Tumbatoo Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 My 12 year old is almost finished with AoPS Pre-Algebra, but he's having mush brain and I don't feel like he gets it. I'm hesitant to move on. Maybe AoPS isn't even working for him? He complains if it is too easy, but lately he doesn't seem to process the challenges. I'm second guessing myself, but I need options with where to go from here. Should we do another Pre-Algebra, or an easier Algebra and review topics as they come up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Did he finish most of the challenge problems in the prealgebra book? Has he revise using Alcumus? My soon to be 12 year old finds it nice to have revision time after each book and online class before continuing. He did prealgebra and intro to algebra book only then took the intermediate algebra and geometry class concurrently for social purposes. My soon to be 11 on the other hand needs review so he does aops books because he finds it less boring and then we had to do test prep for him else he doesn't do well on timed tests. AoPS is meant to be done without a time limit and my kids enjoy taking their time to work out the problems. However my DS11 is very fast in computation and reading while DS10 is slower. Which is why DS10 time spent on test prep was worth it. Also both my boys are having growing pains and needing more sleep and food. Maybe your son is having growth spurts too. My DS11 will look confused over a problem then work it out a few days later. My DS11 was bored with AoPS but felt the other math curriculum were more boring so he stuck with AoPS instead. Does your son has a preference on what he want to do? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Has he done any review as you've gone along? I would choose a few questions from each chapter review. (Amazingly, FWIW, he might go back to a chapter 2 challenge problem and suddenly it seems so much easier than even the regular review problems were before.) Or, have him do the Alcumus topics aligned with the text. When he is all done with review, have him do a final exam, from the Do You Need This? for the online course, part 1 and also part 2. What to do for algebra is another question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black-eyed Suzan Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 (edited) I like wapiti's idea of doing review and a final exam. My understanding is that the first part of AOPS Algebra is review. You might also consider doing the Introduction to Algebra book's "Are You Ready" Diagnostic and look over the first 5 chapters. Edited December 1, 2016 by Black-eyed Suzan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 (edited) This year, we paired AoPS with Derek Owens. He is an online provider of math classes to homeschoolers from PreA to Calculus. His online classes can be taken at whichever pace a student wants. Homework and tests are turned in to be graded and that is how the student recieves a final grade. Practice problems and video instruction are also provided. The classes are very traditional in scope and sequence. Ds needed formal Algebra 1 on a transcript, so he is blasting through that class right now. When we completely finish AoPS Geometry, he is then going to go through Derek Owens Geometry. The repetition and practice problems are nice, but honestly, just having to be accountable to someone other than me has really helped Ds. After AoPS, Derek Owens is not a struggle, but the kid has to really prove he knows his stuff. ETA:typo Edited December 1, 2016 by EndOfOrdinary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 Did he finish most of the challenge problems in the prealgebra book? Has he revise using Alcumus? My soon to be 12 year old finds it nice to have revision time after each book and online class before continuing. He did prealgebra and intro to algebra book only then took the intermediate algebra and geometry class concurrently for social purposes. My soon to be 11 on the other hand needs review so he does aops books because he finds it less boring and then we had to do test prep for him else he doesn't do well on timed tests. AoPS is meant to be done without a time limit and my kids enjoy taking their time to work out the problems. However my DS11 is very fast in computation and reading while DS10 is slower. Which is why DS10 time spent on test prep was worth it. Also both my boys are having growing pains and needing more sleep and food. Maybe your son is having growth spurts too. My DS11 will look confused over a problem then work it out a few days later. My DS11 was bored with AoPS but felt the other math curriculum were more boring so he stuck with AoPS instead. Does your son has a preference on what he want to do? He has not been doing the challenge problems or Alcumus. I was thinking we might spend some time doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 Has he done any review as you've gone along? I would choose a few questions from each chapter review. (Amazingly, FWIW, he might go back to a chapter 2 challenge problem and suddenly it seems so much easier than even the regular review problems were before.) Or, have him do the Alcumus topics aligned with the text. When he is all done with review, have him do a final exam, from the Do You Need This? for the online course, part 1 and also part 2. What to do for algebra is another question. We've done some review, but not all the review questions. That's something we could go back and do. I like the idea of a final exam. I'm kind of thinking of Jacob's for algebra. Ds did say he likee to discover the answer sometimes, and that some topics made more sense that way. So, it's still up on the air! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 This year, we paired AoPS with Derek Owens. He is an online provider of math classes to homeschoolers from PreA to Calculus. His online classes can be taken at whichever pace a student wants. Homework and tests are turned in to be graded and that is how the student recieves a final grade. Practice problems and video instruction are also provided. The classes are very traditional in scope and sequence. Ds needed formal Algebra 1 on a transcript, so he is blasting through that class right now. When we completely finish AoPS Geometry, he is then going to go through Derek Owens Geometry. The repetition and practice problems are nice, but honestly, just having to be accountable to someone other than me has really helped Ds. After AoPS, Derek Owens is not a struggle, but the kid has to really prove he knows his stuff. ETA:typo I've looked at Derek Owens. I do like the idea of grades outside of me. I don't think he could keep up with the AoPS classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 We've done some review, but not all the review questions. That's something we could go back and do. I like the idea of a final exam. I'm kind of thinking of Jacob's for algebra. Ds did say he likee to discover the answer sometimes, and that some topics made more sense that way. So, it's still up on the air! The first half of Jacobs may seem boring after AoPS Prealgebra. But, it's still a good choice. You could breeze through the first half and slow down in the second half. The exercises in Jacobs involve a little bit of guided discovery, albeit on a smaller scale such that it is less noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 I've looked at Derek Owens. I do like the idea of grades outside of me. I don't think he could keep up with the AoPS classes. I hear that! My kid definitely does not care enough about math to do the AoPS classes. A page or two of problems each day and a test once a week, that he is good with. Watching very short videos on Derek Owens page when he is stuck or has forgotten, that is great. Definitely not competing at math or going all out with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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