How do you use Saxon?

[runninmommy]

Do you have your children complete the whole lesson including warm up and lesson practice?

 

Do you assign every other problem?

 

Do you just have them learn the new concept and move on if they get it?

:lurk5:

[JudoMom]

Do you have your children complete the whole lesson including warm up and lesson practice?

 

Do you assign every other problem?

 

Do you just have them learn the new concept and move on if they get it?

:lurk5:

 

My boys have always completed the whole lesson (including warm up and lesson practice).

 

I've assigned odd/odd lessons & even/even lessons until this week. Now they are doing every problem. This thread changed my opinion. I decided I don't want to get to Algebra and beyond and realize I had missed something.

[hsmom3tn]

Practice Problems and Problem Set. If any problems are wrong, we don't move on until they are all done correctly.

[Joanne]

We use Saxon.

 

Here's how it goes.

 

They do 4 to 5 lessons a week. They can plan on Monday when to do them around the schedule of group work I give.

 

It's independent work.

 

I've not required the written warm up. They are supposed to read and learn the next lesson. What really happens is they jump to the Problem Set and attempt to finish without reading the lesson. They call me because "I don't get it". I remind them to look at the lesson number referenced under the problem number. They grumble a bit and eventually look it up. Most often they get it. If not, they call me and I assist.

 

They do all 25 (or, later, 30) problems. I have old editions and sometimes I allow them to skip problems with centimeters, etc.

 

I grade the papers and require a re-do and time with me for anything less than an 80%/B.

[runninmommy]

All: How long does it take your child to do one lesson? What grade are they in?

[Joanne]

All: How long does it take your child to do one lesson? What grade are they in?

 

Two 9th graders - Algebra. About 45 minutes per lesson

 

Grades 6 and 7: Two children in 65 (one remedial in math) - about 1/2 an hour

 

Gfade 5: Two children in 54 - about 20 minutes

[hsmom3tn]

DS is in 6th grade and he is using TT6 now, but he did Saxon 54 in 4th grade and 65 in 5th grade. He got through 54 without much trouble, but couldn't get through 65. It was taking us several days to finish a lesson because I don't move on until he can get the problems right. Of course, later on when he would come to the same type of problem, it would start all over again - sigh - so I decided even though I like Saxon, he wasn't getting it so we needed to try something else. He's doing great with the TT6 so far - keeping fingers crossed :)

 

Both DD's are in 4th grade now and are using Saxon 54. One DD can get through a lesson in 15-20 min; and the other a little longer (25-30 min).

[Ellie]

Every problem, every practice set, every everything.

[Firefly]

For me it depends on the age/grade level. The max I want them spending on sit down math work is an hour and a half. One hour is ideal. DD9 (Level 5/4) has no trouble completing the entire lesson in an hour or so. DS 11 (Level 7/6) has more challenging problems, so even though he is stronger in math that DD, his lessons take him much longer. So I have him do the facts practice, warm up, lesson practice, but only odds/evens on Mixed Practice. At some point, I might to the same with DD if it becomes necessary. They both do four lessons a week.

[lynn]

We always do the warm up then I assign even or odds for the day. Sometimes a few more problems to work on that we have difficulties with or new concepts.

[JudoMom]

All: How long does it take your child to do one lesson? What grade are they in?

 

5th grade (Saxon 7/6) & 4th grade (Saxon 6/5)-To do the fact sheet, mental math, lesson practice & all of the mixed practice takes 45-60 minutes. They do it independently (they read the lesson or watch the DIVE cd--or both if needed--and then they work the problems), so the 45-60 minutes includes this.

[sheryl]

Do you have your children complete the whole lesson including warm up and lesson practice?

 

Do you assign every other problem?

 

Do you just have them learn the new concept and move on if they get it?

:lurk5:

 

 

My daughter has always used Saxon and likes it. I've always had her complete every question. Then in 3rd grade I read some posts on this board/forum and chose to have her answer even on even date, odd on odd date. Her special needs was kicking in then. Needless to say her math skills went WAY DOWN when I had her answer alternately. ANd, she's a low A student across the board! Her 4th grade Math was a complete struggle, combined with her medical issues which made Math more difficult for her to grasp.

 

Now we are repeating math in 5th grade and she answers all of it.

 

What will I do in the future??? I will always have her answer all of it. We'll stick with Saxon for a couple of more years, then switch perhaps to Videotext as she approaches Pre/Algebra. Because Math is not her favorite I will always have her answer every question which will hopefully pay off in the long run.

 

HTH. Sheryl <><

[Pretty in Pink]

My oldest is in Algebra 1/2. We skipped 8/7 due to advice received on this board. He reads the lesson and completes all of the practice problems and the entire problem set.

 

When he was in 7/6, 6/5, and 5/4 we did the mental math aloud, he read the lesson, and completed all of the practice problems and either evens or odds in the problem set. I wish I had assigned all of the problems and will with my other children. Thankfully he is very strong in math so I don't think I've done any permanent damage...? It takes my son 45 minutes to an hour for math each day.

 

My second child is currently working in Math 1. We skip the meeting book and do all of the other assigned work. We completed Saxon K last year and I think we could have gone straight into Math 1 last year. I skipped several of the lessons in the first part of Math 1 because they were repeats. Math takes about twenty or twenty-five minutes with this child.

[coffeegal]

Do you have your children complete the whole lesson including warm up and lesson practice?

 

Do you assign every other problem?

 

Do you just have them learn the new concept and move on if they get it?

:lurk5:

 

We use older editions, so I don't think they have a warm up. My kids do practice and lesson problems (all of them), and my kids in 76 & 54 do a drill sheet as well. There isn't a drill sheet for Algebra 1/2.

 

We move on until the kids begin to struggle to get 85% or better on homework assignments and 90% or better on the tests. I also base my judgement on the type of mistakes. If it's largely 'stupid' mistakes (1 + 1 = 3), we'll keep moving forward. If it's conceptual mistakes, we'll move back immediately. When we move back, I'll usually move back 20-40 lessons with the assumption there's a concept the child didn't fully grasp the first time through, and they need to review before moving forwards.

 

HTH!

[Mandy in TN]

Little ds is using Saxon 65, but he also does Kumon math and other math (currently Key to Fractions). We do not use the Saxon drill, because Kumon is basically drill.

We always do the warm-up orally. I always read the lesson to him. Usually we do the practice orally, but if I am really needing to get something else done he sometimes does the practice by himself.

With the problem set ds writes it out a little more than half the time. The other half we just do it orally. Ds always does the word problems at the beginning of the problem set. The rest of the problem set I play by ear. I know that he has totally mastered addition and subtraction, so we frequently skip straightforward addition/ subtraction problems. Basic 1-2 digit multiplication/ division problems I also treat this way. So, for us it isn't an every other problem, but I do eliminate or do orally simple computation problems that I know he knows. I may also eliminate problems that are identical to the ones he is currently doing in Kumon, because there he may do hundreds of one type of problem in a day. I may also eliminate problems that are identical to the ones he is currently doing in his other math if he is going to be doing a lot of them.

There are a few lessons that I have totally skipped so far in 65. I skipped Lessons 17 Multiplying by One-Digit Numbers, 19 Learning Division Facts, 22 Dividing and Writing a Remainder, and 26 Practicing the Division Algorithm. Today we will do lesson 30. Sometimes I will let him do more than one lesson if he is on a roll and wants to continue.

Ds is 6yo and in first grade. We spend 15-30 minutes on Saxon on 4 days each week. Most of what we have done thus far is review from last year; however, since he is so young I did not have him test out of the beginning of the book.

Middle ds used Saxon from 2 through 87. I would let him test out of the beginning of the next book, but after that I didn’t usually skip anything.

HTH-

Mandy

[Impish]

We're doing Saxon.

 

One of the biggest challenges with homeschooling Diva is math. She's scary fast at learning concepts. We have to skip through until we finally find something that actually challenges her, and that she can't simply figure out by looking at it.

 

We've written four tests so far. She's done a grand total of three units. On test 3, we discovered that she needed a unit on integers. Did unit 14. Test 4, we *finally* found several things that she didn't know :hurray: So now we have a cpl of units to go through, and probably continue on from.

 

Even then, it usually takes her about 5 questions to learn the concept, and then she stares off into space, making math last all. freaking. morning. :banghead: I've FINALLY learned this lesson, and will test her with questions and let her go to the next subject.

 

Saxon is a huge improvement. Last year we did Horizons, and it was a complete disaster.

 

Can someone please tell me why 8/7 is a bad idea? We'll need more math before the New Year, and that's what I was intending to get for her.

 

Thanks!