Among the many other wonderful things I have learned about my children since I started homeschooling, one thing I’ve learned is that one size does NOT fit all. I figured that I would just get “the best” curriculum for my kids and that would be that.
Just one set of math books, one way to teach them to read and one way to show them how to write.
Um… that was mistake number 1. First of all. There is no “best” curriculum. There are really good, really bad and various in betweens but no “best”.
When I bought 1st grade math for Lucy, I got what was most recommended. And it worked great for Lucy. Emma… not so much. She did really well on the days when we played with the manipulatives, but when it came to any oral instruction, she completely zoned out.
So I went back to the drawing board and came across Singapore Math Earlybird Kindergarden Math. I could tell right away, by looking at the sample pages that is was RIGHT up Emma’s alley. I went completely against my common sense; I already had kindergarden and 1st grade math. But I bought it anyway. I’ll be completely honest. What had been a fairly stressful (for me) struggle to get through one work sheet with her (explaining EVERY single thing) has turned into “No really Emma, 20 worksheets is enough. You can do more tomorrow!”
