That is a perfect thing about homeschooling: if he's not ready you can slow down. It's the early years. He will be fine. Take it from me the worrywart!!! LOL

Are you getting him ready to go into traditional school or continue home schooling? If you are putting him in a school then I would ask what they expect. I suspect you are fine either way.

I have the choice of Saxon or MCP next year for my then 5th grader. I have heard quite a bit about Saxon and I know it is very popular. I know little to nothing about MCP and I would like to make an informed decision. She has worked with Seton Press Math for her entire math experience. It's a drill/spiral/classic approach. If you can give me anything about MCP I am all ears!!!

As a woman of advanced age as well - YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

I don't personally like the trend of giving review questions that mirror the test exactly. I feel like it's cheating. It's directing the student to only study those particular things and I agree with the above poster who said:

I don't get much opportunity to watch TV but when I do, I choose "Big Bang Theory", and nearly anything on HGTV. Both my husband and I love watching "Last Resort".

I have a 9 year old who at 7 and 8 wrote JUST like your daughter. I did nothing but concentrate on her spelling words and keep her writing. I would correct the words with her and pick one or two each week for her to work a little harder on. Other than that, I did nothing. My friends told me that there are two components: decoding and encoding. My daughter was GREAT at decoding (phonics, reading, breaking down unfamiliar words) and abysmal at encoding (turning it around and spelling). One other thing that happened is that we moved away from her best friend and I allowed them to text chat on the computer and my phone. Her friend is a year older and corrected her spelling a lot and told her she couldn't understand her. That was a big motivator as well! ;) Be patient. It will come. My daughter is now an A+ speller and writes stories with few mistakes now.

Does anyone know ANYTHING about MCP Math? I can't find anyone who's used it!! LOL

Yes. Even though the "typical" choice for 5th grade is listed as 6/5, you start there or 5/4 if warranted.

On I know it is not a college textbook. The comment had more to do with how small the print was, how much information was on each page, and no pictures. It screamed "too grown up for me!!!!!" at a time when she felt totally overwhelmed with the jump on what was expected of her in fourth grade.

I was answering from my phone and it quoted in one post and put my answer in the other. Sorry

Seton does give the placement test. I had her take it last year and she placed in Saxon 5/4 at the 4th grade level, but just barely and she really struggled doing the test.

whoops - I am new here. I don't know why it quoted you. LOL

We can only choose from Saxon or MCP MATH. Those are my choices. Before this, they had Seton Press Math that was written by the school itself but they have not finished writing the older grades yet. Do you know anything about MCP? I don't really know many people who have used it so I don't feel I can make an informed decision yet.

I am fully enrolled in a box curriculum that gives me all my lesson plans and choices. This next year, in 5th grade, the options are Saxon 6/5 or MCP Mathematics Level E. I am somewhat ticked about this because we have done Seton Press Math for the past 5 years and they do not have any math books written for 5th grade or above. They switch you to Saxon or MCP for fifth grade. Then, in 6th you have to go to Saxon. I have looked through the Saxon book and I don't particularly like how it's set up and my daughter FREAKED when she saw it. She said, "Mom, this looks like a college textbook!!!!!!" I browsed MCP and it seems below level. Can someone help me decide if I should just deal and switch to Saxon since I will have to anyway in the following year, or are there benefits to MCP Math for my daughter who is very bright, but not really strong in Math. She doesn't know her math facts by heart and she HATES drilling. Any real life information would be very helpful to me as I know NOTHING about MCP Math. I have heard great things about Saxon and I know it must be a good program, but I need to know more about MCP math before I dismiss it or choose it. Thank you! Thank you, Susan Update: I just got this answer from the counselors: We recommend the switch to Saxon in the 5th grade. The Seton Press books were designed with a switch to Saxon 5/4 in mind. That being said, in a side-by-side comparison, the Seton Press Math is a little more similar to MCP. One of the reasons we suggest using Saxon though (aside from the fact that it is the series used at higher grade levels and so getting accustomed to it can be helpful) is that there are considerably more resources available for Saxon including the DIVE or Saxon Teacher DVD companions--just in case the extra aids are useful as the material gets more difficult. So....in discussing it with the DH, we are pretty set on giving Saxon a try. I'll update in another post as to what helped sway us one way or the other.

My name is Susan and I just joined the board after knowing about this place for many years. I am home schooling our 9 year old daughter in 4th grade. We are fully enrolled in Seton Home Study School. She has been home schooled all her life. I am interested in learning about other people's home schooling journey and seeing fun things to supplement our curriculum with!