MathUSee vs. Saxon

[bethben]

I'm debating between these two curriculums.  Go!

[maize]

Which level?

[HomeAgain]

We used Saxon for a year before switching to MUS.

 

-Saxon is written in two different forms.  Nancy Larson did K-3, and then it has a different format for 5/4 and up.  I don't like Nancy Larson material (too scripted) and 5/4 was torture with the sheer amount of work each day.  Every problem should be done, plus the fact practice and so on.  It wasn't for my reluctant writer.

 

-MUS is very gentle, but thorough. The max number of problems on any day is about 20, and you can skip if you want.  We had it set up so that we did the recommended 3-part lesson: do it, write it, teach it.  After that we would do the test.  Some weeks my kid only did the review pages and test.  Some weeks he did every page.  It was flexible.

 

-MUS, if you do every page, either requires you to do two pages a day (new and review) or stretch it out, meaning you won't finish a level in the school year.

 

 

 

I liked MUS.  I loved especially how multiple digit multiplications were taught in Gamma and the entire Epsilon and Zeta dvds on fractions and decimals.  It really clicked with my kid and he thrived on the program.  That said, I'm not using it for my youngest.  I bring out the dvds every once in a while when he needs work on understanding a concept, but when I tried the program with him it was a big flop.  Saxon would not have worked either.  In the end, a mishmash is what works for him: he went through MEP and now is going through Life Of Fred.  I bought Right Start per his request but even that doesn't work as well as I'd hoped.  He's my kid that devours math and looks for the hardest problems on the page to tackle first.  For fun.  While I used to recommend MUS heartily, I would suggest using free or doing the math curriculum selector to help you narrow down what you want - http://homeschool-curriculum-reviews.com/math-curriculum-selector/

[bethben]

MathUsee Delta or Epsilon or Saxon 5/4.  She finished Delta in 3rd grade, took a interlude into public school this year and may be having to repeat some of the later lessons in Delta and know some of the lessons in Epsilon.  She may/may not place out of Saxon 5/4.

[bethben]

Ironically, on the Christian math survey, I got MathUSee and on the secular I got Saxon. Saxon ranked a little higher though.

 

 

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[Ellie]

MathUsee Delta or Epsilon or Saxon 5/4.  She finished Delta in 3rd grade, took a interlude into public school this year and may be having to repeat some of the later lessons in Delta and know some of the lessons in Epsilon.  She may/may not place out of Saxon 5/4.

 

Has she taken the Saxon placement test?

[bethben]

No, but I would give it to her when we reach that point

 

 

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[OrganicJen]

I've used both and personally for myself I love Saxon, but for my special needs kiddo we had to switch to Math u See and I'm loving it for him because he's understanding concepts that he didn't get with Saxon. He actually liked doing Saxon, the incremental pace and lots of review was great for him, but he needed the more conceptual approach of Math u See to really understand what he was doing with math. So my choice would be to try Saxon first but if a kiddo needs more help to get the concepts then Math u See is excellent.

[momtofive]

It's going to come down to what you feel would be the better fit for your particular student. Both Saxon and MUS (and many, many other math programs) are amazing curricula for the students they fit. I've used both at different times, for different reasons, with different kids. Really think about what makes each one unique, then think about how your dd learns best, and evaluate which program would help her be successful in understanding math and growing in skills. Best wishes! 😊

[MotherGoose]

Do you plan to put her back into school? Is testing a concern? I ask because one reason I haven't Used math u see is because the scope and sequence is not traditional. I wanted my kids to be on par with age mates. That may not be a concern of yours.

[FloridaLisa]

I used Saxon all the way up (through Pre-Calculus) for my first 6 kids and it was great. Open and go for me, b/c I knew the curriculum. We skipped ahead, combined lessons or slowed down and repeated as necessary. It truly worked for us as all 6 of those kids so far have mastered the math needed for their paths. 

 

It didn't work for my 7th child and this year we finally switched to MUS. It's working much better mostly because she needs hands-on materials to see and understand. She's not math intuitive and Saxon was super frustrating for us. MUS was super helpful when I was looking into it. I had a long phone call with one of their reps and she followed up with emails to see if I had other questions. I like Steve Demme's teaching -- I needed to be off the hook for the primary teaching for math for this child just b/c it was getting frustrating for me. We watch the videos/online teaching together and then she's usually good to complete the lesson on her own. 

 

 

[mschickie]

It really depends on the kids.  Saxon and Math U See are too totally different approaches.  I prefer the Saxon spiral approach because of the constant reinforcement.  There are a lot of problems in any given lesson but I think that is a good thing for the kids.  Math U See is a mastery approach that uses a lot of manipulatives (Saxon does not).  If you have a child that needs to touch or see the concepts spread out then Math U See may be the better approach.  For my dd that would have driven her crazy.   

[HomeAgain]

Do you plan to put her back into school? Is testing a concern? I ask because one reason I haven't Used math u see is because the scope and sequence is not traditional. I wanted my kids to be on par with age mates. That may not be a concern of yours.

 

FWIW, we put a child in school in 6th after 3 years of MUS (Gamma, Delta, Epsilon). He was only missing a small handful of the standards taught by the END of the 6th grade year.  His math was absolutely fine after completing elementary school level equivalents.

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Agreeing with others, this will entirely depend on the child.  They are both good programs for the right child and can be utter torture/a complete failure when they are a bad fit.  Both will almost certainly cover what your child needs to know.  It will just depend on which approach is a better fit for your particular child.  I like both but neither was a good fit for my kids.   We ended up using other material entirely.  Just depends on the kid.