So, we finished Singapore's Kindergarten Math last month. And to be honest with you, I didn't like it all that much. Before you read on, (if you do at all, I suppose my Mom's will skim this part at best to get to the pics) please note that this critique is for the kindergarten math only, it is the only level I have used. Furthermore, I have never used any of the supplements that you can buy for this program; perhaps if I had they might have addressed some of my complaints. My main complaint, well is not really a complaint at all, it is just that Singapore teaches in "blocks": a few lessons on counting 10-20, then one or two on fractions, then a couple on 1-1 correspondence, with NO review on lessons previously learned. I do not recall if I knew this before I bought the product, but in any case I have since found out that I prefer a "spiral" method in teaching math, and that it fits my daughter's learning style better. Here are a few other things I noticed:

• Despite the small size of these worktexts, there was quite a bit of 'busy work" and pages devoted to uneccesary demonstrations, especially in the first book.
• The teacher notes are geared toward the classroom.

So what are we moving on to?  Well, our new Horizons Math  books came in Friday and Arianna wanted to start right away! (Noelle got Horizons K, she is almost ready). I am tempted to write a positive review after only one lesson, but that is not really fair. However, I chose Horizons because it does teach spiral-y (each lessons introduces a new topic and reviews the previous ones). And, I have noticed that despite Singapore's reputation for being very advanced, the scope of Horizons seems more so, but we shall see. Also, they were inexpensive. I will mention that Horizons lessons are very busy visually, so if your child is sensative to visual stimuli, these may be overwhelming. Oh, and I did not buy the teacher's book.

With the money I saved on my math curriculum, I bought Usborn's First Thousand Words in Spanish (speaking of visual stimuli...). This, with my very rudimentary high school Spanish, and some help help from our neighbors, is going to be our Spanish curriculum for the next few years, until I can afford Rosetta Stone or it is time to start learning Latin. I also like these and books like Corre, Perro, Corre!  from the library.

Ah, what other book related news do I have? Are you tired of it yet? The thing is, that we have finished our school year for the most part, but since we school year- round I am having the fun of planning and starting a new "school year" right now!  Well, I think it's cool. And it's my blog and I'll bore you if I want to ;) Anyway, remember the art curriculum I mentioned in my last post? Well, we had our first lesson during a torrential downpour last night (yes, I know it was Sunday, but we hadn't gotten around to it on Saturday!) I really like the book, it is very straight forward witn no fluff. I was afraid the girls would find the first lesson a trifle boring (lines and shapes) - I felt they would want to skip the beginning stuff and get right to creating masterpeices. But they quite enjoyed themsleves, and I heard no complaints, except when the pipe cleaners wouldn't stay glued to the paper:

The assignment was to make shapes (geometric, symbolic, and free form) from different things; we used toothpicks, dry spaghetti noodles, embroidery floss, twist ties, and pipe cleaners. It was fun; don't mind Zeke in corner there - who taught that boy how to hold a crayon? And I could have sworn I moved that salt shaker before I took the picture.

We are also doing a little art appreciation - something I've wanted to do for a long time -  using A Child's Book of Art. This book is actaully part of Sonlight's Core B (which apparently has a new name this year) but I never purchased it before because I wasn't sure about it and, well, there are so many books and so little money. Anyhow, I saw it on display at the library and grabbed it at the last minute - and I am SO glad I did. The book is GORGEOUS - and the format is perfect for sharing with your kidlets.My girls asked for "more," (though that may have been because bedtime was to follow, lol); my conlusion being that I think we will have to purchase this one, because it is definately one we will go back to again and again.

Could you believe that I have more I wanted to cover? But I won't now. If you've gotten this far, you must be a homeschool mom of preschoolers :) 

Posted by EEEEMommy

I never tire of curriculum reviews, especially honest ones!
I owe you a review of Truthquest History. I hope to get to that soon.