Switching from Abeka to Saxon in 7th Grade

[Guest moses24]

Last year was the first year I homeschooled and my oldest is entering 7th grade this year.  He has ambitious college goals and it is beyond nerve wracking to choose the best curriculum to prepare him for high school!  He is incredibly gifted in language arts, but is just average with math.  He is a very hard worker and LOVED the way A Beka walked him through new concepts before beginning something new.  He is in Challenge A with Classical Conversations and they recommend Saxon.  Any thoughts on switching him to Saxon this year (I am SO fearful that it will derail him to switch programs), and any opinions on whether Saxon is a better curriculum than A Beka for 7th grade?  Any other math curriculum suggestions?  My two biggest concerns are 1) that he will not learn as well from a different curriculum and 2) that due to my own lack of knowledge, I will choose a curriculum that is not rigorous enough to prepare him for high school.  Help!   Would love any insight you can offer ...

[kiana]

I really wouldn't change it if he loves learning from it and is doing well with it.

[SilverMoon]

I don't particularly care for either of those options, but I do not fix what isn't broken. Both of those choices can adequately prepare for upper maths. I'd keep on keepin' on with Abeka and nod and smile when they talk about Saxon. :)

[Guest moses24]

Now I must ask Empress Bee ... do you have a math curriculum that you strongly endorse?  I am not looking to fix a problem, just make the wisest choice possible moving forward and while my younger son wouldn't do well with a switch mid-stream, this boy can handle a change.  So rather than just continuing I'd like to be proactive and choose the curriculum that will best prepare him (I don't want doors to be closed to him in the future because of a decision I made now - rather correct course now ...)  So if you are willing, I'd love to hear what you (or anyone else) passionately recommends for 7th grade math!

[RootAnn]

Moses - which option do you have him in for Abeka - "Basic Mathematics" or "Pre-Algebra"? I'm just asking because we skipped Basic Math (mostly review of 6th grade with some pre-algebra & other topics included) & went right to Pre-Algebra with no issues.

 

You can really go into just about any pre-algebra program after Abeka 6. I wouldn't switch to Saxon just because of CC. There is plenty of time to switch math programs later in high school (Algebra, Geometry, etc.) or just "keep on" for now - if it is working!

[SilverMoon]

I didn't mean to imply that those choices were inferior. Some of this curricula guessing game really does boil down to personal preference. :)

 

In your shoes I'd stick with Abeka at least until he's ready for algebra, and then I'd research hard.

 

Since you asked - My kids? They're all using something different for prealg/alg. I didn't intend for that to happen, but they're very different kids and that's just the way it rolled. My oldest two are polar opposite. One greatly dislikes math and struggled for years. He is currently using Math-U-See algebra, which is "light" compared to more traditional choices. For middle school he used Rod and Staff, which prepared him well. The second one enjoys math and takes to it easily. She used Lial's prealgebra and Foerster algebra. Both of these are strong courses, no complaints. My third is a pretty strong math student who plans to be an engineer or physicist; he is going to use Art of Problem Solving's prealg for 6th grade. He had been using Horizons. If you're curious to learn more about any of these use the search tool here, or google with "site:forums.welltrainedmind.com" after the math name.

[Guest moses24]

Thanks so much - I really appreciate your input! :)  I think a big part of the problem is that I am using Basic Mathematics for him and he's ready for Pre-Algebra.  Going to try that - thank you!