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Been thinking a bit more about DS6's math curriculum as I see questions brought up here and other places. His school teaches Harcourt Math. Is anyone familiar with it? Insights would be appreciated.
I have heard good things about Singapore Math, but haven't researched it myself. Wondering what makes it so popular?

Harcourt Math is from Houghton Mifflin group that publishes textbooks. There are a few publishers (Pearsons, Glencore, Mcgraw Hill, etc..) and they publish as per State Education agency guidelines/common core standard which means 1st grader will have 1st grade Math book. They are not much different from one another. And Harcourt Math or other textbooks are pretty thick and the teacher usually never finishes the book.

Singapore Math is a little more advance than US. So, 2nd grade S'pore Math may be for 3rd grade US level. But, S'pore Math does not cover everything what the kids taught in US.

S'pore Math is short and concise (not a lot of drill) and my DD loves it. We supplemented her with S'pore Math when she was 6.

I have read a bit about Singapore math and it seems like a great program. I'm starting to run into the issue that is so bothersome for parents on this forum- acceleration.
When I spoke to the school about differentiation in math, I was told that they could work at their own speed on the computer 1/2 hour, once per week. It was a bit discouraging and makes me wonder how he will stay engaged.
I'm considering other options for second grade, but want to choose a school with a good math curriculum and a better plan for advancing gifted students.

I am doing independent study thru the school district, but I purchased the Singapore Math 2A/2B which was stated to be equivalent of our (us) 3rd grade... to supplement DS6 2nd grade enVision Math book (pearson)- which is far below his math academic level & he has basically already completed.

I returned the Singapore because it was b/w, small font, basically showed concept- had some limited drills, and then moved on.

DS6 could already do all of 2A and most of 2B. I would have purchased the 3A/3B but it was no longer available at this store. I may buy it thru Amazon- better price.

In meantime, I was able to acquire the enVision 3rd grade math workbook, which he is currently working on and it starts out slowly but I am telling him it is good review, and I did pick up a Sylvan Learning 3rd grade Math- it is colorful, fun, and just presented in a completely different way than rote drilling etc

DS considers it to be more fun & games vs actual math- though it is math. More for fun- but actually is teaching - DS does khan academy and timez attacks...

An older DD learned a lot with Harcourt in early elementary, and then SAXON math begin I think around pre-algebra and on up, which many find too repetitive... boring. DD did as well and her teacher allowed her to just do approx. 5 problems from any given set, and then move on. This flexibility worked well for her and she continued with math thru HS calculus & physics...

Here is the SG Maths to US grade equivalency according to their website:-

Suggested placements

We are just starting with Singapore in a few weeks. 4A (HOMESCHOOL) Looking at the books they seem pretty easy, and don't seem to cover much new, though I like the challenging problems supp book. Having never used other programs besides ixl, (which seems to feed perfectionism something terrible), it is hard to compare. I think he will like SM because of the low repetition. But we never relied on a book before for a lesson so to speak. Ixl is only practice, with the lesson coming from me if needed. I am curious if the US edition vs the other edition are much different, because it doesn't seem as rigorous as I expected.

I have taught with Harcourt. It is pretty sequential and straightforward in state curriculum. It used to have an 'enrichment' addition that the teacher may or may not have.

Pros/Cons I have heard about Singapore is that is straightforward and logical. It encourages 'drawing' and manipulatives to problem solve. Pros is that is stresses mental math a lot and has lots of mind games/benders. If you have a kiddo that learns this way, fabulous! Cons were that it has timed elements that some students can struggle with and also if you 'miss' a portion, it can be hard to fill in. Fewer concepts are covered in a time frame, but they are mastered vs. revisited. So if you miss a concept- you may have to go back and master it before moving on.

I'm concluding that there is no ideal math program- just some to avoid.

I suppose the real issue for us is the first grade math- I think DS could comfortably skip most of first grade math. I'm going to continue a bit of supplementation at home and pursue an option of a gifted magnet next year for acceleration.

One of the most important things for math in the early grades is to make sure that they ultimately have their math facts cold- addition, subtraction, and multiplication. It's super boring, but it will hold them back if you don't get that down. First grade is a bit early to start but...

I agree & may be jumping on the "easy" math curriculum too soon. Speed and accuracy with math facts is important. We discovered whe we were doing long multiplication that although the mechanics and comprehension were there, that we needed to take more time with the multiplication table.