As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
About
Beast Academy is Art of Problem Solving's curriculum for grades one through five. Textbooks are in a comic / storybook format (about a school for monsters) and episodes introduce concepts that are then practiced in the workbook.
Despite the playful presentation, Art of Problem Solving is a rigorous curriculum (often used to prepare for math competitions) whose approach focuses on understanding underlying concepts, rather than memorizing mechanics.
The first grade curriculum books combine textbook and workbook into one volume. You can realize cost savings by purchasing the full first grade set (books 1A through 1D) in a single set (available on Amazon at amzn.to/3zT88dg, or at the Beast Academy website at beastacademy.com/books/level-1).
Beast Academy also offers an interactive online platform, beastacademy.com/online, which provides online instruction, additional practice in a gamelike format, and the option to enroll in live instructor-led classes. This is not required to complete the course, but is helpful if you would like to incorporate more practice into the curriculum.
Feel free to adjust the pacing to suit the student. There's no rush: students who complete one Beast Academy level per year starting in first grade will be ready to start Prealgebra in sixth grade; otherwise they would start Prealgebra in seventh or eighth grade, as is traditional. Following the assignments suggested in the Nautilus Homeschool schedule, the four volumes of Level 1 can be completed in about twelve months if you do math four days per week, and in nine to ten months if you do math five days per week.
It is fine to go over the workbook exercises orally if your child is not yet comfortable with writing numbers. Aim to transition to having the student complete the practice exercises independently by the end of the year.