Thanks. TeachingMyToddlers. 

Just a little update. His instructor insisted that he has to use abacus because it's the basic that he needs to master before moving onto complicated operations.
I guess the abacus moves too slow for him and he's trying to find a shortcut by using his brain. 

After 4 weeks in the class, I really am happy with soroban and UCMAS. Highly recommended!

Perfect! Thanks.

Kezia, the prices shown in the BK International store are "full" prices. I don't see the discount. 

I bought mine from soroban.com . It's from Japan and the quality is awesome.

I used the abacus I got from Right Start Math. I saw its available on Amazon at a very affordable price but the color is yellow and blue. However my son does not mind the color difference.

Now we are stuck at Grade 1 on Dreambox. Its the hundred chart that he has to find 11 more or less or 8 more or less. 

I've just enrolled my 5 years old to UCMAS. It's a Soroban school closed to my house. He's gone to the class twice and I already see progress.
After 2 classes, my son can do simple math in his head (without using Big & Little Friend formula as the teacher hasn't teach him yet). He does not need an abacus as long as there are enough beads for him to move. He simply looks at the problems, moves his fingers, and gives me the answers right away.

BUT......he gets frustrated during finger movement training. He begged me to just let him write down the answer without moving the beads. I thought finger training was very important but he seems to find it too slow and takes too much time.

I am not sure what to do. Should I just let him write down the answers or just keep reminding him to use the abacus every time we do the worksheet?

Any advice?

I live in Canada and I don't think we have CMA. We do have UCMAS locations closed to home. My son has gone to 2 classes and already starting doing simple math in his head. Well, the problems arent complicated as he's just started. 

I LOVE abacus and am really happy with my son's progress.

In addition, the 2-Color abacus is a major help for my son. With this type of abacus,  I am sure that your little one will be able to subitize in no time. I had been trying to teach my son to count by 2,,5,10 but it was hard to tell if he got it.  With the 2-color abacus, he can  easily count by 2,5,and 10 up to 100 and beyond because he now understands pattern of numbers.  I think the abacus helps him see numbers as quantities too. I also use it to teach math fact like doubles, near doubles or compliments of 10.

nkawan, we completed both Little Math and Shichida. It was a challenge for us because he was not into both programs. My goal was to introduce him to quantities, number senses and of course brain stimulation.

Subitizing or rapid calculation are byproducts. Although Jakob couldn't do rapid calculation or subtizing randomize dots, learning math does come quite easily for him. I am quite certain that Little Math help build his math foundation.
 
If I were you, I would continue with Little Math.

Jakob's roadmap

Birth to 1.5 years old
I spent times researching and reading and choosing the right products to teach him.

1.5 years -  3 years old
Little Reader and Little Math, phonics, and blending and Marshmallow Math,and hundreds board.

3-4 years old - took
 We took a long break and learned small things here and there. Jakob was not interested in EL.

4-5 years old.
Continued with Hundred board, Jump Math, Phonics, and several workbooks from different publishers. ( I was trying to find my way back to EL)

Now - Back on track with EL.
For Math, We use Dreambox, Hundred Board, and Jump Math 1.1. I just signed him up for UCMAS class. Jakob can do simple additions and subtraction using Hundreds Chart (he told me he saw it in his head) He can subitize up to 100 using the Right Start Abacus (though not 100% accurate) and count by 2,5,10 up to 100.

For Reading, we use Reading A-Z, and Raz Kids. he is at level K which is early Grade 2.

Writing: Writing A-Z..I have just started and not really see any progress.

For Spelling , we use All About Spelling. He is still at level 1, can recognize all basic phonograms , both sounds and through dictation. He can segment words, and can tell which word when hearing segmentation. We use Drooling Dragon App for hearing practice.

For Science, looking into BrainpopJR but most likely will leave it to his teacher at school. Lol

This is quite long too.

My son did both Little Math and Shichida. I don't think he could subitize. I used to test him a bit and got a blank stare in return.

The tool that helps him subitize is the Tens frame and abacus (Right Start style). I guess it's easier for him to subitize this way because the quantities are shown in grid and colours.

BTW, my son is 5 years old and started using Little Math when he was 2.

I think I will stick with All About Spelling. My son enjoys it so much and the teacher's guide is very easy to follow too.

Thanks, Manda.  My little guy likes the App too but he was a little confused because LOE has more sounds than AAS.


Have you tried the Drooling Dragon App? It's really good too.

Teaching spelling to my son is now my new obsession   I have Level 1 AAS and I like it a lot. I've been using AAS for a few weeks and my son is very happy with it.  However, I stumped upon Logic of English and I have an itch to get it!!! I've been obsessed with Logic of English for 5 days now. I don't know why I am doing that to myself!

I am wondering if any of you have used Logic of English. How do you like it?

 

I've been using Raz-Kids by Learning a-z. I love it.