The problem sets really are challenging – they are explicitly designed to help students develop the mental grit to handle AMC and Math Olympiad problems, and later on to tackle the kind of non-trivial open questions that real mathematicians work on. He can read and understand numbers into the quintillions. Beast Academy is more like a fun book than a math curriculum, but it is still incredibly educational. But if she wasgetting good grades in math in public school, she’s likely ready to tackle a program that’s on grade level, even if she occasionally has some trouble with basic calculations. I thought Beast might broaden their horizons and flip switches in their brains that even Singapore won’t. If your son passed the pre-test, I’d expect he’ll do just fine with Beast. . But alas, there are no comic books or monsters (and no plans to extend the Beast curriculum, sadly). But most days it was an hour-long struggle with tears, distraction, and melt downs. JW, there’s so much I agree with in your comment that I don’t even know where to begin! Notes in the guides show when the student should stop and complete the corresponding pages in the practice book. I know Singapore finishes teaching multiplication tables in grade 3 and some other fundamentals. The multistep, “deep” format of the questions had him very intimidated. The cute comic book style is gone, but in its place are educational and entertaining videos done by the CEO and founder of Art of Problem Solving, Richard Rusczyk. Love the comic book style, but really love that BA focuses on critical and spatial reasoning and not just rote memorization. But I think we will continue to go through it once we start school again just to be sure.). As I paged through it, I felt both thoroughly delighted and completely puzzled. Hi Kate! we miss seeing you guys every week at CC! I don’t think I can be consistent to get any math done with her without an actual curriculum so I would like a book she can go through. Stick w/ Singapore or make the switch? I had been considering Beast Academy for my daughter (8 yrs, starting 3rd grade) because she just wasn’t enjoying math. So, Beast Academy seems to be guiding me into a deeper understanding of mathematics right along with my daughter! So, if you’d like to make sure your son has at least some exposure to those topics before starting it, I suggest using a few of the Key to Decimals and Key to Percents books. If she ever had a day without the drama and wailing/gnashing of teeth then she could get two lessons done in about 15-20 minutes. He’s progressing through to 5th gr Math in CLE (but technically in 6th gr) but all joy is gone. The Momma Knows. It’ll feed his appetite for math and also give you a chance to “try out” homeschooling a little, since it has scripted lessons and games for you to do with him. I wish I’d found it sooner! The Guide book is written in an engaging comic book style, and the Practice book provides over 400 problems ranging from introductory level exercises to very challenging puzzles and word problems. I disagree slightly with him–I think their products work for a much broader variety of kids–but they are certainly aiming for kids who really enjoy math and need a challenge.). way too many typos in that last comment for me to fix. (It can be hard for parents to watch, too–just ask me how I know!) He took one look at the pretest for 3d and 4a and was far to intimidated to even try (even though he has learned all the skills necessary to solve the problems on both tests. I think this is good on the whole. I will check out your book! My goal in homeschooling would be to provide him with more of a challenge while significantly lessening the book work so we can reinforce with games, Manipulatives, enrichment activities, and just have more family time. He has always been very “mathy” and had a mind for mental math. My original goal was to get her ready for competitions but honestly, while she’s good at math, after seeing Beast Academy, I don’t think she’s at competition level. Then I thought we could transition to Math Mammoth in 1st grade. Please note that comments are closed on this post. I realize now how that’s unrealistic,. My son is 4 (and enters pre-K in the fall) so apps and other game like methods of learning math have proven to be good ways to teach basic math concepts and get him interested in math. Beast Academy (from Art of Problem Solving) is a book series with 10 "guidebooks" and 10 parallel "practice" books targeted to 3rd, 4th, and fifth graders. Addition and subtraction are taught in 2nd and 3rd grade! (Not to mention comic book monsters with distinct personalities, including a two-headed custodian named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.). Khan Academy is becoming more and more popular as the years go by. . She would be in 7 th grade if in public school. After he’s more comfortable with these basics, take a look at Rod and Staff. Either way is fine. We follow the four as they attend classes and puzzle over the problems posed by their instructors. You can continue with MUS, use Singapore, Math Mammoth….really, anything that teaches addition and subtraction along with some place value and mental math will be just fine. If your child needs a lot of support and hand-holding when tackling difficult problems, this could take more time. I didn’t see a review for Shiller on this website. i know its offtopic, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.. thank u. Your son sounds like a perfect candidate for Beast Academy. Yes, I can’t wait to see to see what the 2nd grade curriculum covers. In the end we didn't pursue it past the first book I bought. I was wondering if beast academy is working toward doing there math for higher grade levels as well? The only other books for grade schoolers I know that use this approach of giving a small number of “thinking problems” instead of reams of “just apply the formula” problems are the Ed Zuccaro’s Challenge Math books. My expectation all along was for my kids to love math, because I did. Beast Academy is not only a serious math curriculum: it’s the most challenging math program available for these grade levels. My daughter is a rising fifth grader. I stumbled upon BA yesterday while researching curriculum for our upcoming school year. With that said, there is not a ton of variety in each book (we only bought one) and it is hard to know exactly which book to start with. In some ways, this approach is more relaxed, and in other ways, it is more rigorous. He thinks super logically and already solved problems in ways that were not taught in the book, but is impatient with the process and just wants to skip ahead to, “Mom I already know the answer. 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