Recommendations for Math book series for preschool onward

  • Context: Intro Math 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Useful nucleus
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for mathematics book series suitable for teaching children from preschool through to intermediate school level. Participants explore various series, their suitability for home-schooling, and the availability of these resources in different languages and regions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks recommendations for math book series for preschool to intermediate school levels, particularly for home-schooling.
  • Another participant suggests using standard math books from the public school system to align with peers.
  • Some participants mention specific series such as CGP, Beast Academy, Art of Problem Solving (AOPS), Singapore Math, and Math-U-See, noting their respective strengths and target age groups.
  • There is a discussion about the language of the books, with a preference for English books mentioned by the original poster.
  • One participant highlights the lack of standard math books in Egypt and the need for recommendations that are widely recognized.
  • Several participants mention the availability of specific series and their effectiveness, including the recommendation of books by Sybilla Beckmann for their substance in math education.
  • There are questions regarding the appropriateness of certain series for younger students, particularly AOPS, which is noted to be for older students, while Beast Academy is suggested for younger learners.
  • Additional recommendations include "preschool math at home" and "kindergarten math with confidence" by Kate Snow, as well as tools for practicing math skills.
  • Several series are listed as potential options, including New Perfect Math, Magical Math, Elementary Mathematics for Gifted Kids, Sir Cumference Series, and Murderous Maths.
  • One participant mentions the Saxon math series based on past tutoring experience.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of opinions on the best series for teaching math to children, with no clear consensus on a single recommended series. Multiple competing views and suggestions remain throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note the lack of standardization in math books available in Egypt, which may affect the recommendations. Additionally, there are discussions about the appropriateness of certain series for different age groups, indicating a need for careful consideration of the target audience.

Useful nucleus
Messages
374
Reaction score
62
Hello all,

Is there a recommended series of books to teach fundamentals of mathematics for kids starting from pre-school? Preferably the series go up on level up to intermediate school level.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Your Profile page says you are in Egypt. Are there standard math books that are used in the school grades you are interested in? Is this for home-schooling a child that you know?

I'd be inclined to use whatever is used in the public school system, in case the child needs to interact with the standard math classes at some point, or needs/wants to work with their peers who are in the standard school system.

I know as a parent myself, my kids have looked at me funny plenty of times when I've tried to help them with their math homework, and I was not versed in the latest techniques that were in use for whatever version of "New Math" they were being exposed to in school.
 
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Yes, I needed these for home-schooling. There are not standard math books since there are several different school systems. But it is a good idea to adopt one of them.

I was looking for a recommendation for some known series. It is strange that there are not too many authors interesting in building math foundations for kids.
 
Do you want the books to be in Arabic or English? Can you post links to the standard series used in your area so we can try to help pick between them? Are there any articles comparing the different series? (strengths/weaknesses)
 
  • Like
  • Agree
Likes   Reactions: Useful nucleus and TensorCalculus
Here in Britain, CGP is a very popular choice and they cover many subjects too. I don't know if you'd be able to easily get your hands on a copy in Egypt... or if they would be as useful there, since they are tailored to the British curriculum (esp the books for older children which are more GCSE & IGSCE focused)
 
  • Informative
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Useful nucleus and berkeman
Do you want the books to be in Arabic or English? Can you post links to the standard series used in your area so we can try to help pick between them? Are there any articles comparing the different series? (strengths/weaknesses)
Thank you for your reply. I prefer books in English. If available on Amazon that would be great too. Unfortunately the books used here are not posted somewhere on the web.


Here in Britain, CGP is a very popular choice and they cover many subjects too. I don't know if you'd be able to easily get your hands on a copy in Egypt... or if they would be as useful there, since they are tailored to the British curriculum (esp the books for older children which are more GCSE & IGSCE focused)
Thank you for your suggestion! I could find them on Amazon Egypt. They have very good reviews. I will give a try to one of them.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: TensorCalculus
I would use Beast Academy and then AOPS - beastacademy.com and artofproblemsolving.com
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Useful nucleus
Homelilly said:
I would use Beast Academy and then AOPS - beastacademy.com and artofproblemsolving.com
Thank you. I checked them and they look promising. I need to have a detailed look.
 
isn't art of problem solving for older students?
 
  • #10
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Useful nucleus and berkeman
  • #11
tadmate said:
I really liked the “Singapore Math" series for my children, it is progressive and very clear from kindergarten
I'm getting dizzy. o0)

Since I'm a Mentor/Admin I can see that you are not from Singapore, and the OP is from Egypt and wants books in English. Is the Singapore Math series in English?
 
  • #12
Yeah it is and I've heard it's really good
Have friends who are extremely talented at maths (promys at 15 years old) who learnt maths using those
 
  • Informative
Likes   Reactions: berkeman
  • #13
One of my colleagues, Sybilla Beckmann, a research mathematician in arithmetic geometry, following the birth of her own children became interested in improving the math education of young students. Over several years she practiced as an elementary school math teacher and developed a series of books for these teachers that have more substance than usual. She has received numerous national awards for her work in mathematics education and her books have been widely recognized for their excellence. I recommend them for either your children, or yourself to use in helping them. Fortunately, they are available used very inexpensively.
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=sybilla beckmann&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&ref_=search_f_hp&sts=t
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
  • Agree
Likes   Reactions: Useful nucleus and berkeman
  • #14
TensorCalculus said:
isn't art of problem solving for older students?
Yes, but Beast Academy starts at the level of a smart first or second grader.
OP, for something genuinely preschool level, you can look at numberblocks:

And the books "preschool math at home" and "kindergarten math with confidence" by Kate Snow.

This is also a nice tool for practicing fundamental math facts and skills: https://fluency.amplify.com/
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Useful nucleus
  • #15
TensorCalculus said:
isn't art of problem solving for older students?
Yes, but Beast Academy starts at the level of a smart first or second grader.
OP, for something genuinely preschool level, you can look at numberblocks:

And the books "preschool math at home" and "kindergarten math with confidence" by Kate Snow.

This is also a nice tool for practicing fundamental math facts and skills: https://fluency.amplify.com/
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: TensorCalculus
  • #16
Thank you all for very helpful comments!
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Muu9, TensorCalculus and berkeman
  • #17
Useful nucleus said:
Thank you all for very helpful comments!
By the way, is that embedded playlist working for you?
 
  • #18
Useful nucleus said:
Hello all,

Is there a recommended series of books to teach fundamentals of mathematics for kids starting from pre-school? Preferably the series go up on level up to intermediate school level.
As you are looking for the series of maths books that start from preschool and level up for intermediate level, here below are some recommended series that will help you:
1. New Perfect Math by Surbhi Mittal for Class 1-5.
2. Magical Math by Rajput and Dr Dharam Prakash.
3. Elementary Mathematics for Gifted Kids Series by Dorothy Stein.
4. Sir Cumference Series by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan.
5. Murderous Maths Series by Kjartan Poskitt.
Hope this will help you.
 
  • #19
A bit late. But habe you looked at the Saxon math series? I habe tutored people in the past that used the algebra sequence of these books.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
5K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
6K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
770
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
5K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
5K
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
1K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 30 ·
2
Replies
30
Views
7K