Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just did it myself. In the summer we did some workbooks. At some point we switched to Beast Academy, which my kid loved because of the comics. I highly recommend it, but I'm sure at what level they start - since we got in late, I think we started at book 3. Beast Academy gets kids to think critically, which is different from other workbooks that drill math facts and seek to develop fluency. Different kids will need different approaches.

Yeah - explore Beast Level 2 for your first grader.[u] We did through Level 5 with my now 5th grader since first grade and it’s like he’s in a different mathematical world.

Also look into Verbal Math series (google it). No pencil and paper, so early basic math concepts get cemented without intermediation.

Um no. Certainly not as "math help" for a 1st grader. Beast Level 2 would be good as math acceleration for an advanced and bored 1st grader or an on-level 2nd grader, though.

I didn’t have any conception of my son as “advanced” or “bored” when it came to his math abilities.

We just did it and have had tremendous results, probably because we started early enough to make difference.

So yes, if OP is asking, it definitely makes sense to “explore” BA2 and not write it off because her 1st grader isn’t “advanced” enough.

FWIW - I was not too enamored with BA1 and so bypassed for my younger child.


So it makes per

Anonymous wrote:addition facts that stick, subtraction facts that stick, etc. that stick series

I loved these too! It changed the way I think about addition, subtraction, and multiplication even as an adult.

I had to add 26 + 7 earlier today, and I thought, “26 and 4 is 30, so that leaves 3 more…33.” My kids are teens now, and it makes everything easier that they can add, subtract, multiply, and divide in their heads.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just did it myself. In the summer we did some workbooks. At some point we switched to Beast Academy, which my kid loved because of the comics. I highly recommend it, but I'm sure at what level they start - since we got in late, I think we started at book 3. Beast Academy gets kids to think critically, which is different from other workbooks that drill math facts and seek to develop fluency. Different kids will need different approaches.

Yeah - explore Beast Level 2 for your first grader.[u] We did through Level 5 with my now 5th grader since first grade and it’s like he’s in a different mathematical world.

Also look into Verbal Math series (google it). No pencil and paper, so early basic math concepts get cemented without intermediation.

Um no. Certainly not as "math help" for a 1st grader. Beast Level 2 would be good as math acceleration for an advanced and bored 1st grader or an on-level 2nd grader, though.

Anonymous wrote:I just did it myself. In the summer we did some workbooks. At some point we switched to Beast Academy, which my kid loved because of the comics. I highly recommend it, but I'm sure at what level they start - since we got in late, I think we started at book 3. Beast Academy gets kids to think critically, which is different from other workbooks that drill math facts and seek to develop fluency. Different kids will need different approaches.

Yeah - explore Beast Level 2 for your first grader. We did through Level 5 with my now 5th grader since first grade and it’s like he’s in a different mathematical world.

Also look into Verbal Math series (google it). No pencil and paper, so early basic math concepts get cemented without intermediation.

I just did it myself. In the summer we did some workbooks. At some point we switched to Beast Academy, which my kid loved because of the comics. I highly recommend it, but I'm sure at what level they start - since we got in late, I think we started at book 3. Beast Academy gets kids to think critically, which is different from other workbooks that drill math facts and seek to develop fluency. Different kids will need different approaches.

addition facts that stick, subtraction facts that stick, etc. that stick series

We used Kumon workbooks early on but during the summer to prevent summer slide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pen and paper.
14-5=9
14-9=5
9+5=14
5+9=14
Give them only the first line:
16-6
Ask them to give you first line.

I wouldn’t underestimate the degree to which small children can be motivated by the colors and pictures in workbooks. My daughter will certainly do problems with pencil and paper and enjoys them, but she LOVES her workbook and wants to progress in it.

NP. I agree with PP. Write the problems in color with markers and draw some silly pictures in the margins. Math workbooks for arithmetic drills are waste of money unless they also contain high quality word problems and puzzles. If you are just reviewing facts and basic skills you don't need anything fancier than paper and pens. Definitely don't need to drive out to a Mathnasium or Kumon center.

Workbooks do save time if you don’t have a lot of time to write out problems. Totally agree on Kumon and Mathnasium being a waste of money though—it’s a pretty good assumption that most adults can do basic arithmetic, and it’s not hard to learn the teaching strategies to help your kid. As for story problems, you can also just make up problems for your kids verbally. The other day I was inventing simple story problems for my daughter while I was pushing her on the swings and she was answering them—the key is to make them funny, especially since so many story problems are a little dry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pen and paper.
14-5=9
14-9=5
9+5=14
5+9=14
Give them only the first line:
16-6
Ask them to give you first line.

I wouldn’t underestimate the degree to which small children can be motivated by the colors and pictures in workbooks. My daughter will certainly do problems with pencil and paper and enjoys them, but she LOVES her workbook and wants to progress in it.

NP. I agree with PP. Write the problems in color with markers and draw some silly pictures in the margins. Math workbooks for arithmetic drills are waste of money unless they also contain high quality word problems and puzzles. If you are just reviewing facts and basic skills you don't need anything fancier than paper and pens. Definitely don't need to drive out to a Mathnasium or Kumon center.

Singapore math workbooks and start working on math facts

Anonymous wrote:Pen and paper.
14-5=9
14-9=5
9+5=14
5+9=14
Give them only the first line:
16-6
Ask them to give you first line.

I wouldn’t underestimate the degree to which small children can be motivated by the colors and pictures in workbooks. My daughter will certainly do problems with pencil and paper and enjoys them, but she LOVES her workbook and wants to progress in it.

Pen and paper.
14-5=9
14-9=5
9+5=14
5+9=14
Give them only the first line:
16-6
Ask them to give you first line.

Kumon has a good set of workbooks available at Barnes & Noble. It helps to shop in person to find the correct level for one's DC.

We bought the IXL Ultimate First Grade Math Workbook for our daughter, and I’m very impressed with the quality. The construction is pretty solid, so easy to erase without ripping the page. It presents everything from a standard first grade curriculum up through double digit addition without carrying. They also have a workbook focused solely on addition. We don't let her use any apps, so pencil and paper based learning was critical for us.

We’ve also used some of the free worksheets from k5 learning (https://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets).

For ideas on how to teach, Susan Jones has a good series of YouTube videos intended for teachers.

I’m also thinking of purchasing some base ten cubes to help my daughter understand place value, but I think she’s still a couple months away from that. Granted, she’s actually in kindergarten so we’re just working ahead and no need to exactly track what she’s doing at school…

What resources do you recommend for 1st grade?