Saxon Users: Questions about Continuing through in Saxon

[elmerRex]

This is Mr. ElmerRex, please excuse my bad english.

 

We are nearing the end of Saxon 54, maybe in New Years my son will finish. So I need to think a little about what we will do next so that Mama and I can agree for our sons next step.My son should finishing Math 54 around New Years and so far every thing is going very nice, we love it. We want to use Saxon 65 too, but mama says not to start at the beginning of 65 if he is having a strong finish in 54, but I know you are not to skip anything in Saxon. :huh:

 

So we have a question: Do you go from one book to the next or do you wait a bit? If you go into new level directly, do you start at the beginning?

 

He will probably finish Saxon 54 around New Years, mama says to be getting the tests for 65 is correct and getting the tests we are to be having my son do a test every day until he meets a question that he can't answer. Then start in these chapters of new concepts: Is that how others use Saxon 65 after Saxon 54?

 

 

[kiana]

Yes, many people do this when moving directly from one book to the next without a break.

 

As to whether you specifically should do this, there are good arguments for both ways -- they are both reasonable.

 

My personal preference would be to do the testing through as your wife would like to do. But if your son would enjoy doing the relatively easy lessons at the beginning of the book, it would not be wrong to do that either. If he starts to complain that these problems are too easy, then I would definitely do the testing through.

[elmerRex]

This is Mr. ElmerRex, please excuse my bad english.

 

I think that starting at the beginning is most benefitting. Mama thinks tests are okay or better than to start at the first lessen. We try to agree before we start these things. Our sons arithmetic is very good with Saxon and I think that doing those early lessens can only make it stay good and grow stronger. Are their online articles/targets/or links to read about continuing on in levels of Saxon that I can read to help me see where my idea and mamas idea are disgusted in clarity?

 

 

[wapiti]

The general idea is that the lessons at the beginning of a level are review intended for students starting the level in the fall after having the summer off from math.  That would not be the case for a student starting mid-year.

 

I would also consider that a non-standard student such as yours (a 1st grader starting 6/5) may warrant a non-standard approach.

[Jenn in CA]

Is he reading the lessons on his own, or does someone read them to him?

There is no hurry to get through the books. I suppose if he is a prodigy and you want him to go as fast as possible, that is different. But the Saxon sequence is also shortened because there is no geometry book. You may find yourself running out of books.

 

In each book, even though there is a lot of review, the wording becomes more sophisticated and the reading level becomes higher so it is to the student's advantage to have some time to adjust to that.

 

I personally would have him do every lesson of every book, unless you have a really good reason to move faster.

 

My daughter is in engineering calculus this year at the community college at age 15. She's the best student in the class. But she had to take precalculus a couple times, partly because of circumstances beyond her control, and partly because she reached that level so young that she needed the time to really cement both the concepts and the attention to detail required to complete the problems.

 

My two oldest also went thru all the Saxon textbooks from 54 to Advanced Math, and took calculus at the community college in high school.  

 

 

[Jenn in CA]

Here is an interview with John Saxon. I believe he talks about the importance of doing every problem.

 

http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/view/rc/s31p655.htm#Message3339

[Brenda in FL]

Here is the answer from the Saxon publisher (the last couple of sentences addresses taking the tests). I have followed this advice with all my children. The approach your wife wishes to take is in line with the publishers recommendations.

 

Can a student begin a Saxon math book after completing only part of a previous book? Yes, if a student has completed all but the last five to ten lessons, it may be possible for him or her to move on to the next book successfully. If the student did not complete a large portion of the previous book, it would be far better to complete that book before advancing to the next level. Starting in the middle of a Saxon book will force the student to begin with a problem set using concepts that may not have been practiced for some time. If the student needs extra time to review, the early problem sets may take more than a day to complete. If your student is to begin a new book soon after completing the previous one, we recommend using the placement tests to assess his or her preparedness for the next level. Rather than completing one lesson per day, complete one test each day and begin taking lessons at the point where the student's mastery drops below 80%. This way, you can bypass the material that is meant as a review of the previous level. - See more at: http://www.hmhco.com/shop/education-curriculum/math/homeschool/saxon-math-homeschool/resources/faq#previous

[KarenNC]

Check out www.homeschoolwithsaxon.com. Mr. Reed is very accessible and very helpful.

[StartingOver]

If your son isn't bored to death doing the lessons in the beginning of a new book, then I say go for it. It is good review and nice to have a rest sometimes before moving on to new stuff. I have one child that fights the beginning of the book, if she can pass the tests through lesson 30 or 40 we start there, usually when I see new teaching. It really depends on the child.

 

My daughter is using 5/4 in 1st grade. She will likely finish early next year.  She also loves Life of Fred.

[MotherOfBoys]

I would do it your wife's way. If my son does easy work for more than a week then he fights with the new/harder stuff when he gets to it. Saxon has a lot of review worked in anyways.

 

You could compromise and test till you find where he's at then back up one test (or two) and start there. The real factor is your child's attitude toward review.

 

edited to add: You should probably post this on the Accelerated board.

[elmerRex]

If your son isn't bored to death doing the lessons in the beginning of a new book, then I say go for it. It is good review and nice to have a rest sometimes before moving on to new stuff. I have one child that fights the beginning of the book, if she can pass the tests through lesson 30 or 40 we start there, usually when I see new teaching. It really depends on the child.

 

My daughter is using 5/4 in 1st grade. She will likely finish early next year.  She also loves Life of Fred.

This is where our son is also. He is doing well in Saxon 54 and still likes it a lot. We want to continue to use Saxon as far as we can if he doesn't grow out of it first. He will probably finish 54 around New Year since we began in Summer and do 2-3 lessons a day. There are good reasons to start at page 1 and good reasons to test through. How is your young daughter doing Saxon 54? My son is not teaching himself with Saxon as his English is not good enough and he is "babish", not ready for independence. My wife and I teach him math each day and have him do his drills. We have the PDF and print the pages big for him to right in, when he is older, I want him to keep a math notebook though.

 

The big problem we have is what will we do with him when he is done with Saxon 65? Should we use Course 1-3? Those are big books and he is not big. Should we switch to older version of books (slimmer I think, less full.) We do not want to extend his days with work though and letting him to test might extend the day when he gets to more difficult material. Saxon 65 has a lot of fraction work in it, so we might let him start at page 1 and do Fractions with extra materials to help with the progression...

 

We are worried that Saxon Course 1, 2 and 3, will be like Algebra 4th Edition. Read here. I think that Course 1-3 is maybe like Algebra 4th edition. We have the PDFs, but maybe we should invest in the 3rd edition hardbacks for books after 65? Do you have any advice here?

[kiana]

You can get used copies of 7/6 3rd edition for 1 cent + shipping on amazon right now, if you are in the US. Frankly I'd go ahead and order it at that price -- it will be easier to make your decision if you can actually look at the book.

[StartingOver]

This is where our son is also. He is doing well in Saxon 54 and still likes it a lot. We want to continue to use Saxon as far as we can if he doesn't grow out of it first. He will probably finish 54 around New Year since we began in Summer and do 2-3 lessons a day. There are good reasons to start at page 1 and good reasons to test through. How is your young daughter doing Saxon 54? My son is not teaching himself with Saxon as his English is not good enough and he is "babish", not ready for independence. My wife and I teach him math each day and have him do his drills. We have the PDF and print the pages big for him to right in, when he is older, I want him to keep a math notebook though.

 

The big problem we have is what will we do with him when he is done with Saxon 65? Should we use Course 1-3? Those are big books and he is not big. Should we switch to older version of books (slimmer I think, less full.) We do not want to extend his days with work though and letting him to test might extend the day when he gets to more difficult material. Saxon 65 has a lot of fraction work in it, so we might let him start at page 1 and do Fractions with extra materials to help with the progression...

 

We are worried that Saxon Course 1, 2 and 3, will be like Algebra 4th Edition. Read here. I think that Course 1-3 is maybe like Algebra 4th edition. We have the PDFs, but maybe we should invest in the 3rd edition hardbacks for books after 65? Do you have any advice here?

My daughter works on her own, asking for help if she needs it. She does Life of Fred Also. We also have Math Mammoth on hand. I will let her go as far as she can, then slow down.  We also use hands on stuff, especially with fractions. But math is her easy subject, she just loves it. She is very independent in most things. "An old soul "in a young body, we say.

 

I have the old hard back, and the new version. Both are pretty much the same. Either would work, whatever is easier for you to get.