mama27
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Posts posted by mama27
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Oh my, thank you so much for all the comments already. Each comment I read, I think, " Oh that's a good idea, I'll get/do that." Then I read the next comment with another idea and a different approach and I think, "Oh, well, maybe I'll do that instead"
I did not do the Saxon placement test. I figured I knew I could use the 3 for my 2nd grader anyway and when I looked through it I noticed that about half way through it looked like things my DD needed to refresh as well. Another thing that may be pertinent is that DD is actually only 10. She probably should be in 4th grade for her actual age, she barely made the cut off when she started Kindergarten and was actually 4yrs the first 2+ months of school. So she was the youngest in her grade and I have an extra year to play with if needed. I think all of the suggestions seem better than the current route of plugging along in this book.
I'm thinking maybe I will print out assessment tests for all of the programs. Saxon, Math U See, Math Mammoth, Teaching Textbooks. Miquon if it has one. Then I am leaning toward just spending next week going over placement tests so I can get a feel for which ones seems to stress her least and get a better grasp of what it is exactly that she needs.Does that sound like a good idea or is it overkill and I should pick a program first? I was going on this assumption that if she was that confused with 3 ways to mentally add 32 + 48, she must need to start completely over. I was also thinking I wanted something super easy to build confidence again before I moved her into a more difficult area. I don't want to go back to Singapore right now, maybe a bit later, but right now I think it shocked her self-esteem so much that just seeing the book would stress her out before we started. I am kind of hoping Teaching Textbooks isn't the answer because I'd like to not spend quite that much, but of course I will if it is really superior for her.
Another thing I am thinking is that for now, my DD8 (would have been in second grade in PS) is doing great with this Saxon3. Someone mentioned there being two different Saxon 3 books. This one just says "Saxon Math 3, an Incremental Development". I am noticing though that having them in the same book isn't good for DD10. I overheard her telling someone at church that she was "so dumb she is taking the same math as her little sister". So I need to get two different programs so that isn't in her mind.
I actually really love the idea of letting her progress in theory with charts and practice math facts at another time. That might give her more sense of accomplishment, So I am hoping if I do sit down and do a bunch of placement tests, I find we can move her a bit more forward. I just want her to have a good math base before we get to far.
I've done this and it "can" give you an overall idea of what she needs to work on BUT these math currics all have different scopes and sequences meaning one will teach a concept before or after another.
I have tried too many math currics and really Saxon is the easiest to use. The fact that it basically starts over at the beginning of almost every math book practically guarantees that a child will learn as long as you DO NOT skip any problems and DO NOT skip the mental math! Part of the mental math before each lesson is 50 to 100 basic fact problems, like 5 x 9. I have my kids do these orally. You could do the one the lesson tells you to do and the multiplication one or whatever she needs more work on. Takes like 5 minutes.
If I were you I'd give her the Saxon placement test and if she does NOT place higher than Saxon 3 I'd put her in Saxon 54 and tell her it's a 5th grade book. Which it is because it CAN be. Then whatever she needed extra work on, I'd do that.
You can pickj up an older edition of Saxon 54 for very cheap on Amazon.
I am not a fan of TT because there's not enough drill, IMO.
And I hate Singapore. lol It's way too complicated to me.
I'm going to use some Math Mammoth because I don't like Saxon k through 3. All those meetings...shudder...
Saxon Intermediate 3 is way different and really, too advanced compared to the older Saxon 3. Again, IMO!
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I've never even looked at VP Omnibus till this am but it looks interesting. BUT...I have TOG year 1. What are the differences, if any besides the fact that TOG can be used for Kish-12 grades?
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Have you seen the Engage NY website that has a FREE complete curriculum from K through High School that is based on Common Core? I stayed up way too late last night looking at it. I downloaded all 5 second grade modules onto my iPad. Each module has a teacher's guide in PDF form that is over 100 pages long. When I looked at the curriculum it looked a lot like SM or MM.
Here is the link to the website
http://www.engageny.org/mathematics
Here is a sample of the first module from second grade. Notice the number bonds, multiple methods of problems solving, making 10s, having the student "Say it the 10 way" so 23 is two tens three.
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/g2-m1-full-module.pdf
A sample of a module from 5th grade on place value
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/g5-m1-full-module.pdf
A sample of 7th grade module
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/math-g7-m3-teacher-materials.pdf
Worksheets
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/math-g7-m3-student-materials.pdf
copy ready material
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/math-g7-m3-copy-ready-materials.pdf
These look interesting. Reminds me of Rightstart. At least grade 2 that I looked at.
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They also have some Barrons stiff. Like Painless Algebra, SAT prep, etc.
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I didn't see anything else at currclick that was attempting to be complete, other than Math Mammoth. Did I miss anything?
Have you looked at this?
http://www.currclick.com/browse.php?manufacturers_id=634
It's called A+ Tutorsoft, in case the link doesn't work.
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I know I ask this every few months, but I just keep hoping there will be a new option available.
Yes, I know about Math Mammoth. I should probably just buy that, use that, and be done with it.
I don't like MM but I do have some of it and decided to just print some of what I want to use, teach it my own way (it's just for a 7yo and 8yo) and forget it.
Have you looked at Currclick? They have a million math ebooks. Maybe something will appeal to you?
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Maybe it's just me but it is almost 2014, you'd think companies would already realize people want samples.
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Way back when, they used to have samples up ... I wasn't able to find any the last time I looked (recently).
You can try to email them to ask for some samples to be sent -- specify which level & they might send them. Wouldn't hurt to ask.
That's annoying. If I can't just see it without having to go through all that, forget it. What's with companies that do that?
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I can't seem to find any samples of the guides. Do they exist?
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I really think "they" did something to them to make them fall apart, break, not work, etc like they used to. We'd go through way too many, the leads would break if you breathed on them. I even used them and they'd break and I'd sharpen and they would never sharpen evenly no matter what. I used several different types of sharpeners and it didn't matter.
I finally quit using pencils a few months ago.
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Would it need a new thread for a fresh start?
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Yes.
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The worst part about this is that I could see some hsing families positively gushing about how much "real world" learning the kid was getting from the nursing. "Oh, just think how much little Suzy is learning about math and medications and anatomy!"
Yeah. Not so much.
Actually she would have learned quite a bit from that.
My dh is an airplane mechanic. He attended school for 2 years, got his certificate, but his actual knowledge comes from fixing the planes, not from the books.
IMO, if this girl really wanted a STEM career she would do anything and everything she had to. Not using a math curric in middle school wouldn't stop her.
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I think it depends on the kid. Some kids are just harder children to PARENT. I had some relatively easy girls to homeschool then we adopted 3 boys that are very close in age and VERY Boyish and suddenly everything was harder, including homeschooling. Then we got their younger sister and things got more chaotic.
It's been 7 years since we did that and some years have been more difficult than others. I never had any doubts that homeschooling was the perfect and ONLY thing to do till about 2 years ago. I struggled and looked at bus schedules and private school tuition and got over myself. lol
So the answer is yes and no. lol
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My 2 1/2 year old hasn't napped in a year (she was always a horrible napper). We are really struggling with quiet time, and I am pregnant and tired and really need it. My 5 and 7 year olds happily read/look at books on their beds. I made special boxes for my 2 year old with toys she only gets during quiet time, but she lasts about 5 minutes and then the screaming starts. It's been easier to just keep her out with me, but then I don't get a break! Help!
a QUIET 2 year old? What is this blasphemy????
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You may be very right as to her intention. It would make much more sense-- do your best and have grace for the rest. That completely makes sense. I didn't read it that way. Perhaps I would have had she not made the comment about it's ok to not take a complete break...That was what made me think she was advocating a complete break if one thought it was needed.
I don't know what her intent was. I do indeed hope that it was this interpretation, but either way, I can certainly see how it could be read the other way as well. I didn't read the comments, but perhaps she clarified further there.
Her intent is pretty clear to me. Academics may not ALWAYS be your number 1 priority and that's actually ok!
I'm an unschooler at heart and I firmly believe learning takes place ALL the time. For example my 7 yo asked what the yellow reflectors in the road are for. Did I need a curric for that? No. Was that in a lesson plan? No. My 8 yo asked my dad if he was ever in a war and had a conversation about how he got drafted but wasn't actually in any wars. Again, no lesson plans. This same 8 yo asked me the other day if a tornado could destroy a metal building. No curric, no lesson plans, no worksheets, etc.
This stuff happens with kids ALL the time, even during times of your life when everything is chaotic, beyond stressful, and youre barely hanging on by a thread.
I don't recall much about when we took 8 months off but my kids made friends that they still have even though we've moved to 2 different states since then.
Taking a year off from academics does not mean that the kids didn't learn anything for a whole year. That's not even possible to learn NOTHING for a whole year. And it's NOT illegal.
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I've learned way more since I started homeschooling than I ever did in school. But the most recent thing is that home mail delivery started during the Civil War and that the last Civil War vet died in the 1950's.
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I've read the article three times now, trying to figure out why people are bashing her for suggesting doing nothing for an entire year. She never said that. She mentioned that this would look different for each family, that it did not necessarily mean not doing any formal academics. She spoke of including her children in life, not ignoring them for a year. So agree with her, or disagree. I don't care. But I do find it unfair to judge her based on one's own negative idea of what she said rather than what she actually said.
I guess some are assuming that not having academics as the top priority in their life somehow means they are neglecting their children.
The 8 months I did that 2 of my kids took horse back riding lessons, while my youngest played in the dirt. Our homeschool group had an International Night where families learned about and shared info about different countries and my girls chose the country their daddy came from originally. We spent a lot of time at the library. They played with their friends.
But academics was NOT my top priority. Nobody suffered for it.
There is a HUGE difference in NEGLECTING your children and not having the times tables being memorized. HUGE.
Unless you are in coma it is completely impossible to not learn something every day. It may not come from a workbook. It may not be in a lesson plan. It may not be what "they" say you should know according to your grade, but isn't that one main reason most of us homeschool?
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My 4th grade dd doesn't seem to learn with the "natural" method too well. FOr some reason, because she is a big-picture person, and so clever and bright, and witty, and makes such great connections and whatnot, I thought I could be more fre- form with her education. I have finally realized that is NOT going to work for her in skill subject areas, and she actually learns best with very systematic step by step review built in.
Apparently I just realized that she thinks Alaska is south of California and next to Hawaii (because that is how they show it in her Maps Globes Graphs book) ...among other frightening realizations.
Is there a geography drill book anywhere that actually focuses on WHERE THINGS ARE ....aka (NOT the 5 themes of geography).
Using Seterra would be OK except that I want to be more hands on with monitoring her progress.
If this helps any better an 18 yo ps student my 18 yo dd knows thought Hawaii and Alaska were next to each other because they are on the maps.
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The law is still the law, and I think character and godliness is formed BY doing the academics. So not different priorities, just different logic.
Out of curiosity what law are you speaking of?
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"Does Your Homeschool Need A Grace Year?"
http://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/does-your-homeschool-need-a-grace-year/
Ok. I'll be honest, I have heard this irl before..people who say life happens or other things take priority .... But then when I saw this blog post and ALL of the comments appreciating it...I admit, it freaks me out a little. A whole year?!? I get a grace week...a grace month...even a few months (new baby, sickness, crisis) but then eventually you move on. If they were in school and crisis happened would you pull them out to do nothing? For a whole year? And the dept. of education would be ok with it?
I get backing down to the basics for a year in special circumstances...but NOTHING? I guess..I just think....if you need a complete year break you should put your child in school?
Am I way off? I get needing a break. I understand special circumstances... But a year?
Am I alone in my thinking? Being closed/narrow minded? Not realistic? I am curious as to others' thoughts...
Back in 2002 my dh got laid off. We were living in a state with family and he got sent even further away. I had 3 kids at the time and a house I needed to get ready to sell, maintain, and be willing to show with 5 minutes notice because we wanted to sell asap. Then he got laid off again and went to another state. The 3rd lay off had him changing companies and we wound up moving to a state we had no intentions of moving to. At the time my kids were 11, 9, and 5. I could not handle academics, the house, the emotional stuff of continuous lay offs, the we-are-moving-to-Minnesota-no-it'sMichigan-no-I-could-go-t-Alaska-never-mind-we-are-going-to-florida, the pets, the keeping the house spotless, the packing, etc. so my kids got about 8 months with NO academics.
2 have graduated. One has written a book. 1 is almost done with cosmetology school, and one is better than my math-minded mechanically-minded dh, despite not even learning to read till she was...gasp!...9!
Yea, don't judge till you've BTDT. :-)
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At Lulu, click on the word "preview" underneath the picture of the book. It opens up with a larger picture of the cover. Look at the top right, there's a number 1 in the box....click on the arrow to the right of it to advance through the sample pages. I only looked at level 3, but there are over 40 pages of samples for that level. Amazon also has some samples.
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Thanks!!!!
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Ya know, I actually would start at Apples because believe it or not, she WILL learn things she didn't know. "I" have learned things I didn't know. Heck, I read the books for fun myself! lol
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LoF Fractions is the first book where I can see the problems getting more challenging and thought provoking. The algebra books look interesting, but we are not quite there yet.
My dd is doing Decimals and Percents along with Saxon 1/2. She was a little weak with percents so I started her there in LOF. It was a good idea on my part because she has learned new things and the weaknesses she had in percents is gone. Before this she was doing MUS and she flew through Epsilon and Zeta in just a few months. When she started MUS prealgebra I knew she needed something more challenging but I'm afraid that LOF isn't enough on it's own so I put her in Saxon.
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Saxon 3 times a week and Life of Fred 2 times a week. I've thought of having my 14 yo just do Freddie awhile because she says it's harder than Saxon.
I meant FRED not FREDDIE!
Stupid Kindle...
Talk to me about Math curriculums
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Even if they don't, learning the multiplication would not be all that hard or time consuming. There are exceptions, of course. My 14 dd has never memorized her times tables and I tried EVERY thing ever invented. lol