Several months back Anna wrote an article titled Beast Academy and Art of Problem Solving Reviews. My twin boys age 9 have struggled with math. My son flew through 3A, mostly on his own, and I held the same expectations for 3B. But somehow it’s really hard to watch a 7 year old do that and not tell them to stop fidgeting, look at the paper, and concentrate. He would barely eek through. Some days, she’ll sit and want to read then practice with B.A. He’s gotten very good, from what I can tell, at most of what they teach through first grade and is exceptionally motivated to do math (he cried once when he found out he missed a math class at the Russian School of Mathematics because he was sick). . But if your child loves to wrestle with interesting, thought-provoking problems and thrives when concepts are presented with lots of context and visuals, Beast Academy might be a great fit. Ray’s Arithmetic. Your 6yo sounds like the perfect fit for Beast Academy (and he’d likely be impatient and bored with Singapore). My son loves graphic novels and it’s about the only thing he reads. It’s relaxed because the focus is on thinking deeply about fewer problems, without much routine practice. The Curriculum Choice. 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.). So, Beast Academy seems to be guiding me into a deeper understanding of mathematics right along with my daughter! (It can be hard for parents to watch, too–just ask me how I know!) Fortunately, I was able to limp through and complete my major, but it was a humbling experience. I bet he’d be bored to tears just doing math facts–Beast is a much better option. I appreciate your input, I actually have the Right Start Activity set, which I’ll admit I forgot that I had until last week. ). I hit a wall halfway through my college math-major courses when I didn’t know how to struggle with proofs and mull them over without feeling discouraged. Erika, that’s wonderful! I think you’d probably want to look at the Levels 3&4 problems: http://www.mathkangaroo.org/mk/sample_questions.html. Thank you so much for this post/ review. I love the reporting for parents from their new online site. One curriculum that a lot of people seem to like for challenge in language arts is Michael Clay Thompson’s language arts program. I haven’t looked at Beast online in a lot of detail, but I’m with you–I trust AOPS to make good materials, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. If your child needs a lot of support and hand-holding when tackling difficult problems, this could take more time. That said, if you are used to handing your child a Kumon book and having them bang out 6 or 8 pages while you cook dinner … this a very different experience. (I personally use a very boring one, though, so I can’t vouch for it personally. What else do you recommend which has a similar focus on problem-solving? He’s also expressed frustration with not being allowed to find creative ways to solve a problem. Thank you for all the reviews! You mention that it is a good fit for students strong in math who are a bit bored with other options. I saw some. If you or your son love the idea of Beast, you’d be fine switching to level 3, too. It was so fun to talk with Pam. Each chapter has 100-150 practice problems, ranging in difficulty from very basic practice problems to “double-star” problems: challenging multi-step problems that often require quite a bit of time and thought. You’re right–even though the Level 3 books mostly focus on topics like multiplication and division, they go waaaaay further than any other third grade math workbook. I’m a right-brained person so math is definitely not my thing and I don’t want to push her too much and then not be able to support her if she struggles since I’m the one who will be working with her most often even though my husband is better at math than I am. I have just started searching for math programs for my six year old, who has (by far) the strongest natural math skills of my four children. Using Beast Academy requires a very different approach to math than the traditional textbook method. However, we’ll continue on to 3C because he really knows the material at the end of the lessons – a much better transfer of skills than with just cranking out worksheet after worksheet. Fully-illustrated guidebooks and workbooks for aspiring math beasts ages 8-13. Hi Kate – Thanks so much for your thorough review. I haven’t had her take the pre-test yet but just from a quick glance, I think she would pass it without an issue. :}. 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. Thanks! Understanding and problem solving are emphasized throughout the curriculum. I really appreciate that you take time to respond to the comments. Humbling as it is, she’ll sometimes spot the solution before I do! That’s why we have hung onto drill & kill for so many yrs. Either way is fine. She’ll still get lots of conceptual understanding and interesting practice simply through solving the more straight-forward problems. I just started going through the 2A book with my son, who likes it so far. There’s going to come a point (maybe very soon!) What level? Math on the Level. Our son flew through Beast Academy and started Art of Problem Solving’s Pre-Algebra in 4 th grade. )I suspect Richard Rusczyk has focused on high achievers for so long that he’s forgotten what the other 95% are capable of, too. Truthfully, I can’t always solve the harder problems without a glance at the answers in the back of the book!! After reading this review, I ordered 3A, not sure whether it would be a bit too advanced for her or not. She wants to enroll in Advanced Math next year and her teacher thinks she can do it so I was hoping to enroll her in pre-algebra via AOPS over the summer to prepare her. The guides use many everyday contexts and visual representations to encourage children to think deeply and understand what they’re learning. But I think we will continue to go through it once we start school again just to be sure.). You’re right, it’s a very different picture of what good learning and teaching are. 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