Kindergarten - Singapore Primary Mathematics

Work through 12 pages of the Student Book and the corresponding Additional Practice Book pages each week to complete this course within a standard school year. Or, if you prefer, you can find detailed lesson plans in the Home Instructor’s Guides.

About Singapore Math

Multiple children with multiple capabilities can require multiple math programs, which is ok. One size does not fit all. Not in gardening gloves. Not in math.

A math program of rote memorization and drilling can be outstanding for one child. But it will bore the socks off of others who may enjoy exploring why math functions work the way they do, examining their reasoning, and discovering various strategies. For the child who thrives on a challenge and finds math an excellent mystery to be solved, choose Singapore Primary Mathematics 2022 Edition.

Typical math programs, called procedural math programs, tend to focus on memorizing math facts and procedures and practicing drills. Primary Mathematics spends more time teaching math concepts and exploring the why of math. 

Open a Singapore Primary Mathematics workbook. The first thing you will notice is how bright and colorful the pages are. But don't get the wrong impression; there is nothing fluffy about this program. Initially developed by Singapore's Ministry of Education in the 1980s and widely adopted in various forms worldwide, Singapore Math is a highly effective teaching method.

The skills taught in Singapore Primary Mathematics 2022 readily apply to real-life situations. Challenging problems, great problem-solving opportunities, and thoroughly taught concepts allow students to excel. 

Rather than just feeding students information and then testing them on it, this methodology encourages them to reason through a concept or explain their logic. There is a lot of focus on critical thinking skills and applying knowledge to unique problems. 

There is also an emphasis on seeing different ways to approach math problems and being able to solve them using different strategies. This is uncommon in traditional math programs. Primary Mathematics includes many real-world examples and real-life applications and projects.

Singapore Primary Mathematics 2022 uses the CPA (Concrete to Pictorial to Abstract) approach. Through these three phases, Primary Mathematics 2022 first introduces concepts in a tangible, often hands-on way, progressing to pictures and finally to the abstract level of numerals. In the concrete phase, students interact with physical objects to model problems. In the pictorial stage, math problems are represented with drawings. Finally, in the abstract phase, students use numbers and math symbols to model the same concept. Not all lessons include all three CPA stages, as the application of this approach varies by topic.

Primary Mathematics 2022 is a parent-led curriculum. Parents teach using the Home Instructor's Guide, which clearly lays out the lightly scripted lessons. While there are opportunities for individual student practice, most of the program is taught by parents, so it requires a good deal of interaction and collaboration on their part. 

Each Student Book is a full-color consumable book that is visually appealing with ample space for students to do their work. It contains exercises alongside pictorial demonstrations and various activities that encourage students to apply math to real-world scenarios. This will make the learning more meaningful and demonstrate math's usefulness in daily life.

In addition, Primary Mathematics 2022 also incorporates an occasional STEAM project. These mini-projects in science and art get kids thinking about how math can apply to different subjects and activities.

The Additional Practice Book is a dedicated black-and-white book filled with practice problems, word problems, puzzles, and more. Overall, the practice questions in this book emphasize critical thinking over pure number calculations. 

The Home Instructor's Guide is a black-and-white book with plenty of diagrams and illustrations written to the parent. It contains lesson plans filled with information parents need to teach the relevant math concepts. The Home Instructor's Guide outlines objectives, provides a list of materials required for each lesson, provides lesson instruction, offers tips, and guides parents step-by-step through the teaching. 

The lists of required manipulatives in the Home Instructor's Guides make it easy to identify what you need in advance. And the Home Instructor's Guides have answer keys and solutions for the questions in the Student Books. Toward the back of each Home Instructor's Guide is a section titled "Teacher Resources" that shows reduced images of printable pages for number cards, grid paper, or other visual aids and manipulatives used with the lessons. 

With the purchase of the Primary Mathematics Home Instructor Guide, parents get a year's access to an extensive suite of digital course resources for that grade in downloadable/printable PDF form. These include:

• Digital access to printable PDF versions of the Home Instructor's Guides
• PDF versions of the Assessment Guide
• Answer key for the Additional Practice Books
• Reteach – a book in printable PDF format for each grade with extra instruction and practice for struggling students. 
• Transition Guide – This 205-page book is helpful for working with students who missed or haven't mastered concepts taught in previous grades.
• Printables for home use (cards, tangram shapes, number cards, etc.) 
• And more. 

Access is only granted for a year.

What about the manipulatives?

Manipulatives are essential in helping children develop an in-depth understanding of math concepts. It has been documented that manipulatives support children's ability to learn and comprehend concepts that would otherwise be difficult to understand. The use of manipulatives in mathematics has helped children gain traction in mathematically weak areas.

Primary Mathematics 2022 uses a rather extensive inventory of manipulatives in its lessons, including chips, clocks, cubes, spinners, scales, money, and much more. Overall, the extensive use of a wide diversity of manipulatives adds a considerable variety to lesson activities and can make lessons more attractive to students. 

But honestly, Primary Mathematics 2022 curriculum is used in schools where such a significant amount of money and space can be justified for the years of use. But in a homeschool setting, purchasing every manipulative can put a financial burden on the family's budget. Plus, the space required to store so many manipulatives and the need to keep track of them would strain any parent's good humor.

Because of that, Timberdoodle has decided to stock only the manipulatives that we consider essential. Yes, all the manipulatives look like fun. And they certainly would add richness to your child's math experience. But we know parents can be creative and use real money for the section on coins or an old alarm clock for teaching time.

Primary Mathematics 2022 is designed to teach in the Concrete to Pictorial to Abstract sequence. Sometimes you may opt to rely on just the images of manipulatives instead of the actual manipulatives, and that will be fine. And sometimes, you will be able to substitute household items for those manipulatives, which will be fine as well. 

However, if budget and space are not an issue, you can find a complete list of suggested manipulatives in the details below.