I have looked at AoPS before and printed excerpts for him to look at, but I think they got lost in the shuffle. I will have him look at the excerpts and see what he thinks. Thanks for your help! Kim

My son did not like the wording in Jacobs. It was different than what we have used in the past, Saxon. He liked the short lessons and the cartoons with each chapter, but he found the wording frustrating. I sit in the room with him while he was doing his math and would explain as needed, but he just got to a point that he was too frustrated with it. When I asked him about it he said that when he is doing math he 'sees' things/parts in pictures in his mind. Each part of an equation is a block. He asked me to find something more 'visual' so I started looking around. We went through Saxon 8/7, finishing up over the summer. He has always done well with math. He has a unique way of looking at and solving math problems which I do not always follow, but he is able to solve the problems. His biggest problem is the attention to details, such as signs, making mistakes when copying a problem, messy writing which results in errors, etc., which results in incorrect answers. He has the process down, but makes careless mistakes. I think we will stick with Lial's and I will work more closely with him on the areas that he has problems with. He is quite frustrated with math right now and dreads math time. Kim

Thank you for sharing your experiences HollyDay and Derek. My son had looked at TT years ago and didn't like it. I found a sample online for him to evaluate after HollyDay suggested it for algebra and he still didn't like it. In fact, he said that he does not want algebra on the computer. He just wants a text book. So, none of the curricula I had been considering will work for us. <sigh> Kim

I have not looked at these before. I'll check them out. Kim

My ds will soon be 12. We started algebra in the fall with Jacobs. After a few weeks, we both decided that it wasn't working so I read the forums and decided to try Lial's. We both like it better, however my right-brained son seems to need something more 'visual'. We're on our Christmas break and I am trying to decide what algebra program would work best for us. I am currently looking at MUS, ChalkDust & VideoText algebra and would like to hear from others who have used any of these programs. I want the hear the good and the bad. Thanks! Kim

My ds will soon be 12. We started algebra in the fall with Jacobs. After a few weeks, we both decided that it wasn't working so I read the forums and decided to try Lial's. We both like it better, however my right-brained son seems to need something more 'visual'. We're on our Christmas break and I am trying to decide what algebra program would work best for us. I am currently looking at MUS, ChalkDust & VideoText algebra and would like to hear from others who have used any of these programs. I want the hear the good and the bad. Thanks! Kim

After 4 years of FLL, we used Saxon Grammar for 2 years. My son did well with the grammar portion. We tried the writing portion, but it didn't work well for us. We are now usuing WWS and I highly recommend it. I think Saxon Grammar and WWS would be a good combination. Kim

I am in a similar situation with my eleven year old son. He has wanted to be an author since he was seven. He has been working on a novel for about 9 months now, but at a slow pace. To give him a better idea of what being an author is like, we are doing the NaNoWriMo young writer's program next month. Hopefully he will get a better feel for what's it is really like to have a deadline. In school this year we are focusing on writing with WWS and The Creative Writer to further develop his writing skills. The Creative Writer has been helpful in getting to work outside his comfort zone. He has a specific way he likes to write, but the lessons in The Creative Writer requires him to think about writing a little differently. Some of the lessons have tied well with his NaNoWriMo prep. We are using Analytical Grammar for grammar. Luckily my son understands that having a best seller isn't a sure thing, so he is prepared to have a backup profession. We try to support his goal to become an author, but have always stressed that it may take a while to make enough money to support himself. Kim

It has been a couple of years since we used it, but as I recall there's no reason you couldn't do the space section first. Kim

It worked well for us. We used Saxon 5/4 through 8/7. My ds learned the material, but by then end of 8/7 he was ready for a new curriculum. We're using Jacobs and Life of Fred for Algebra this year. Kim

I go over the lessons with my son and stay nearby while he does the assigned problems. He does not stay focused if I leave the room. Kim

I think it's OK for her to write without first telling you the sentences aloud. I think you have to adjust the curriculum to fit your child. For some kids, summarizing aloud first helps them, but it may not help your daughter. It might help to talk to her about why she chose to just write 3 sentences and skip telling them to you first. Being able to pick out the most important sentences without prompts from you will come with experience. My ds 11 and I started WWS a couple of weeks ago and the first week was quite stressful. He did not have much experience with narrations, so it was hard for him and stressful for both of us. Did your daughter do WWE? We did not so I bought WWE 3 so we can practice narrations so it will become easier for him. Kim

I usually start planning for fall in January or February. Each year I re-evaluate what we have been using for the current year. I look to see what else is out there and if there is something that might work better for us next year. I usually do not start buying until June or July. Kim

:party:

I like the idea of listening to an oral version before my son starts writing. That would definitely make the editing less painful for him. This is going to be a stressful year. Kim

It could be puberty 'brain fog'. My ds 11 sometimes just forgets how to do math problems that he has been able to do for years. A friend of mine told me years ago that the middle school years are painful because kids often forget how to do things they've always known how to do, but that it gets better. I have no suggestions on the attitude problem, though I am listening since I am starting the attitude battle with my ds. Kim

Why did you drop back to WWE3 instead of WWE4? I have not looked at them so I was thinking of dropping back one 'level' and purchasing WWE4 to work on his summarizing skills. Thanks for referencing your other posts. I always enjoy your detailed posts and find them quite helpful. I think I will have to take a more hands-on guiding approach for a while, until he gets better at non-creative writing. Kim

I thought about dropping back and doing WWE, but I'm not quite ready. I want to give him more time to adjust. I'll check out the summarizing workbook. That might be just what we need. Thanks! Kim

Yes, I think you would. The lessons are written to the student, but I think you would have to take a more active role in the lesson. It can't hurt to try. If you find he's not ready for it, you can put it aside for a while. Kim

It's hard to say. Some of the lessons might be a bit tough for him. Several of the lessons are about creating characters, writing dialouge, describing scenes. My son has always enjoyed creative writing, but he would not have enjoyed The Creative Writer when he was 7. Kim

:001_smile: I think it will be really good for my ds once we get going. It's forcing him outside his comfort zone right now and I'm hoping that gets better with time. Kim

All week I have tried to tell my son that it will get better as we go along and he gets more comfortable with this. After he did his assignment today I had him read SWB's example in the instructor's text to give him an idea of what is expected. I think that helped him some. At first he said, "Wow, she's good at this." :001_smile: It helped him to see how he could have better worded his narration. Although I know it will be a struggle at times, I plan to work through this program. He needs to work on this type of writing and it will only get harder if I put it off. We will take breaks as needed, but I hope to finish this program over the next year. I hope things continue to improve for you and your daughter. Kim

My son has really enjoyed The Creative Writer. I just ordered level 2 because level 1 has been such a hit. I have tried to stick with the rubric. I have made sure the sentences are in chronological order and grammatically correct. I knew it would be a struggle going in, but I didn't expect tears every day. Thanks for the support! :) Kim

We did not do WWE, which is part of the problem. I'm hoping it will get better as we go along. Kim

.....and it has been rather stressful. My ds 11 wants to be an author and he has a great start on a novel. He's great with creative writing, but when faced with the restrictions of the narrations in the first week of WWS, he panicked. He has always been a very reluctant writer because he's afraid he will not do it 'right'. He's a perfectionist and does not like mistakes, so having me pointing out his mistakes this week, even though it was done very gently, was painful for him. He's a rule follower, so when the assignment was 'write 5 or 6 sentences summarizing the passage' he did his best to write 5 to 6 sentences.....even if that meant he had run-on sentences. He had a hard time deciding what was important, so he got creative with combining sentences in order to not exceed the 5 to 6 sentence goal. All 4 lessons ended in tears because he could not stand to hear me go over his mistakes. I know this is due to the fact that he has done little writing in the past and it will get easier as we continue through the rest of the curriculum. Still, it was hard to see him so upset about the process. If you got this far, thanks for reading. I just wanted to share with those who will understand. :001_unsure: Kim