Beast Academy for 1st grader

[Anonymous]

Do you think the online program is good for this age or are books better? We don’t do much screen time at home. No tablet or computer, just a bit of tv occasionally. They do iPads at school.

[Anonymous]

I would do the books. At least at my public, they were spending an enormous amount of time on screens.

[Anonymous]

Agreed with pp. Go with the books.

[Anonymous]

Kids are more willing to do the work on the app.

I don't that beast academy 1 or 2 is really so valuable though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids are more willing to do the work on the app.

I don't that beast academy 1 or 2 is really so valuable though.

FWIW, I found BA2 extremely helpful for DD, especially the sections on big numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would do the books. At least at my public, they were spending an enormous amount of time on screens.

+1 same here

[Anonymous]

Beast Academy multi-year parent-user here.

OP: As you are probably aware, Beast Academy is not a game. It is is a cute name for AoPS (Art of Problem Solving) math curriculum for ES students - one of the most comprehensive math curriculums that are available for ES age kids.

The program and courses are tough, engaging and thorough and, as things progress, extremely challenging. Kids who enjoy this type of rigor go to International Math Competitions and are “best of the best”. I am not saying all this to scare you, just to make sure you are aware that this is not a math-game or math-review type of curriculum. If you want to do it properly, it requires lots of commitment. However, if your child loves math, there is no stronger and more fun math program that I have found. Earlier you start, the better. If you are getting the books, definitely get the online subscription as well. It is well worth it. They also offer online group classes and in-person classes (Vienna only near us).

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I would be happy to answer. I kept looking for the “right” math curriculum for my kids and started Beast Academy at the end of the second grade. I wish I started earlier.

[Anonymous]

Hi - I had mixed results with DS1 with BA as he just wasn't into math. The online comics and earning points to build your avatar kept him interested for a bit, but he quickly lost interest. Even though it didn't work for DS1, I was really impressed with BA online.

DS2 is entering kindergarten next week, and also turns 5 next week. He's shown interest in math. I don't think he's some kind of math genius, but his Montessori preschool gave him enough of a foundation in math that he was able to start BA1 without any issues. He's not reading fluently yet, so he occasionally asks for help, such as reading the comics and if the answers are words rather than numbers. But after a few lessons, he's doing 95% of it independently. And he begs to do BA.

I just checked and he's spent 32 hours on BA since we started in June. Yes, it's online, but he's really learning and problem solving. No way he'd be so focused and independent without the short video lessons.

I'm a little worried that school with be boring as he's ahead with math. But as it's self-directed and he genuinely likes it, I'm okay with it. And it probably won't hurt for him to feel good about himself at this new school. Plus, we're not pushing reading, so he'll have plenty to learn in kindergarten.

Finally, I think BA lets you cancel the online program after a few weeks, so you may want to just try it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi - I had mixed results with DS1 with BA as he just wasn't into math. The online comics and earning points to build your avatar kept him interested for a bit, but he quickly lost interest. Even though it didn't work for DS1, I was really impressed with BA online.

DS2 is entering kindergarten next week, and also turns 5 next week. He's shown interest in math. I don't think he's some kind of math genius, but his Montessori preschool gave him enough of a foundation in math that he was able to start BA1 without any issues. He's not reading fluently yet, so he occasionally asks for help, such as reading the comics and if the answers are words rather than numbers. But after a few lessons, he's doing 95% of it independently. And he begs to do BA.

I just checked and he's spent 32 hours on BA since we started in June. Yes, it's online, but he's really learning and problem solving. No way he'd be so focused and independent without the short video lessons.

I'm a little worried that school with be boring as he's ahead with math. But as it's self-directed and he genuinely likes it, I'm okay with it. And it probably won't hurt for him to feel good about himself at this new school. Plus, we're not pushing reading, so he'll have plenty to learn in kindergarten.

Finally, I think BA lets you cancel the online program after a few weeks, so you may want to just try it out.

16:24 PP here. Comics and building avatar are not meant to be a motivator But, you figured that out already.

As for your DS 2, I have couple of suggestions and questions.
Do the following to make the most out of the program:
1. Have him read the lesson book for the upcoming section of problems first. Since this is in a comic book style, you can make it fun and read with him occasionally (you can each choose your characters and use silly voices - makes it even more interesting, you are also making sure that he understood all the content - also helps build stronger reading skills)
2. After reading the lesson book, have him complete practice book problems (paper and pencil). Take out the pages (they are perforated), so he cannot see the answers at the end of the book
3. Only then have him do online problems on his own. But, check-in occasionally. For the most part, Beast Academy is not only about being able to get the correct answer, but also learn to use different strategies. Make sure he is using the intended strategies when solving the problems.
4. Get him BA Level 1 puzzle book and have him work on that in parallel.

If, after all of this and before end of Kindergarten, your DS is sailing through everything with ease and he is reaching BA levels 1C and 1D with mostly two and three stars on section tests, then you have a problem . A good one: you might have yourself a very gifted child. And, no, please don’t hold him back due to fear that he will be bored at school. Let him have fun and go at his own pace. Contrary to what some people might tell you, there are ways to support him at school. If you are at FCPS I might be able to give you a couple of pointers.

[Anonymous]

I had great success with Beast Academy levels 2-5 (they didn’t have level 1 back then). My kid went from a little above average in school to very strong in competitive math. We did the package that included books and online. We always read the comics together, especially when he was younger. They are adorable. We did levels 2 and 3 first by watching the videos, then the workbooks, then the online content. By the end of level 3 he’d developed a competency in learning math and my involvement lessened and he mostly just did the online content and got mostly 3 stars, so the workbooks seemed like overload. School math did become easy and boring, and his teachers were annoyed that he did most of his school math mentally. I never really cared because Beast is so many levels above school math in rigor, depth and problem solving that we viewed even accelerated elementary school math as poor. I’m starting my youngest on level 1 now, same strategy. For the right kid, Beast is rigorous but still fun with the cute comic theme and online gamification.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had great success with Beast Academy levels 2-5 (they didn’t have level 1 back then). My kid went from a little above average in school to very strong in competitive math. We did the package that included books and online. We always read the comics together, especially when he was younger. They are adorable. We did levels 2 and 3 first by watching the videos, then the workbooks, then the online content. By the end of level 3 he’d developed a competency in learning math and my involvement lessened and he mostly just did the online content and got mostly 3 stars, so the workbooks seemed like overload. School math did become easy and boring, and his teachers were annoyed that he did most of his school math mentally. I never really cared because Beast is so many levels above school math in rigor, depth and problem solving that we viewed even accelerated elementary school math as poor. I’m starting my youngest on level 1 now, same strategy. For the right kid, Beast is rigorous but still fun with the cute comic theme and online gamification.

I’m the PP. I wanted to add this took 30 minutes to an hour a day, typically 5 days a week (Saturday, Sunday and 3 weekdays). Since we did it at home, we didn’t waste anytime commuting to a center. I learned a surprising amount of new math by doing it with him. We still found time for him to play a variety different sports before he settled on a travel team for one sport and some other rec sports. Many of the other kids in the competitive math circuit in middle school are also well rounded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi - I had mixed results with DS1 with BA as he just wasn't into math. The online comics and earning points to build your avatar kept him interested for a bit, but he quickly lost interest. Even though it didn't work for DS1, I was really impressed with BA online.

DS2 is entering kindergarten next week, and also turns 5 next week. He's shown interest in math. I don't think he's some kind of math genius, but his Montessori preschool gave him enough of a foundation in math that he was able to start BA1 without any issues. He's not reading fluently yet, so he occasionally asks for help, such as reading the comics and if the answers are words rather than numbers. But after a few lessons, he's doing 95% of it independently. And he begs to do BA.

I just checked and he's spent 32 hours on BA since we started in June. Yes, it's online, but he's really learning and problem solving. No way he'd be so focused and independent without the short video lessons.

I'm a little worried that school with be boring as he's ahead with math. But as it's self-directed and he genuinely likes it, I'm okay with it. And it probably won't hurt for him to feel good about himself at this new school. Plus, we're not pushing reading, so he'll have plenty to learn in kindergarten.

Finally, I think BA lets you cancel the online program after a few weeks, so you may want to just try it out.

16:24 PP here. Comics and building avatar are not meant to be a motivator But, you figured that out already.

As for your DS 2, I have couple of suggestions and questions.
Do the following to make the most out of the program:
1. Have him read the lesson book for the upcoming section of problems first. Since this is in a comic book style, you can make it fun and read with him occasionally (you can each choose your characters and use silly voices - makes it even more interesting, you are also making sure that he understood all the content - also helps build stronger reading skills)
2. After reading the lesson book, have him complete practice book problems (paper and pencil). Take out the pages (they are perforated), so he cannot see the answers at the end of the book
3. Only then have him do online problems on his own. But, check-in occasionally. For the most part, Beast Academy is not only about being able to get the correct answer, but also learn to use different strategies. Make sure he is using the intended strategies when solving the problems.
4. Get him BA Level 1 puzzle book and have him work on that in parallel.

If, after all of this and before end of Kindergarten, your DS is sailing through everything with ease and he is reaching BA levels 1C and 1D with mostly two and three stars on section tests, then you have a problem . A good one: you might have yourself a very gifted child. And, no, please don’t hold him back due to fear that he will be bored at school. Let him have fun and go at his own pace. Contrary to what some people might tell you, there are ways to support him at school. If you are at FCPS I might be able to give you a couple of pointers.

I appreciate the feedback! We've been online only so far, but you think there's a good reason to do the books, too?

We started this because DS2 seemed to have an intuitive math sense and because he thinks "math is fun." A window is open, and he's eager to learn. And he's eager to do it independently. Being familiar with BA, I thought we'd give it a try. And it's a treat - sometimes when he asks to do it, I say no. We haven't been doing it with any structure/schedule, but probably will now that school is starting.

He's only about four chapters in, and initially, I kept waiting for something to be beyond his comprehension developmentally. And it hasn't happened yet.

My child sample size is two. DS1 is five years older than his brother and is a 2E kid. He's always been very, very verbal, but math hasn't interested him, and he struggles with memorization. But I know enough to know that DS2, while not as verbal as DS1, is also quite bright. But he's just turning five next week, so we shall see. The one thing we've already done is not hold him back from starting kindergarten - he'll start at four and likely be the youngest one in his class. I'm hoping that's not a mistake.

The plan for now is to let him drive - I won't slow him down if he's eager. We're not currently in the DMV, but thank you for offering about FCPS. We're in the Chicago suburbs and have resources like the Center for Talent Development fairly nearby. And, of course, a ton of different math programs from Russian Math to Mathnasium. Our public school doesn't push kids ahead in math until sixth grade - there's an advanced class before that's more demanding, but teaches on-grade curricula. So if I have a math whiz on my hands, we will supplement, and most likely with science and other enrichment options rather than trying to have a second grader that can do quadratic equations. We can focus on intensive math later if he's still interested.

Thanks so much for the input!

[Anonymous]

The books are put together well, and having something physical to write in at that age is good for developing better penmanship. My kids' handwriting is so bad for their ages, so I always go for books to get extra practice for them.

[Anonymous]

I've never heard of Beast Academy. My K and 2 are in RSM. How do they compare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of Beast Academy. My K and 2 are in RSM. How do they compare?

RSM is in-person, yes? Beast Academy has a website and books - you can do either or both. The folks who run BA (Art of Problem Solving) have some live classes, but I don't have any experience with those.