Is is a huge jump? MUS to TT -pre algebra??

[anneofalamo]

I have been waffling on putting my soon to be 7th grader(DS12) in TT! Making the jump from MUS to TT for him with pre-Algebra.

We are 2nd year home schoolers and we started last year in Gamma MUS to fill in holes and build a stronger foundation for him. He went from plain fear and hatred of math to it clicking and loving it.

He did Gamma&Delta last year, and Epsilon is almost done, will do Zeta start Feb and school thru the summer (his choice) to be where he "should be" academically. He also does Aleks as support.

 

My oldest (now in TT Geometry) loves the TT system (and we use ALEKs as a support).

 

He sees MUS as for kids and wants so to be like brother! A good thing, as my oldest is a real help and good teen!

 

So, would love your input and good and bad stories to help me ponder this out!

[MerryAtHope]

TT has placement tests, I would go by those. I haven't done TT, but I considered it as I looked at what to do for my son for pre-algebra. He was going from Horizons 6 to pre-alg. When I looked at TT, the first half of the year or so was review--I was almost hoping he'd choose that program because of that, LOL! But he chose MUS pre-algebra. Turns out MUS also has plenty of review, it's just woven in throughout instead of stacked together at the front end of the year. Anyway, I think if you look at the samples and the placement test, it probably won't seem like a jump, and may even seem like TT pre-alg. is easier, at least at first.

 

I'd probably encourage your son to look at samples and video segments of both. I'd tell him that I know he's interested in TT because his brother does it, but to consider carefully how he learns and to remember his history. He came from hating math to enjoying it and doing well with it--I don't take lightly any program that can accomplish that for a child, and I'd be slow to switch from it! So I'd talk about that with my son, but then emphasize they are both going to be good programs for high school, and it comes down to personal preference and learning style etc... Then have him watch segments of both online. He may still have a preference for trying TT, and that's fine--I'd just want him to consider a few more aspects before jumping into something just because big brother does it.

 

HTH some! Merry :-)

[anneofalamo]

excellent idea with the placement tests!

I will administer those once we finish zeta!!

 

I also like the idea of review throughout the pre algebra (MUS)versus all at the beginning(TT) for him. That is a help to him in the past.

 

I so appreciate your response!!

[Corraleno]

I also like the idea of review throughout the pre algebra (MUS)versus all at the beginning(TT) for him. That is a help to him in the past.

Just to clarify, the review in TT isn't "all at the beginning." Most math programs start with a review of previous topics, because most kids take the summer off and forget a lot of what they learned. (Also keep in mind that what might seem like review to a child who completed Horizons 6 might not seem like review to a child who completed MUS Zeta.) There is plenty of review throughout TT — at least half of the problems in every lesson are review.

 

I've owned both MUS and TT Prealgebra; I've watched all the MUS videos and looked through all the worksheets and my son did part of TT Prealgebra, plus I looked through the rest of the TT text. IMHO, MUS Prealgebra is sort of a grab-bag of miscellaneous topics (for example, there are two entire lessons on converting from Celsius to Fahrenheit and back, and a lesson on adding and subtracting military time), and I think the explanation of negative numbers is quite poor.

 

Another big difference between them is that with MUS there is one teaching lesson per week, and then a worksheet each day, while TT has a "teaching lesson" every day, followed by the problems. If I had to choose between them as a primary math program, I would choose TT because I think it's more thorough.

 

Jackie

[MerryAtHope]

Just to clarify, the review in TT isn't "all at the beginning." Most math programs start with a review of previous topics, because most kids take the summer off and forget a lot of what they learned. (Also keep in mind that what might seem like review to a child who completed Horizons 6 might not seem like review to a child who completed MUS Zeta.) There is plenty of review throughout TT — at least half of the problems in every lesson are review.

 

Thanks for the clarification! That's more what I meant to say--that for my son coming from Horizons 6, TT Pre-algebra was at least half a year of review (which wouldn't have been a bad thing for him), whereas in MUS, the review of concepts from Epsilon and Zeta was spread evenly throughout the program. In fact, I was able to easily go through and line up which lessons of the review from MUS lined up with which lessons from Epsilon and Zeta. I actually bought the Epsilon dvd in case some things were different from the way my son learned in Horizons, and have used it a few times to reteach fractions.

 

I was not trying to address how either program incorporates review overall--I was trying to show that rather than a jump, the OP may find it's an easy fit. For us, MUS pre-algebra had new concepts on the first day, and it wouldn't have been that way with TT. Sorry to be confusing!

 

Merry :-)

[anneofalamo]

oh I so appreciate both answers!! You have given me good things to ponder, and I have time to watch more how he works etc.

I have to admit, having him more on an independent schedule with TT sounds so appealing to me! lol

Thank you so much for your prior experience and that you share so willingly!

[Mom22ns]

Just as a point of reference, ds tested into TT Pre-algebra in 6th grade. I didn't think he was ready for that, so we tried TT7. He was bored to death. We switched to MUS and started at Epsilon. He is just finishing Pre-Algebra now. If your ds has finished MUS though Zeta he should breeze through TT Pre-Algebra.