Heinemann Math (SPMG)

[smallwonder]

Have just received the Heinemann Mathematics Workbooks for Year 1 and Year 2 (for two of my DC aged 5 and 6). I've just gone online to look for a teacher's book and found it to be almost £60! Would need one of these every time I order a set of workbooks per year. Has anyone used this scheme successfully without teachers notes/resources? Cannot find much information online at all.

Many thanks.

I use a different maths scheme by Elmwood Press. At primary school level it is called Maths on Target and has 3 seperate columns on each page at different levels so you can tailor it to where the child is at.
At High School level it is called Essential Maths and you pick which level you want and order the appropriate books.

I think I paid about £15 for the book and answer book from Amazon last year.

I used to use Heinemann and much prefer these books.

That's about £15 in total not each btw.

I haven't looked at the prices of them this year yet.

I looked into the SPMG series too and didn't have much luck. I even wrote to the company (owned by Pearson I think?) and while they sent me a catalogue, they couldn't tell me anywhere that I could view the materials in advance of purchase as apparently a sales rep usually goes through all of this with a school. My mother was a primary school teacher in Scotland for years and swears by these materials so I'm quite keen to at least have them to hand for reference purposes. I wonder what happens to the old ones in schools?

Thanks for that.
It's so frustrating. I have worksheets to supplement the pages (subscription to a website) but really need pointers on teaching and the Pearson's website is not informative at all.
Perhaps I'll try to call them in the morning but am sure they'll say the same.
Also wonder what happened to them?!

Please let me know how you get on! My mum said that the teacher's handbooks are invaluable as they explain how to teach each concept, and that's the bit that interests me. I just baulk at the idea of paying, as you say, almost £60 every year before I start on textbooks and workbooks. Might check out emandlu's suggestion too!

They look good, can't get a look at them though online and would want to do that before forking out 60 quid
As I've bought the workbooks now would need to think seriously about thus as an investment

I will say too that the £60 might be well worth it if maths isn't your thing.
I can do maths so have never needed teachers notes. The stuff I use doesn't have them either.

I did spend a similar amount on teachers books for English though as I am not at all confident with that.

I wouldn't dream of bothering with teacher's books. We just use the workbooks (buy them through Amazon). They are only very simple addition/shapes etc and pretty self explanatory Since my 6yo learnt to read he just gets on with it on his own (I have older more awkward ones) and asks if he has a problem but we're half way through Yr2 and it is still adding up with counters style stuff. I don't do any 'teaching' before he starts on the workbook.

I bought it because it was the scheme I used in school and I liked it. Have used Singapore MPAH in the past for my older one and found it too prescriptive and focused on this is the right way to work this out when I firmly believe that the right way is whatever is easiest for that person and if something is difficult keep trying different ways.

flussy I imagine the schools keep them to refer to - it's ridiculous, so many brilliant resources just abandoned for next new thing - we end up referring to about 3 different resources.
Argh!

OP, sorry I'm being spectacularly un useful

Wow I'm a teacher and I can't believe some parents just give their children the workbooks with no explanation or input - if I did that I would be rated as absolutely crap by ofsted, and probably fired!!!

I use heinemann to teach year 2, and to be honest don't rate it much. However I would say the teacher book is absolutely vital as it introduces new concepts with lots of examples, links concepts together and explains them.... It's so important to introduce the correct mathematical language, and to teach the right method of working out the sums in the workbook. You cannot possibly pick this up from the workbook alone.

IMO if you decide to home ed you commit to a certain amount of financial outlay, and if you're going to do it you have to do it properly!!

Excuse any typos please, am on phone...

IMO if you decide to home ed you commit to a certain amount of financial outlay, and if you're going to do it you have to do it properly!!

Of course you do but finances are limited so it is about what is best use of limited resources. For me Teacher's Guides are a waste of time as they are focused on class teaching, my kids would be completely non-plussed if I stood up in front of them and started running through examples on a whiteboard. Many of the activities in them rely on group work and are not compatible with the home environment I sit and talk to them, we work through examples if they have problems but on the whole they make the jumps themselves. We do other bits of maths of course (games/puzzles/practical measuring etc) and the workbooks are to me a back up to make sure they are up to speed with NC topics should they want/need to go to school at any point.

I should say though Maths is my subject (I spent 2 years training as a primary maths teacher before I got disillusioned with the system) and my kids are naturally very good at maths (DS10 will be sitting his GCSE in the next 2 years). I spent so much of my school years sitting listening to teachers whittering on with lots of examples, linking concepts together and offering explanations when I'd grasped it myself by a glance at the sheet and finished the work before they'd got 1/2 way through the explanation. I didn't want that for my kids, they gallop through the bits they find instinctive and we work together to help them understand issues they struggle with.

to teach the right method of working out the sums in the workbook
Many concepts don't have a right way. Four people can have four different ways of working out the correct answer. The right method is whatever works for that person. If my kids struggle one way we try something else (no one gets number bonds!). I find it is only now when we look at GCSE exam work that it matters to DS1 how he got to the answer and we're working on presenting his work in such a way so it is easy for examiners to give him the marks.

Maths isn't my strong point either. Emandlu, I'm panicking a bit do you think it is ok to tackle primary maths as one particular unit rather than individual school years. I was hoping to just give explanation on the bits where dd struggles and just let her get on with the rest. I was thinking general work book, work sheets and lots of games and activities. Or is it better to tackle each age/level at a time?