Singapore Math standard edition vs. U.S. edition

[angel nee nee]

What is your opinion...?

[7mom7]

We just had a long thread about this...I'll bump it up so you can read through it. I'm leaning towards Standard

[angel nee nee]

tks! I am leaning towards standard right now, but from looking at prices, most places only carry US edition for lower price than standard, thus, US edition seems cheaper. I am rather confused about the extra books they offer. Extra practice, mental practice, word problems, challenging word problems..... I suppose all these are not necessary, but nice to have?

When you do singapore math, do you do book A, then move to book B?

[7mom7]

Yes, so for us...1st grade I'll be purchasing the 1A textbook, 1A workbook, and 1A home instructors guide to start with. I've heard the textbook isn't necessary but it's pretty cheap so I'm going to get it just to see if I find it useful. I don't plan on purchasing B until we are close to finishing A in case I change my mind. I'm considering getting Mathematical Reasoning which I guess would be "extra practice" but I don't plan on purchasing any extra practice from Singapore.

[HeatherlovesCDs]

We use Singapore (as you see in the other thread). We are about to finish up 1a and move to 1b. We haven't used any of the extra practice type books yet. We may need them at some point and I would buy them then.

I use US Edition, but that is because it was what was available and recommended to me. I don't have a strong opinion that one or the other is better and it is possible I'll switch.

Good luck deciding!

[LauraJane429]

I like the US Edition better. We used the Standard edition for kindergarten, but I found it more classroom oriented vs one-on-one. So, we switched to US Edition for 1st grade and I like it much better. The standard edition is more colorful, but I like the b&w of the US edition b/c you can make photocopies of the worksheets (so you can use it with more than one child). I was told that the Standard edition is what the CA public schools use - and that makes sense b/c some of the flow of material seemed 'off'/out of order.

[blondeviolin]

Originally Posted by LauraJane429 I like the US Edition better. We used the Standard edition for kindergarten, but I found it more classroom oriented vs one-on-one. So, we switched to US Edition for 1st grade and I like it much better. The standard edition is more colorful, but I like the b&w of the US edition b/c you can make photocopies of the worksheets (so you can use it with more than one child). I was told that the Standard edition is what the CA public schools use - and that makes sense b/c some of the flow of material seemed 'off'/out of order.

The K levels are completely different than regular Singapore. They are NOT included in the Primary Mathematics sequence. K math and even SM's K books are not necessary at all.

Originally Posted by 7mom7 Yes, so for us...1st grade I'll be purchasing the 1A textbook, 1A workbook, and 1A home instructors guide to start with. I've heard the textbook isn't necessary but it's pretty cheap so I'm going to get it just to see if I find it useful. I don't plan on purchasing B until we are close to finishing A in case I change my mind. I'm considering getting Mathematical Reasoning which I guess would be "extra practice" but I don't plan on purchasing any extra practice from Singapore.

I would caution against skipping the text. In the first year it may seem superfluous, but in following years the problems in the text are harder than the workbook. The program is designed so you introduce the lesson with the HIG, work through the problems in the text together and at that point the child should be able to complete the workbook pages independently.

To the OP, we use the standards edition and really like it.

ETA: If you invest in extra books, the ones I recommend would be Intensive Practice and/or Challenging Word Problems.

[angel nee nee]

Thanks for all the helpful info!
What would you say is strong characteristic of Singapore Math compare to other curriculum?

[HeatherlovesCDs]

I think it is very strong at teaching mental math, which I think is very helpful in life. But, without the Home Instructor's Guide, I think this element would be easily missed.

It was me that said I don't think you need the text in first, but I wasn't really suggesting not getting it and I did say the same as above, that I think you will need it as you get farther along.

[angel nee nee]

Thanks for that. I wonder if it will be a big change from Saxon we are using....? It's such a big decision to make which curriculum to use!