Aarrgghh!!!!! I hate math!!! My son is pretty good in math, but lazy and not very attentive (has dyslexia & adhd). We did CLE math last year, but while he could do the work, he didn't really understand or retain what he was doing. We are doing Saxon 7/6 this year with the DIVE cds. Every day has been a battle. He really hates it. Hates the work, doesn't like the cd, and misses many simple things that he knows. I have him fix every wrong answer and it's never a problem the second time around. My dd, however, is a not a mathy person and cried every day with CLE math. This year she is doing TT7 and LOVES it. She understands it and feels good about doing math. This is a first for her! I'm fine with TT for her because I know she'll never go into a math-heavy field. I wanted my son to do Saxon because I could see him in a math-type field. I don't want to limit his options. Should I switch my son to TT to make our lives easier? Will I ruin him for life if I do? I have heard so many times that TT is light and too easy. I just want him to learn math well and not have it be torture. I hate to spend yet more money on math, but Saxon is just not working out like I thought it would. Should we just tough it out?? ARGH!!!! What should I do??? :confused: Gayle

I have a Nutri-Mill I used to grind wheat in. I've tried to get it cleaned out but I've not been able to get it clean enough to feel comfortable using it for gluten free. I have tried rice in it and it takes FOREVER! I ended up getting a dry container for my VitaMix that grinds rice great. I've done chickpeas in it and a few other things. Never had a problem with it. Gayle

Thank you all for the encouraging replies. I really am grateful for all of the suggestions. We get together with other families that homeschool. Usually it's mom's I'm friendly with and the kids just happen to play together. My dd has never really clicked with one of them. She really has never clicked with anyone besides her cousin who lives in another state. She's friendly, but not close with anyone. I guess I need to pursue a relationship with some of her acquaintances. We do have a close family. My 3 kiddos play together all the time, which is probably why I never really put the need for friends as a high priority. I will really make an effort in the coming weeks to help her connect on a more personal level with some of the girls we see most often. Thanks again! Gayle

My 11 year old dd is the sweetest child, so kind and hard working, but very shy. She is on the quiet side and is not very outgoing at all (much like me :)). We've always homeschooled. Anyway, we were in the car today chatting about how our school year has been going. She brought up that some of the girls on her soccer team asked her where she went to school, to which she replied she was homeschooled. They asked about having friends. My poor daughter couldn't even name one friend she has. That made her feel pretty bad. We do lots of social things & field trips with different homeschoolers, but she doesn't really have anyone she feels close enough to invite over to play. We haven't formed any real bonds even with kids that we see pretty regularly. None of my 3 kids have, and two of them are quite outgoing and friendly. I'm feeling so bad about this! I'm already struggling with homeschooling. I guess I'm just looking for encouragement that everything will be ok. Maybe some advise on how to help her really make a friend would help. I don't know. I'm just feeling really sad for her. Thanks for listening... Gayle

I have an odd question. I think my son (12) is ADHD, and have thought that for a long time. I am homeschooling him and can accomodate him just fine. I don't need a diagnosis for what we do at home, but am wondering if there is an advantage to getting one anyway. Are there any benefits to having an official dx? I'm thinking as far as college aid, admission, etc. Thanks! Gayle

Lord willing, I don't see public school as ever being an option for us. :D Gayle

I just wanted to update this for anyone who might have this same question later on. I ended up emailing Saxon to see what they would suggest. The person who emailed back said to do 76 with success rather than 87 with a struggle. I think that's what we'll end up doing, afterall, my ds IS going through puberty and sometimes doesn't know his own name!!! I'm going to order th 76 with DIVE and test him through the lessons. We'll slow down when he gets stuck. I had considered Saxon Teacher, but when we watched the demo, neither my son or I could stand the voice! For some reason it just grated on our nerves! Thanks so much for everyone's helpful responses. I so appreciate having this board work through things. Thanks again! Gayle

I appreciate all of the helpful responses. They've given me many good ideas. I emailed Saxon to see what they would suggest. The person who emailed back said the do 76 with success rather than 87 with a struggle. I'm thinking I'll get 76 and have him test through the lessons until he gets stuck. I'll probably end up getting the DIVE cd for 76, too, just so that we have clear & understandable teaching when we do find a weakness. Thanks again to everyone who responded! This board is so invaluable! Gayle

That's good to know about the 3rd edition being ok. I found a copy used, but I think the answer key is answers only, not solutions. I probably would need the solutions!! Oh, well... it's just money, right?!?! Gayle

All good suggestions! Thank you for helping me think this through. I'm driving myself crazy questioning and just needed outside opinions. I think I will contact Saxon to see what they would do. I'm thinking I should go ahead and buy 76 and have him test out of the lessons until he gets stuck. Now to decide if I need the DIVE cd for 76 or not!! Thanks so much for all the help!! Gayle

Sounds just like my son! I hope Saxon helps him as well! Gayle

Does it matter what edition of 76 I get? I think the 4th is the most current, but if I can get an older one used, that would be better on the budget (especially since I just bought 87 w/ the DIVD cd!). Gayle

Thank you for that encouragement. One of the reasons we're going with Saxon is for the drill and review. I want him really learn the concepts, not just skim & get by. Do you think it's worth buying a 76 book for review? Or is there enough teaching/review in 87 to make things clear to him. Thanks again! Gayle

Thank you for the help and encouragement thus far. I'm thinking since I've already purchased 87 to go ahead and go for it. I just don't want to cause problems later down the road. I do think there's a strong possibility that he'll end up in a math strong field. He missed a couple that he just wasn't thinking on, and then two on concepts that he should have known but didn't remember from having the summer off. There were a couple of things he's not been exposed to yet, and those are what gave me pause. I'm hoping that with the review component of Saxon that he'll pick up on what he's missed. Gingersmom said: "When my daughter came out of public school I had her do the placement test and put her in Saxon 76. After about 1 month it became apparent it was way too easy for her. She did it for about 3 months before we moved to Saxon 87. Saxon 87 was very easy for her also (she is really good at math)." That's what I'm worried about. The 76 looked so much like what he's already done. He's already on the lazy side. He would be happy to skim by. Thanks again & keep the advise coming!!! Gayle

I have a dilema with placing my son into Saxon math. He's 12 (almost 13) going into 7th grade. He's really good at math and has never struggled, although he does have dylsexia and attention problems. He's behind in his math because of some switching around I did :crying:, but I want to get him caught up. He just finished the CLE 500 series and had no problem with any of the work or concepts. The problem with CLE is that my son doesn't take the time to read the lesson, he just skims and does the work. I would help him with it, but I'm not very good at math myself and struggle to explain things clearly. For that reason we are moving to Saxon with the DIVE cd's. I had him take the placement test. He scored 2 points shy of getting into 8/7. The 7/6 samples that I saw looked like stuff we have covered, so I went ahead and bought the 8/7, thinking the challenge would be good for him, and that it would get him ready for algebra next year. Now that it's arrived, I'm wondering if the 8/7 is going to be too much for him. It looks pretty beefy. I'm thinking my options at this point are: 1. Try the 8/7 for a bit and see how he does, with the thought of moving him back to 7/6 if necessary; 2. Return the 8/7 and get the 7/6 to go through quickly; 3. ???? Opinions or thougths on what I should do? Have I really blown it?? I really need someone to help me think this through. Thank you!! Gayle

I have a dilema with placing my son into Saxon math. He's 12 (almost 13) going into 7th grade. He's really good at math and has never struggled, although he does have dylsexia and attention problems. He's behind in his math because of some switching around I did :crying:, but I want to get him caught up. He just finished the CLE 500 series and had no problem with any of the work or concepts. The problem with CLE is that my son doesn't take the time to read the lesson, he just skims and does the work. I would help him with it, but I'm not very good at math myself and struggle to explain things clearly. For that reason we are moving to Saxon with the DIVE cd's. I had him take the placement test. He scored 2 points shy of getting into 8/7. The 7/6 samples that I saw looked like stuff we have covered, so I went ahead and bought the 8/7, thinking the challenge would be good for him, and that it would get him ready for algebra next year. Now that it's arrived, I'm wondering if the 8/7 is going to be too much for him. It looks pretty beefy. I'm thinking my options at this point are: 1. Try the 8/7 for a bit and see how he does, with the thought of moving him back to 7/6 if necessary; 2. Return the 8/7 and get the 7/6 to go through quickly; 3. ???? Opinions or thougths on what I should do? Have I really blown it?? I really need someone to help me think this through. Thank you!! Gayle

We are using the division blue book this summer and I've noticed a lot of wrong answers in the key. It's frustrating because I NEED a key to help me grade the work :tongue_smilie:. Gayle

We didn't use the tests in 4th & under. Once my dc hit 5th, we started testing. I want them to learn how to study for and take tests so that they'll be prepared for tests they'll encounter in college. I've noticed that they put much more effort into subjects they have to study for. Their retention seems to be better, too. :)Gayle

I really appreciate all the responses so far. They've been very helpful. To answer some of the points: With MUS we did all the systematic reviews, it just didn't seem to be quite enough. Maybe if I did another workbook alongside it, it would work. I hate to overload her with two full programs, though. We did the placement test for CLE and she tested into the 500 series. She actually tests really well. Her Iowa scores this year in math were 99th percentile for the math total. (She scored 98th in concepts & estimation, 99th in problem solving & data interpretation, and 95th in computation). I will definitely have her do a placement test no matter what we go with. I really want her to succeed wherever she needs to be. I was kind of thinking she'd place in Saxon 65 or TT 6 or 7. It doesn't matter to me what level she tests in to, as long as she is understanding the work. I like the idea of watching the cd and then teaching her from that. I do sit with her during math, and am willing to do whatever is needed to help her learn. Thanks so much for all the help so far. Any other thoughts? Thanks! Gayle

We used the Blue from MM. I got Division 2 to help reinforce her long division. We used MUS Alpha, Beta, & part of Gamma. Those were good, but not enough review. She really started to struggle in the second half of Gamma. We started using Bob Jones DVD's at that point and switched to their math since we had the dvds. We struggled through BJU with the math dvds and me re-teaching each day. She could get the concepts after much work, but then would forget them during the next chapter. Just not enough review. Gayle

My dd is 11 and going into 6th grade. She is a bright, dilligent, self-motivated, hard-working student. She's a pleasure to teach in all ways except one... MATH. She HATES math! She cries every day and says how dumb she is. It's so hard for her. The thing is, she knows her facts. We do flashcards and calculadders daily and she's great with that. It's all the rest that she doesn't get. We are currently using CLE 5 and are working slowly through book 507. I've had her do the Key To Fractions & Decimals and she's currently working through Percents. We previously used BJU math with the dvd's, but that totally confused her. I've printed off one of Math Mammoth's supplemental books, but that confuses her... she says there's not enough instruction in it. I sit with her daily to do math, but I'm so bad at it, it's a struggle to clearly help her. I've never understood math and really want her to get it. I'm considering Saxon or TT. She needs continual review. I need the support of a teaching cd. I've had her watch the samples for TT, DIVE, & Saxon Teacher. All three had her in tears. She did say that the TT would be the lesser of the evils :001_huh:. I'm just at my wit's end with her and math. We are breaking for the summer, but I need to get something for the fall. I hope the summer will clear her head a little. Any advise about what to use? Thanks in advance! Gayle

Why are you looking to switch? I'm wondering because I'm using CLE now and thinking of trying TT next year :)... I guess the grass is always greener! Gayle

:lurk5: I'm hoping you get some responses on this, because I'm interested in it as well. It looks really good. Gayle

Anyone else know anything about Thinkwell? :)