Why “Singapore Math” Isn’t the Best and Why Big Ideas Math Is the Future of Learning
For years, Singapore Math has been a buzzword in education circles, praised for its rigor and visual models. But as classrooms and learners evolve, it’s becoming clear that what once worked in a traditional math setting doesn’t always meet the needs of modern, project-based, collaborative learners.
At Creative STEAM Academy, we’ve discovered that Big Ideas Math isn’t just another curriculum it’s a dynamic, future-focused system built for today’s students and tomorrow’s thinkers alligning with the NEW CA State Standards of 2025. Moving away from Common Core Practices and into Big Idea Learning and Real World Applications.
As a homeschool mom who has enrolled my children in multiple learning centers across Orange County, I’ve seen the appeal of Singapore Math firsthand. My kids have experienced Singapore Dimensions, Primary, and Core, as well as programs like Russian School of Mathematics and Mathnasium, Mad Dog Math.
I was always drawn to the rigor and, truthfully, I was sold on the promise of hands-on learning through visuals and bar modeling. For years, I believed it was the gold standard.
However, as both a parent and now the Program Director of Creative STEAM Academy, I began to see the gaps up close.
📉 The Limitations of Singapore Math
Singapore Math has its strengths, but it also presents recurring challenges especially for students who thrive in more dynamic, project-based learning environments.
Pacing Issues: Too much time is spent reviewing old concepts, leaving new ones rushed and underdeveloped — forcing teachers (and parents!) to fill in the gaps.
Complex Word Problems Too Soon: Students are often introduced to multi-step problems before fully mastering the underlying concept, leading to frustration.
Limited Adaptability: The program is linear and not easily differentiated — making it hard to meet the needs of both advanced and developing learners.
Minimal Cross-Curricular Connection: While strong in computation, it rarely bridges math with science, art, or real-world application — the cornerstone of STEAM learning.
Outdated Structure: In today’s collaborative, inquiry-driven classrooms, the workbook-heavy approach feels rigid and disconnected from how modern students learn best.
🧩 Searching for “The Perfect Curriculum”
After witnessing these challenges with my own children and our students at Creative STEAM, we set out to find something better. Over the years, we purchased and tested everything Abeka, BJU, Saxon, Life of Fred, Beast Academy, Math Mammoth, you name it, we tried it.
And the truth?
No single curriculum was perfect. Each had its strengths and its blind spots. Every one of them missed something critical: flexibility, balance, or real-world connection.
So, two years ago, we decided to take a leap. We stopped relying on a single source and began creating our own “best math version.”
🛠 Building Our Own Math Program
It wasn’t easy but it was transformative.
We blended what worked from multiple programs to create something that met our standards for rigor, engagement, and conceptual depth.
Our focus:
Hands-on Manipulatives – Physical tools that build true conceptual understanding.
Real-World Application – Connecting math to everyday life to make learning meaningful.
Mastery of Concepts – Ensuring fluency, consistency, and confidence.
We also wanted to show students that there isn’t just one right way to learn math. There are multiple ways of thinking, reasoning, and solving, and every learner can find a method that clicks for them. Math is “figureoutable.” It’s logical if you truly understand the concept, you can make it your own and find your own path to the correct answer.
To achieve this, we pulled from:
Mathematical Reasoning and Spectrum for problem-solving and logic.
Math-U-See for its conceptual building blocks and hands-on approach.
Mad Dog Math for drills and memorization to reinforce fluency.
And yes we kept Singapore as a guiding structure and main curriculum.
After years of trial and error, we finally felt we had engineered a strong, well-rounded math program for our students.
And then everything changed.
💡 Enter Big Ideas Math
This summer, we discovered Big Ideas Math and suddenly, everything we’d been trying to piece together came together naturally.
It felt like Big Ideas Math had done what we’d been working toward for years: combining rigor, hands-on exploration, real-world connection, and conceptual mastery into one cohesive program.
Here’s why we believe Big Ideas Math is the future of learning:
Built on Conceptual Understanding – Each unit begins with inquiry-based learning, helping students discover patterns and relationships before moving into procedural practice.
Aligned with Real-World Application – Math is connected to everyday experiences and real careers, making abstract ideas tangible and relevant.
Perfect for Project-Based Classrooms – Integrates seamlessly with STEAM projects, showing students how math powers engineering, design, and innovation.
Differentiated for Every Learner – Offers multiple pathways, supports, and enrichment for individualized learning.
Technology-Integrated & Future-Ready – Combines traditional rigor with digital tools, interactive lessons, and real-time feedback.
Intentional Math Vocabulary – Each lesson introduces essential math vocabulary with clear explanations,
Parent-Friendly Design - hands-on projects, and practice opportunities both in class and at home. The program includes an online practice component and QR codes on homework pages, allowing parents to scan and view short video lessons that reinforce classroom instruction. This makes it easy for parents to understand and support learning without teaching math in a different or confusing way.
🌟 The Creative STEAM Difference
At Creative STEAM Academy, we believe math should be interactive, meaningful, and inspiring not memorized or feared.
That’s why we’ve embraced Big Ideas Math across our program. It aligns perfectly with our hands-on, project-based, cross-curricular philosophy, empowering students to think critically, solve creatively, and apply math in real, relevant ways.
Because the future doesn’t belong to students who can simply do math it belongs to those who can use math to build, design, and change the world.