Does anyone use A Beka for math? We are using their K5 book this year and my daughter is really liking it so I’m looking at 1st grade for next year. Is it a stand alone math curriculum? Also, what would you purchase? I’ll get the Arithmetic 1 book for sure, is the teacher edition necessary? And what are your feelings on the tests and speed drills? I’m not sure I’d use the tests and speed drills anyway with a 6 year old. Thanks.
We didn’t use the 1st grade but used the second grade this year. The teacher’s manual gives a lot of help and hands-on ideas but we didn’t find it necessary. The concepts are all taught at the top of the worksheet and we have had no problems tutoring my son if he needs. Math seems to come easily to him though so it may be different for others. We used the homeschool version (bought the kit). I hope this helps! Hopefully someone will come along with experience with the first grade materials. For what it is worth, we are pleased with the math curriculum from A Beka and are continuing with it next year. I do not plan to buy the teacher’s manual but we do use the tests and speed drills.
The “homeschool arithmetic 1 curriculum” is the parent book. If you aren’t wanting the teacher’s manual you just need to buy the Arithmetic 1 book and the tests and speed drills book if you choose to test. I also like the answer keys to the tests for easy grading because they tell you how many points each question is worth.
A beka math is a complete and strong program, I think you don’t need any other suplement. I have used the K5 and 2th grade materials. I will order the first grade kits (child and parent) for next summer. The parent kit includes the curriculum/lesson plans, the test-speed drills answer key, arithmetic flashcards and charts.
I didn’t buy the curriculum/lesson plans when we did 2th grade, but sometimes I wished I would. Many exercises in the workbook were dictated problems. The curriculum tells you what problems to dictate. You can make your own, but the curriculum helps you to save time. There are sample pages at Abeka’s website and at Christianbook. http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=92231 http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=292231&event=Homeschool
A Beka certainly has a strong, stand alone math curriculum, as well as other subjects, and I have used the 1st grade Arithmetic with my oldest. I did not have the teacher’s edition, and didn’t need it either. At each new concept being introduced, the student pages had all of the information needed right in them. Also, we started out using the tests/speed drills, but ended up finding it to be too much for her to do everyday, so we never finished them. I actually think it’s better to test them orally with the flashcards, and I was having a hard time doing it all. So I have not done tests/speed drills since then, but instead we do oral practice and I just have her write down on a notebook those she’s having difficulty remembering. Hope this helps!
