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Talk to me about using Teaching Textbooks or Saxon Math (instead of Aops or some other mathy curricula) if you have mathy kids. I was about to buy Aops algebra and realized that some people stick to curricula like TT and Saxon for their very capable math students. Why? What do you like about it?
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DS noticed and started using the mathcounts trainer today (http://artofproblemsolving.com/mathcounts_trainer/) and loves it. Not sure if this is new or not. Would like to know if anyone else has used it and how do they like it. Also are there are other similar trainers out there??
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Dear Forum Folk, We hope you have found The Well-Trained Mind and these forums to be excellent resources for your home schooling efforts! We’ve been in the classical education business for over 15 years, providing homeschooling families with high-quality, ground-breaking resources that combine the best of the classical tradition with innovative teaching methods. In fact, more than half a million parents have successfully used the curricula, book lists, and methods of The Well-Trained Mind to teach their children at home. Now, we’re excited to bring you the second academic year of the Well-Trained Mind Academy, with experienced instructors to further your ability to homeschool your children at middle school and high school levels of learning. We’ve listened to our customers who feel they would benefit from access to instructors for advanced or technical subjects. Explore our online course offerings to discover exciting new options for your family! Over 25 full-year courses and 13 single-semester electives. Special focus on written language, small class sizes, and instructor feedback. New electives offering music theory, Socratic discussion, spoken rhetoric, and grammar. Pre-Registration for the 2015-2016 Academic Year is available only until April 14th, which entitles you to the steepest discounts we will provide to the general public! Simply visit our site for a list of courses, and pre-register today! www.WTMAcademy.com Contact Us: 844-986-9862 Why the extension? Many have asked us about monthly payment plans. We’re finalizing a system that will allow families to make automated monthly payments on tuition, rather than having to pay the full amount up front. It's almost ready to go, but still needs thorough testing. So we’ve decided to delay general registration until that payment-plan testing is finished.
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DS was in bricks and mortar "high school math 2 (honors)" this past year, as of tomorrow, he's back to homeschooling and decided to use Art of Problem Solving for math. Even though his next scheduled class in school would be precalculus, I bought him the AoPS Intermediate Algebra book since AoPS is a more challenging text. Do you have any recommendations for transitioning to AoPS? I'd like it to be a successful transition. DS will be starting it in the next couple of days. We haven't completed any AoPS books so far, although we also have the Introduction to Counting and Probability book, and our plan is to alternate it with Intermediate Algebra whenever DS wants a change of pace for a day or a week. Thanks! P.S. DS had a pretty strong algebra 1 background, then used Jacobs Geometry, and last year pretty much covered through algebra 2 and some miscellaneous topics at a level above an average public school honors level, although apparently lots of volume but not problems anywhere near AoPS level. Thanks for any recommendations on starting with AoPS! -
Well! My 9 yo (turns 10 in a few months) has always been quite gifted in maths though he has never really love doing them; he ended up more or less radically accelerated because if he didn't do hard math most days, he was an emotional mess during non-math time. If he DID do hard math, he was unhappy during much of math but enjoyed the rest of his life. Almost a year ago we began working through AoPS Algebra at a pace of 45 - 60 minutes most days, with lots of breaks between problems. I alternated chapters of Algebra with some chapters of Intro Number Theory and Probability and that all seemed to be working well. The child did not learn terribly well reading on his own, but if we sat together to work through the teaching (grey) problems then all was fine. He just collapsed at the Challenge problems so I skipped them with the plan of going over them after we'd done the main body of the text. In chapters 6 and 7 (Ratios and Proportion) he struggled a bit, so I had him do the PreAlgebra book chapters for those topics and then continue onto the Algebra: this worked well. At the end of February we began chapter 8, Graphing Lines, and it was just so so hard for him. So I put him into the PreAlgebra graphing/geometry chapter and we did that. Since it was going so easily -- he could just read the prealgebra teaching bits himself and do the problems with a good degree of success -- and we were away from our home in March, I decided to have him finish the rest of the PreAlgebra book before coming back to chapter 8. He finished PreAlgebra well. But he cannot pick up the Algebra work gracefully -- it is just tears and struggles. I thought we could just re-do the book, but in chapter 2 it was the same. It is as if he's forgotten how to work hard. Or do the math. Or something. I don't know if the PreAlgebra time "spoiled" him for the AoPS work, and he got too used to being able to quickly "see" the strategy required or the path to the solution. While I want this child to continue to learn math, and to be challenged, and I do need a formal program with him, I am not wedded to AoPS for its own sake. We have stuck with it because I've seen him get excited about the ideas in AoPS, which never happened in the secondary Singapore materials when I tried those. But at the moment his brain seems overwhelmed by AoPS complexity. I am mainly considering just starting Intro Algebra again from the beginning, perhaps hitting the challenge problems as we go to build up problem solving stamina, OR moving us to Jacobs for algebra and geometry and then trying to come back to AoPS. Ideas? (thank you in advance) ETA: a third option I'm considering is to just keep moving forward in AoPS Algebra where we are, working for a reasonable amount of time each day and short breaks every 15 minutes or so. Doesn't matter if we take a week to do a problem, just keep engaged. -
Hello all, I have read a description on here of how people use the videos in AoPS but I can't find anything now with my search. Can anyone tell me how/when do you use the videos on the website? For example, the chapter starts out with problems, introducing you to new material you haven't seen before. Then it goes over the solutions to those problems and discusses that material. Then it gives you exercises on what you just learned. Where in that progression would you watch the video? I see that not every section has a corresponding video. I'm just curious at what point you watch it. Thanks! -
I know there's much anxiety over selecting a pre-algebra program. DS just completed AoPS Pre-Algebra and I kept detailed notes throughout so I decided to share it with the Hive. If you don't know much about AoPS, the company teaches mathematics using the discovery method. The student works through example problems that gradually increase in difficulty to teach a particular concept. After the example section, there is an explanation of the concept taught. There's often call-out boxes with important notes. After the section, there are exercises for the student to work through. At the end of every chapter, there's a review section and challenge problems. *** It is important that the student read the explanation section even if he or she understands the concept *** Background I began homeschooling DS in the middle of second grade. He is advanced, but not accelerated in math. He did Everyday Math in public school. At home, he did a combination of Primary Mathematics, Miquon, Beast Academy, and Math Mammoth plus a few other supplemental math books. By the end of fourth grade, he had completed MM5 and selected topics in MM6. He began AoPS Pre Algebra when he was 11 years old (fifth grade). He finished in a year and half (12 years old, sixth grade). Why I chose AoPS DS is good at mathematics and was easily bored by his elementary math programs. In primary math, he understood concepts easily, but gave up quickly when problems were challenging. I opted to use AoPS because I wanted to work on his problem-solving skills. I also wanted him to learn from being wrong. I admit that AoPS may not have been my son's choice at the beginning, but I was really enamored with the program (I questioned this decision multiple times through the past year and a half). Strengths The problem sets are excellent; I had a hard time finding an equivalent level of difficulty when DS needed additional practice. DS didn't spend hours working through equations that didn't vary much; he worked problems that required real thought. As he complained once, "These problems get hard quickly." Weaknesses Having read through AoPS Algebra, it's obvious this curriculum has a completely different tone. It seems much less conversational and more adult than Algebra (which is odd since this, being a prerequisite to Algebra, should have a more youthful voice). Oftentimes, the explanations use fifteen words when half the number would have been sufficient. In my opinion, the explanation sections of this book really need to be re-written to better serve its young customer base. How We Used AoPS For the first few chapters, we did buddy math. Since AoPS was completely different from anything DS had ever done before, we worked through example problems together. Next he'd read aloud the explanation part, then work through the section exercises, with me right by his side. After the first three chapters, he worked on his own. I never assigned problems; he just had a one hour time limit on math. DS did every problem: section, review, and challenge. For the challenge problems, I made myself available to provide assistance. I never told DS the answer outright when he needed help. I'd use guiding questions, trying to lead him to a strategy. If you opt to use AoPS, I'd recommend that you, as the teacher, work through Chapter 15 Problem Solving Strategies. This was the last chapter DS worked and once he reached it, I realized that I had already been teaching him these strategies when he was stuck. It's a good refresher for the parent. Ch 1 Properties of Arithmetic The biggest issue was DS was confused about "proving" concepts. He was uncertain about what this meant and what needed to be said. He was also confused by the "smiley" functions, proving the commutative and associative properties. Using a whiteboard, I showed him how functions can mean anything, even beyond the standard arithmetic +,-,*, and /. He had a bit of fun creating rocket, flower, and star functions and proving or disproving the commutative and associative properties. Ch 2 Exponents This chapter was the most difficult. For DS, perhaps it was that exponents were still fairly new compared to standard arithmetic, but he really had a tough time. I repeated often, "Multiplication is repeated addition; exponents are repeated multiplication. Write it down. Write it out. Simplify." Ch 3 Number Theory Here's where my son's arithmetic skills conflicted with his thinking skills. The mantra for this chapter was, "Don't be a computer. Be a thinker." We did take several brief breaks to work on prime factorization. DS would often compute first, before simplifying which caused much frustration. I purchased Lial's Pre-Algebra just to have additional problem sets for him to work through. It took him a long time to realize the benefits of simplifying before computing. Ch 4 Fractions This wasn't a difficult chapter for DS. Honestly it was a relief after the first three chapters. Ch 5 Equations and Inequalities This was more difficult than chapter four, but still not as bad as the first three. This chapter he really needed to check his work and ask himself if the solution made sense, especially with the reversal of signs for inequalities. Ch 6 Decimals No issues with this chapter. Ch 7 Ratios, Conversions, and Rates In this chapter, I had to take a few minutes to discuss with DS the relationship between fractions, decimals, and ratios. DS tended to forget that there were different ways to look at similar numbers. 1:3, 1/4, 0.25 are all the same number, but expressed in different ways. He did have some difficulty with rates that weren't expressed in terms of speed so I would encourage him to write out the problem. Ch 8 Percents No issues with this chapter other than we had a few conversations similar to the one above: 1:3, 1/4, 0.25 and 25% are all the same number. Ch 9 Square Roots He greatest difficulty with this chapter was understanding that x^(1/2) + x^(1/2) equals 2*x^(1/2), not x. We had to back up a bit and write out everything so he could prove to himself that this expression was true. Ch 10 Angles, Ch 11 Perimeter and Area, and Ch 12 Right Triangles and Quadrilaterals These chapters are grouped together because they passed quickly and required the same skills. The only note I had was that DS would often assume the pictures were drawn to scale, which is not an assumption he should make. Ch 13 Data and Statistics Another quick chapter. DS just had to make sure he wasn't making assumptions based on information that wasn't there. Ch 14 Counting As the second to last chapter, DS struggled a bit. I think because it was his first true exposure to probability. He could easily figure out the likelihood of rolling a one on a six-sided die. He could determine the probability of rolling two ones on two six-sided dice. Where he got confused was probability for separate cases, as in the likelihood of one penny and two pennies showing the same number of heads. Ch 15 Problem-Solving Strategies An easier chapter that DS flew through, except for the challenge problems, which are tough. Final Thoughts Looking back, I'm content with our experience even though I had many doubts through the past 18 months. After Chapter 5, I showed DS Lial's pre-algebra and asked him if he wanted to switch. He said no; he liked the challenge and "at least Art of Problem Solving is never boring." For Algebra, I gave DS the option between Forrester's and AoPS and he wants to continue with AoPS. Talk to me in a year and I may have a different opinion ;) Like many other members have said, AoPS is not for everyone. For my dd, I'm pretty sure I'll use something other than AoPS. She would struggle with the uncertainty and find the frustration demoralizing. But AoPS worked for my DS in pre-algebra and I'm hoping it will continue to work for him in Algebra. ETA: Corrected some wording
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Richard Rusczyk, the founder of the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS), will be speaking in the Boston area on Saturday, September 27, 2014. Specifically, Richard's talk will be held in MIT's student center from about 9:30 am to 11 am (including a Question and Answer session). The title of his talk is "School Isn't Enough: Education Outside the Classroom". The talk is free and everyone is welcome to attend. Richard's talk is part of the Math Prize for Girls (MPfG) event (which I help run), but you don't need to be part of MPfG to attend the talk. You can find a little more info here: http://mathprize.atfoundation.org/schedule
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Did you know that there are AOPS geometry videos on Hippocampus that are not on the AoPS site? http://www.hippocampus.org/HippoCampus/Algebra%20%26%20Geometry
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So I'm specifically curious about kids using AoPS PreA "on-level" - 6th or 7th or 8th graders using it for PreAlgebra, not young geniuses using it "early." How long does your student spend working at one sitting? And how much do they get done in one sitting? Alternatively, how long does it take to finish a section? Do they do Lesson problems one day, exercises the next day? And how about review and challenge problems? My dd is loving the book, feels like she's learning from it, and isn't struggling. But it seems to take her a looooooooooooong time to complete a section. Just trying to get a feel for the normal range for other kids her age. -
Wapiti wrote the following on the Saxon Math- Early Impressions thread: I agree with her..I need to hear about ideas and materials to teach mathematical problem solving. Please help us out. :D Thank-you, ~h -
My dd12 is finishing ch 3 of AoPS Pre-Algebra. She is generally a very slow math student (it takes her for.ev.er to work through a set of problems), but she is liking the challenge of AoPS so far. I am wondering if I can lighten her load by omitting some of the problems. We are already skipping the challenge problems. The regular ones are challenging enough. :tongue_smilie: I'm asking, because I want her to finish PreA in a reasonable time frame. Ideally, by September or October, so that she can start Algebra in 8th grade. We aren't sure if she will go to ps for high school, or if I will still homeschool her. If she ends up going to a local school, I can't have her halfway though an Algebra course at the start of 9th grade. Do you do all the problems in each set? Do you do ALL the review problems? There are so many of those, and it takes her 3 or 4 days to work through a review if we do each problem. If I only do some of the review problems, would you do every other one or just truncate the assignment? I don't have enough experience with their program to see if there's a pattern to how the review problems are assigned.
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We are far enough along with this that I think it is worth sharing, and I'd love to see how others are working this out. A. began AoPS Algebra during the fall, roughly 45" a day though not necessarily all at once. We began algebra when he was failing to engage with pre-algebra (he was antsy and bored-seeming, though he had NOT mastered all the material) and Singapore's Discovering Math also failed to engage. I provided a lot of active teaching support and focused (thanks to help from the board, esp. Ruth) on teaching him to write his work in an organized way and helping him learn to read the math and work toward self-teaching. We started on the chalkboard and now A. uses 1/2" graph paper for his work. We pull out PreAlgebra for necessary review (only happened with fractions so far, but now we have a strategy!) In chapter 4 or so, by which time he had a handle on linear eq'ns, I started him on the Intro. Counting/Probability and Intro. Number Theory books. There were two goals here: 1) leavening the algebra using a structured program (A. does not do math voluntarily, though he requires it for his well-being, and so we do best with a structured program that I can use with a child who is being temperamental and difficult) and 2) spreading the Intro topic books out a bit -- I had gathered from Ruth's comments that this is helpful, particularly with a young learner, so that the child retains more. We didn't start Intro. Geometry because I was out of charter-school funds. :) I plan to start geometry by the fall. We are doing one section at a time (the teaching and the problems of a section) or a review. Then we do another book. Here's our cycle: Intro. Number Theory Algebra Intro. Counting/Probability Algebra and so on. I'm not sure how Geometry will fit in, since it might space some of our learning out further than ideal. But so far this is going very well. Esp. for a child who doesn't "like" math -- he gets interested and excited despite himself. ETA: We have NOT been doing challenge problems, because he was too discouraged and overwhelmed and I didn't think the pedagogical payoff was worth the price. Now that we're about to wrap up chapter 5 in Algebra, I think I'll have him do selected problems from chapter 2's Challenges. And so on -- so that the challenge problems do not involve "new concepts" so much as give him practice in solving challenging problems. Not sure what we'll do with the Number Theory/Probability; either revisit the challenges after we finish the books, or do them some chapters behind our learning, or I suppose we may skip them but I really don't like that plan! oh -- we do drills still, though not every day. CalcuLadder or Math Sprints.
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Hello fellow parents, I am sending out this email to inform you about a new ONLINE math class that I am helping coordinate (my son will be in this class) and hoping to fill so we can begin on Fri, Aug 29, 2014. This class will be facilitated by Dr Sega who is a classically trained mathematician from Romania. Dr Sega used to run the San Jose Math Circle and was also involved in the Stanford Math Circle. This is not an enrichment class and HW will be assigned. There will also be periodic quizzes to gauge understanding but mostly the emphasis will be on student discussion, problem solving and gaining a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts. Dr Sega has a gentle style that is conducive to most kids. Class details are as foll: FALL 2014 - AoPS Prealgebra 1 Dates - Aug 29 – Dec 19 2014 (17 sessions) Timings – Friday 12:30 – 2pm PT Cost - $340 (ie $20/class) Age - 9-12ish Max Class Size – 4 Dr Sega is NOT an Ocean Grove vendor This online class will use the AOPS PreAlgebra textbook and will have a strong emphasis on problem solving rather than coming up with the 'right' answer. Students will be encouraged to figure out different ways of solving the same problem. We will start with topics in number theory and conclude with an introduction to topics in discrete mathematics and statistics. I am hoping to find a few mathy kids who enjoy some sort of problem solving so the kids can have meaningful discussions and learn in an engaging environment. Please let me know offlist at arvinderoswal@gmail.com at your earliest convenience if your kid might be interested and available to participate in this upcoming class. Warmly Arvinder WTM Member in Cupertino, CA -
I'm looking for options for fall for my rising senior. If he goes dual enrollment he will be enrolled in College Algebra for the fall and Trig for the spring semesters. However, I have not been impressed with the quality of teachers our local university has hired due to the increased enrollment. So....I'm looking for options. Does AoPS have a course that would be equivalent to College Algebra? Or does the upper Singapore levels cover what would be covered in College Algebra? I know I could just get Lial's College Algebra, but I don't want to teach it, and, frankly, he probably doesn't want me to teach it to him, either :D. He has taken several concurrent classes at the local university this semester and is doing very well with just having me be "mom" at this time, but I may need to do it at home if I can't get a good professor recommendation locally. Other recommendations besides Singapore and AoPS (I've used both and they seem to click with the way I teach and the way the boys learn) are appreciated as well.
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We have finally reached the famous farmer Fred optimization problem. My dd took all her math time yesterday on it and was able to get 2 of the questions but could not figure out the last one. I am of no help with it and could not find the other topics here on it. I wonder if anyone has any ideas of how to get more problems like this that she can work through. Thanks
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Hello all! Is anyone using Beast Academy 3A and up for anyone around the age of 9 or younger? We are working through this, and while it is really fun, it is quite a problem solving challenge. I mean, I think it's great, but this seems pretty complex to me, and actually pretty hard. We are doing it and making it fun, but my 9 year old says he doesn't really remember what we are doing after the fact. I feel like 3A is really heavy with definitions, and that just does not seem like fun, problem solving math for a 9 yr old to me. I mean, I really do think it's great, and I want to love it, it's just that this honestly seems like it's geared towards a much older student, even in the gifted realm. And, I think 3A at least gets really bogged down in these definitions, like geometric definitions of the different kinds of triangles, etc. What are others finding? Thanks for sharing! (It's okay if your experience is completely different, as I'd love to hear that too!)
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We are using a Prentice-Hall Algebra 2 (Bellman, et al) with our 12 year old, which is going fine, and I think it will go fine throughout the year. While we were using Jacobs Geometry, my DS read P-H Algebra 1 and did some problems as an algebra 1 review, so the P-H Algebra 2 approach was familiar. We like that both P-H algebra books show a lot of applications of the algebra being learned. I also like that it includes some data analysis and very basic statistics along the way, since that’s so important in real life and the science we’re planning next year. I also didn’t find a compelling alternative. But now I’m wondering what we’ll use next. Some possibilities are: Larsen Pre-calculus (haven’t actually seen it); Foerster Pre-calculus AoPS Introduction to Counting and Probability as a short “detour,†although we could do pre-calc simultaneously Counting and Probability. I actually have this book. Statistics. Has anyone here used the text “Practice of Statistics for AP, 4th ed†by Starnes, et al.? Anything else? We would like to learn more statistics to help with science next year. Very slowly start a calculus book and reviewing algebra 2 and filling in any gaps along the way. But we’re in no rush to do calculus. Go to AoPS’s 2nd algebra book, Intermediate Algebra. I’m a little hesitant here since we tried AoPS Intro to Algebra and it wasn’t enjoyed by DS after a while. He feels he should “know†how to do the problems he sees and the AoPS approach stresses him out no matter how much I try to explain the approach and he reads their introductory materials. We tried the Intro to Algebra a while ago, when he was 9 ½ and had a very solid background in pre-algebra, so it’s been awhile and a lot of maturing has occurred. But my DS very much likes to see how what he’s learning can be used and AoPS doesn’t seem to have a lot of that. Yes, he’ll play around with some advanced math concepts and logic, but it’s not as much fun for him when it’s assigned. Something else?? I've learned the hard way that just because the prerequisites are met and pre-tests are easy, sometimes the age and interests of the student makes a big difference too. Thanks for any and all insights!
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I know I should put this to the AOPS site, but those kids are so smart, this would be way too easy for them. (It isn't in their archives, and when I've asked easier questions in the past I've been ignored.) Besides, I don't need the answer, I need to figure out a teachable approach to the problem other than guess and check. It's from MathCounts Nationals Team Round 2010: "The mean, median, unique mode and range of a set of eight positive integers are each 10. What is the largest positive integer that could be part of the set?" The answer is 17, and can be achieved with this set of numbers: 7,8,9,9,10,10,10,17 I want to teach how one would solve this sort of problem. I can see that in order to maximize the largest number, the other numbers need to be as small as possible, but I falter after that. -
Has anyone had experience with the Introduction to Number Theory book in the Art of Problem Solving curriculum? Judging from the short list of topics, it seems that much of the same information is covered in Introduction to Number Theory that are covered in the Number Theory chapter of the PreAlgebra book. Is the depth much more sufficient? We do not have enough years to cover both Introduction to Number Theory and Counting & Probability. My son does not want to go into computer sciences, or extensive mathematics as a profession, so we will not be covering the Intermediate Counting & Probability. It is more a choice of which introductory text to use for foundational knowledge and later basis to pull from in more complex mathematics. The other option is to do both books in the year, instead of just one. Number Theory is an area my son is fairly strong in and the number theory chapter in the PreAlgebra book has been mostly review. Would it be too much to go through both books simultaneously? Any experiences or thoughts here would be welcomed. Thanks! -
This is kind of an odd question, but I'm trying to decide what kind of paper/notebook my 9 year old should use for AoPS pre-algebra. I saw a suggestion of blank paper, but my son has a tendency of enlarging his writing if there are no lines. So blank paper isn't the best option for him, at least not currently. The options that I have on hand are: wide ruled composition book, wide ruled spiral bound notebook, spiral bound graph paper, or a binder with wide ruled paper or graph paper. I'm assuming the wide ruled would be better than the graph paper, but that might not be an accurate assumption. :) What have you guys used? I know several of you have used or are using AoPS, and it looks like a few of you have done so with kids in the 8-10 range. What worked or didn't work for you? Would there be a reason we'd want to add pages as we go that a binder would be better than a self-contained book? I feel silly asking about this, but I don't want to be 20 pages in and then think, "This would have worked so much better if we'd used (fill in the blank). " Thanks!
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If you were using Right Start Math, what do you think would be a good place to move into the AoPS genre? Where would you part ways with Right Start and where would you begin in AoPS? Would you do Beast Academy? Any thoughts for those who are familiar with both? Thanks!
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I think we are at a crossroads with A. and I would love some perspective and help plotting out a general trajectory/set of intermediate goals. A. is 8yo (he turned 8 at the end of August, so a young 3rd grader). He does not love math -- he does not profess to enjoy any of his school subjects -- but he's been doing math since he was about 3 years old, because at that age he did not do unstructured play very well and he both loved doing his math and was much more happy & well when he did math regularly (at that age, and while I was working, 2x/week). Since he has seemed to need regular formal math for his mental well-being we are in the position of having a radically accelerated 8yo who "doesn't like" math. He does like thinking about math concepts and numbers, and reading about math sometimes, but not doing problems. A. began formal piano lessons this fall and, watching him with his excellent teacher (who thinks his piano aptitude is quite unusual) I realized that he was displaying signs of boredom with AoPS PreA. It is not that the computations were trivial to him, but the concepts were not new -- or not new for very long. So it felt tedious. Some of this is because he'd covered similar topics in SM7, but not all I think ... at any rate, I am trying him in AoPS Algebra and that is clearly the right conceptual level. We are moving through Algebra at a glacial pace which is fine: but I am not sure what my goals should be. At the moment we are doing problems on the chalkboard, interspersed throughout our day to keep his motivation high, and sometimes taking a stretch to go over something. We are in chapter 2 with factoring and he is struggling with doing more complex factors (like (2x-1) as opposed to (x)) so we are taking our time. I do a lot of prompting to help him think. He cannot do these problems on paper because he is not good enough at/careful enough with writing things down neatly. He occasionally gets excited about the math! which is what we want. Should I be teaching him to work on paper, and more independently? How? Would it be a good idea to move him through the PreA material, perhaps pulling a few problems each day, since I am sure there are techniques &c there that would be helpful? Given his developmental level how do we get the most out of AoPS (which is by far the most successful program I have for getting him interested)?
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We are getting down to the wire for our Early Action application deadlines and I have a couple of questions. I am working on the School Profile document. I have one from my older son, but I remember seeing a post here in the last couple of months about what they want in this from homeschoolers. I looked at the help on the CA website, but that one was not very applicable to homeschooled students. I tried searching, but a see of posts came up and I spent an inordinent amount of time sifting through these posts. Can anyone help me find that post? I have another question about listing AOPS courses. For my older son, we did not use the graded option. It wasn't available at first and, then, when it was, I was concerned that he was getting a terrible grade in the course. I decided to make a final exam from a hodgepodge of sources (AOPS and other high school textbooks) to use for a grade. I just listed the book and the online online class discussion as resources on my course descriptions. I didn't actually list it as a class he took. For ds17, he tookthe classes, but we didn't get any grade reports. I have no idea how he did in the class. This kid is very independent and can't stand when I "look through his stuff" (i.e. check up on him in class.) I did use other assessments and felt comfortable giving him a grade. As I am writing this, I am unclear on what I am asking exactly. I guess, should I just list things the same as I did for his older brother and ignore AoPS as an educational partner or should I list them as a partner, but not worry that I never got grades from them?
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The geometry book that dd used did not review Algebra at all and we were using any extra time to work on Swiss exam prep. The Swiss exam did have some Algebra but we tended to focus on some things barely/not covered in our US Algebra book and didn't cover other things she had learned (or I should say "covered" - she really dislikes Algebra)... She is doing a stint as an au pair far away from me, so I can't oversee any remedial work this summer but want to make sure that she hasn't forgotten too much by the time we're ready to start....So I need to be able to assess if there are large forgotten material/holes before dd starts Algebra II. I was looking at the proposals on the Accelerating high school math? thread....the AoPS "Do you need this?" Algebra I test seems so scanty...Is that really all there is to Algebra I? And is the Algebra I AoPS course a complete Algebra I course? or just interesting aspects for kids doing other math books? extra question re Algebra II - Dd actually has good native math intelligence so I'm thinking of using their course for Algebra II but am wondering how complete it really is - whether she needs to do other work on the side? As she dislikes Algebra so much, going through all the chapter tests of her old book will be too much. I don't want to do SAT tests as that doesn't just focus on Algebra I.... So a test that covers all the bases in Algebra I and tells you the topics to review for any mistakes would be really helpful.... Hoping something like this exists... Joan
