Sakamoto Maths - Discussion

[cimman]

sydney:

jeestan:

Hi lisayvonne,


What do you mean when you say the math is free all year long? My kids have been at TLL
for math but am now thinking of changing them into another centre as the timing clashes with their other classes. I find TLL not bad but am thinking if there are other math
classes that could be as good. How is this sakamoto maths different from CMA or JEI mathematics. Heard about both CMA and JEI but not Sakamoto. Could anyone care to elaborate. TIA!

My DS is with JEI since last year. He also with TTL for English. He had attended MPM for a year+ and CMA for <6mths, Kumon slightly more than a year. This is my assessment.

If your kid is in preschool, CMA is ok. It give the kid a good headstart start in arithematics, in particular mental arithematics. MPM is also ok for preschoolers.

Kumon works for many kids but it did not work for mine. He was suffering and so was I. Every night I had to sit by him to see he does his worksheets, time him, scold him, coax him, grumble at him etc etc and the whole process was so painful for both of us.

MPM was better than Kumon, because it was not so drilling. But I later also ended his MPM and teach him myself. Reason being MPM was irrelevant to MOE. The big gap it did not fill is heuristic problem solving skills. Ok, MPM is good as an enrichment, but being a very practical mum, I have no time and money for irrelevant things.

Sakamoto Math, I did not try them but understand from my sister that they have special method for modelling, some schools uses them as enrichment classes. However, the limitation is they are not able to cover the entire MOE syllabus.

When my DS is in P5, I gave up trying to be a Math teacher because the questions are getting ridiculously difficult and I needed some structure. So I put him into JEI.

My 5cts suggestion. If you are with TTL Math, you should continue with them. If you must switch for some reasons, then I suggest you explore JEI PSLEMath. In terms of material content, they are equally good.

Finally, being a practical mum, I will not put my primary school children in foreign mathematics programme for the simple reason they are foreign. They are good for enrichment but to do well in exams, I will put my money with a Singapore based programme.

:goodpost: a very thoughtful analysis of the various maths enrichment classes. I totally agree with the foreign maths program. If the child is struggling with MOE maths syllabus, then focus on the MOE syllabus first. Once that is mastered, then you have the option to move on to the foreign maths program, though I would opt for Maths Olympiad programs, again, just because it is more relevant to the Singapore context and it will be of much benefit if you decide to go via the Maths DSA route.

With limited time and finances, we have to keep the primary objective in mind all the time, that is to score well in PSLE and go to a good Secondary school.

[sydney]

cimman:

sydney:

[quote=\"jeestan\"]Hi lisayvonne,


What do you mean when you say the math is free all year long? My kids have been at TLL
for math but am now thinking of changing them into another centre as the timing clashes with their other classes. I find TLL not bad but am thinking if there are other math
classes that could be as good. How is this sakamoto maths different from CMA or JEI mathematics. Heard about both CMA and JEI but not Sakamoto. Could anyone care to elaborate. TIA!

My DS is with JEI since last year. He also with TTL for English. He had attended MPM for a year+ and CMA for <6mths, Kumon slightly more than a year. This is my assessment.

If your kid is in preschool, CMA is ok. It give the kid a good headstart start in arithematics, in particular mental arithematics. MPM is also ok for preschoolers.

Kumon works for many kids but it did not work for mine. He was suffering and so was I. Every night I had to sit by him to see he does his worksheets, time him, scold him, coax him, grumble at him etc etc and the whole process was so painful for both of us.

MPM was better than Kumon, because it was not so drilling. But I later also ended his MPM and teach him myself. Reason being MPM was irrelevant to MOE. The big gap it did not fill is heuristic problem solving skills. Ok, MPM is good as an enrichment, but being a very practical mum, I have no time and money for irrelevant things.

Sakamoto Math, I did not try them but understand from my sister that they have special method for modelling, some schools uses them as enrichment classes. However, the limitation is they are not able to cover the entire MOE syllabus.

When my DS is in P5, I gave up trying to be a Math teacher because the questions are getting ridiculously difficult and I needed some structure. So I put him into JEI.

My 5cts suggestion. If you are with TTL Math, you should continue with them. If you must switch for some reasons, then I suggest you explore JEI PSLEMath. In terms of material content, they are equally good.

Finally, being a practical mum, I will not put my primary school children in foreign mathematics programme for the simple reason they are foreign. They are good for enrichment but to do well in exams, I will put my money with a Singapore based programme.

:goodpost: a very thoughtful analysis of the various maths enrichment classes. I totally agree with the foreign maths program. If the child is struggling with MOE maths syllabus, then focus on the MOE syllabus first. Once that is mastered, then you have the option to move on to the foreign maths program, though I would opt for Maths Olympiad programs, again, just because it is more relevant to the Singapore context and it will be of much benefit if you decide to go via the Maths DSA route.

With limited time and finances, we have to keep the primary objective in mind all the time, that is to score well in PSLE and go to a good Secondary school.[/quote]Thanks. Olympaid Math would be useful for DSA in particular NUS High and SST. In fact, the MOE syllabus have topics similar to Olympaid Math. I was browsing the Olympaid books at popular and notice topics like counting distance between trees/lamp post, patterns are common in SG school papers.

[worriesmommy]

oh is it from japan?


however, is ur child in this centre?
how was the teaching method?

[5cents]

My son P4 this year just attended the 4-day Sakamoto Introductory course and he loves it! A lot of problem sum which takes a long time to solve can be solved using Sakamoto method in 1-2 mins. He will continue the course for next year.

[gadget]

My son learns CMA and Sakamoto.


CMA is a mental math enrichment to help your child focus. It also improves mental calculation. Good for P1-P3 if their mental calculation is weak.

Sakamoto method is a good method for Primary students to solve problem sums, if your child has difficulty using model. Singapore’s model method caters more for P3-P4, but when it comes to P5-P6 where the problem sums become more challenging, model method cannot be applied, but Sakamoto method can.

[Kodomosuki]

Can someone care to share with me

CMA , TTL,JEI, stand for?
WhT is the full name of these centers?

[Kodomosuki]

gadget:

My son learns CMA and Sakamoto.


CMA is a mental math enrichment to help your child focus. It also improves mental calculation. Good for P1-P3 if their mental calculation is weak.

Sakamoto method is a good method for Primary students to solve problem sums, if your child has difficulty using model. Singapore's model method caters more for P3-P4, but when it comes to P5-P6 where the problem sums become more challenging, model method cannot be applied, but Sakamoto method can.

Hey,
My son just started sakamoto method recently. I agreed with you that this mettod works better than model at p5/p6.
I hope this method can help him to achieve an A .
Hope I am heading the right direction by learning sakamoto method.

[Kodomosuki]

:whut:

[Kodomosuki]

sleepy:

the kiasu student:

If you're from the Sakamoto (young prodigy) tuition centre, and you've attended classes there, please come here! We can discuss issues like math and science using the sakamoto method! Also, you can post interesting questions which are not suitable for the 'model drawing' method but good for the Sakamoto method!

!

[Kodomosuki]

5cents:

My son P4 this year just attended the 4-day Sakamoto Introductory course and he loves it! A lot of problem sum which takes a long time to solve can be solved using Sakamoto method in 1-2 mins. He will continue the course for next year.