I'm looking for a good math book that would teach how to solve word problems. I have a daughter going into her junior year and I will probably be using Saxon Algebra 2 with her. I want to get her up to speed for the SAT, and I would hope she does better than her siblings. They both couldn't do the SAT word problems very well, and therefore their math scores were low. I know my children are not below average intelligence. I'm thinking I have not made good choices with their math, or I haven't pushed them enough. I'm planning on buying the Saxon Alg. 2 and supplement it with the Art Reed dvds. In the past I haven't liked Saxon because I felt they were so formulaic to their approach to word problems. However, many of my friends use Saxon and their kids are doing great on the SAT. I wish my child could be further along in math, but this is what it is. So, I really would like a recommendation for a supplemental word problem book. I like the Singapore approach with the bar graphs, but I wish I could find something I could hand over to my dd to do on her own. She works better in a self-teaching format. Thanks,

They will look at an ACT score, but dd hasn't studied for it yet, and she has to have all scores in by Dec. 1 for scholarships.

Does Singapore Math still make these workbooks? I had one for my children for about the fourth grade. I remember the problems were based on bars. I thought it was a clever way to teach word problems. I would like to find some of these workbooks to help my dd with word problems. Even elementary ones would be good for her to get the basics solidified. I hope someone out there knows what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about the little workbooks that normally come with the little textbooks. These were extra or rather supplemental. Thanks, Jan

No, It was for all three tests. So I'm assuming a 1000 for verbal and math. She still didn't come near that. Math was really bad. I'm trying to figure out how to get her math up to snuff, but I'm also working with a dyslexic dd. A friend is going to let me borrow the Life of Fred Beginning Algebra. I have plenty of algebra books for extra practice. She's taking an American Gov. class at our co-op that is overkilling her with work. At least it will be over in three weeks. I'm not using that instructor for dd again. It was not a good fit. Maybe if she was law school material, but I'm talking about an art student. It's a darn shame that all schools are so oriented to left brain thinkers. I'm trying to go through an advocate for dd's school choice. We'll see where it leads to.

I should have mentioned that she was going to apply for a particular art scholarship, but the minimum was a 1500 SAT score. She was way below that due to the math portion. I don't think these folks will budge since it is a school that doesn't offer many scholarshiips. It will cost me $40 just to have dd apply for the scholarship. My dh is opposed to doing this since he doesn't think she has a chance. I doubt I'll go that route, but I'm looking into other programs for dd. I'm not opposed to her staying home a couple of more years so that she can "grow up". My ds went to the local college and then transferred. He's doing quite well now. It's just the local school only offers core classes, but the one on one teaching is pretty darn good. I just wish that I could sell my dd on this. Also, dh doesn't want to take out loans for our children's education. Well, at least I know that my dd has had a pretty darn good education even if colleges don't like what we've done. Their loss!

I just don't know what to do. I'm saying she really did very, very bad. I can't afford a tutor or a testing service. She wants to go to college, but for now a scholarship will be out of her grasp. I've struggled with teaching her algebra all during her high school years. She is also struggling with geometry. I'm trying to get her up to speed. As for now I will have her tested with the SAT next spring. She is a senior, so she might can get a small scholarship at our local community college. She is terribly disappointed. A private college was her dream, but that dream is shattered for now. I know it's not the end of the world, but still I'm depressed about this too. We have tried Foerster's, Math-U-See, and now i have her in a math book by Bittenger. I'm wondering if I should switch once again to something like the Life of Fred books. She needs to realy needs to understand Algebra 1 so she can move onto Algebra 2. That's one reason Iim using the Elementary and Intermediate Algebra book by Bittenger. My dd is dyslexic, so it does make for learning math difficult. My child just wants to be an art major. She is phenomenal with painting and drawing. I have tried to calm her down by saying she should try the communnity college and transfer out of it later to a better school. It's hard when she sees her friends not struggling like she does with learning. I would love any thoughts or advice. By the way she did study for the SAT. Her grades for the verbal and writing were average -- not stellar. I have the Princeton Review: Cracking the SAT, a 2005 edition of the College Board's SAT book, Guerber's SAT book, and a subscription to the College Board's online practice tests which is good for about another 10 months or so. Thanks for reading this far. Jan P.

I'm revisiting this topic since I'm trying to come up with a chemistry plan for my girls. I wanted to say that I used the Zumdahl textbook with my son a few years ago. I think if you didn't want to go with Spectrum or Apologia, that this text would be a good two year course if you go slowly. IT is very meaty and there are plenty of math type problems. TONS! Using this book would well prepare a student for AP or other type tests.

BJU's American History book is very much a "just the facts" type of book. However, that is what my children want with their history. I prefer a more literature based program, but there you have it. I have no experience with the other two programs.

If you do Apologia's Physics book, then your student needs some training in trigonometry. I tried it with my ds but gave it up since he didn't have the trig background. I switched over to Conceptual Physics.

Hi, I'm having my dd read from Speilvogel's Western Civilization textbook and choosing a topic that she is interested in to write about. She has to write a short paper about different things such as an important event, important person/leader, a war, etc. I gave my dd a choice to write papers or for me to give her traditional tests. The papers won hands down! Jan P.

Carol, If your ds has done well in the past with spelling, how about using vocabulary words for spelling. There are many Latin and Greek root programs out there. Simply make it a requirement for your ds to correctly spell the vocabulary words by giving weekly tests. In this way you are killing two birds with one stone. If you don't want to use a workbook approach for the vocabulary words then try out a software program. I think I bought one from Critical Thinking Press. HTH, Jan P.

I sent you a private message. Jan

This was an excellent post! I am horrified at times when I see so much pressure put on an 8th grader to do almost college work. Even Omnibus is not suited for many 8th graders. It is difficult enough to do with a high school student at times. I give many accolades to those 8th graders that can do it, but if your 8th grader can't then go to something else! Oh how I long for the more simple Charlotte Mason approach with my students. It seems many of the "rigorous" books have killed the joy of learning with my kids. One of these days I'm going to buck the system and just use real books for about everything -- even high school biology! Gasp!!! Jan

Hi, I had my ds do dual enrollment his senior year. I opted not to have my ds do English that year. Instead he took a College Algebra class the first semester and a Computer Science class the second semester. I used Perrine's Sound and Sense his entire senior year. It covered many genres of literature, and this book was quite helpful for literature analysis. My only caveat with my book was that I didn't have a teacher's manual. However, I would read the works and try to answer the questions to the best of my ability. I would use the questions as a springboard for discussions with my son. He probably did more essay writing with his co-op classes than with me, but this well prepared him for English Composition his freshman year of college. HTH, Jan P.

Hey Jennifer, I'm not the best in grading essays, but I don't think it is horrendous. There is plenty of "good stuff" in there, but the verbage weighs it down. I don't know if I would just hand a grade over this. Could you return it to your dc and have him work on specific things? For instance so much of the paper is written in the passive voice. I see "was" all over the place. Most papers are more interesting in the active voice. Have your child read the paper out loud. He should find some glaring mistakes. I do think your child has a good grasp of the subject. I've read many books about King Arthur, and the case your ds makes is pretty much what I've come to understand too. If your dc is quoting or finding information from specific sources then he needs to use the MLA or other form for citing the source. I know that he mentions several antiquated books, so I'm not exactly sure how they would be cited. Since you are not sure how to grade the essay, perhaps you could find a good rubric to use to grade the paper. Hand the rubric to your dc and show him what is expected of him. Let him do a rewrite to conform to the rubric. I hate using the word "conform", but I'm not sure what else to say at this point. If you still can't come up with a grade then try out Cindy Marsch. She is an excellent writing teacher, and for a fee she will grade your dc's writing.