bumping her up to Saxon 1 - I've heard that Saxon tends to be about a year behind, so their K is good for PreK and their 1 is good for K.

I have one that loves workbooks too - thank goodness! She can keep herself busy while I work with her sister. :)

[abbeyej]

I'm a big fan of Horizons math. The K program is quite challenging (especially compared to Saxon), but it's colorful, well-planned and provides plenty of review. I actually dropped Saxon 1 halfway through to switch to Horizons and was much happier with the level of conceptual instruction. That child has now finished Horizons and I'm using it again with my second.

I have also used the Singapore Earlybird books, and I'm not really a fan. I like the Singapore Primary program (though I consider it secondary to Horizons for us -- Singapore's great strength is its word problems, but the breadth of topics and review in Horizons make it a better primary program for us), but I found the Earlybird stuff to be lacking.

(BTW, I have never used the TMs for Horizons. I know some people consider them indispensable.)

[Cranberry]

We use Modern Curriculum Press here. They have a level K then 1st grade is level A and so on. You can get cheaper older versions from Seton Home Study, that's the cheapest I've found them...about $14. Probably can find cheaper on ebay or half.com, though.

[hsmamainva]

My youngest also loves colorful workbooks for math!

We're using Abeka Math and she's very happy with it.

I have the workbook, the teacher's edition, and the tests & drills workbook. The lesson plans are more geared toward a classroom setting and, while they give some good ideas for teaching concepts, you can pretty much figure it out on your own.

[purplecow7]

My four year olds have started signapore math. I bought right off their website so we are doing earlybird A. They are both moving pretty quick threw it, but love the color and the exercises.

They are finding it pretty easy right now and flying threw it. You can review sample pages from their website. If she has all ready done alot of worksheets you may want to take the one line test for 1A. Don't think you have to stick to a kindergarten program - if she has done alot of workbooks all ready she may be ready for first grade work.

[CactusPair]

Hi, I've used a few different things for K math. For ds, Earlybirds with hands on stuff was the ticket. Not so with dd.

Earlybird books don't spiral, which dd needs. We've enjoyed Abeka K math without the IG this year. Abeka spirals. We did have to take a break and work with MCP K math, though, which is mastery bec. Abeka got too hard for her.

We're back to mostly Abeka now and will finish by fall. She loves workbooks, too. Abeka holds her attn. bec. it has a few different kinds of topics on the page. She likes the pictures--important stuff in her opinion.

I will probably use Abeka Math for 1st, but I haven't decided yet.

Horizons spirals, too, but I haven't used that one. It has a good reputation and is supposed to be advanced.

[mittmaman]

We are using Horizons K with EarlyBird this year.
I love Horizons - it is demanding, easy to teach and VERY spiral ;)....Dd loves Early Bird:).
If you went with Horizons you probably wouldn't need the Teacher Manual. I think it is helpful for the later grades, but not really for K.
Early Bird is a nice "add on", and actually more of a "fun thing" to do, rather than Math (particularly if used with Horizons, which is quite demanding).

Good Luck!

[Stacey in MA]

A few comments...

As I recall, the Earlybird books that are supposed to go w/ the Singapore books were not actually written by the same people (though they were written in attempt to go ahead of the Singapore stuff). From Gr1 and on, the Singapore material DOES spiral, but there is VERY LITTLE repetition. This worked great for my DS (perfect, in fact. We went through 3 other choices before finding Singapore for him, realizing he can't tolerate repetition). But it did not work AT ALL for my DD6, who needs plenty of repetition. We spent the rest of last year on Saxon1 for her.

Saxon was too much work for me if I used the TM, and too easy, boring and repetitive for DD w/out the TM. We skipped about 1/2 (only doing the front side of each worksheet), and it was still very easy for her. It was a better match than Singapore, but still not quite right. So we're looking for a better choice for this year (2nd grade for her). I think I'll look at Horizons.

HTH and GL! - Stacey in MA