melmichigan Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 I need a list of good resources for younger children. (DD9) Any ideas? We plan to use AoP but probably not yet. :) If there is already a thread please link for me. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) I need a list of good resources for younger children. (DD9) Any ideas? We plan to use AoP but probably not yet. :) If there is already a thread please link for me. Thanks! I'm not sure what your dd's background is up to now, but I had a 10 yos that used MUS's alg/geo combo book (it is part of their classic program which they are phasing out but I think they are currently still available. They used to combine alg and geo and then separated them into 2 separate books and added the so called "honors" book. Now they have simply combined the "honors" books into the regular books.) Anyway, MUS was a good transition from Horizons 6 (which is a workbook) to basic alg concepts b/c the book doesn't contain the teaching info so it isn't overwhelming for a young child and the alg and geo are very simplified and it is still a workbook. I use it as a pre-alg/pre-geo course and follow it with a traditional alg course (Foersters). Even though he was only 11 when he used Foersters, he had no problems transitioning to a high school text b/c the beginning of the book was review and it helped him adjust to using a high school text. Edited November 1, 2009 by 8FillTheHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneC Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 We're planning on using Life of Fred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Jacobs Algebra is good for younger children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I think Saxon works well. We don't do all the problems since DD8 doesn't need the extra review, but it moves along quickly enough to keep her interest and the explanations are easily understandable for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 My ds10 is loving Thinkwell's PreAlgebra. It is easy for him, as most is review of singapore, so that probably helps make him like it. He loves the computer, so it is a good fit for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 We did Horizons (and Singapore as a supplement) and somewhere during the 6th grade level, ds did at least parts of (I can no longer remember how much) of the Key To... Algebra series. Now we've moved on to doing Algebra: Structure and Method Book 1 (Brown, Dolciani -- we have the 1990 edition), and that seems to be going very well. Ds told me the other day that he thought it was easier than the Key To... stuff had been. It's not, lol, but I think it may seem a little easier because by now he's been exposed several times to some of these concepts and he's a bit older too... I keep hearing such good things about the AoPS materials, but haven't gotten a chance to look at them yet. While what we're currently using is a high school text (ds is 10), I do suspect it's less challenging than the AoPS algebra book would be, so perhaps it's a good stepping stone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I am using Life of Fred for pre-algebra. There are two books at present: Fractions, and Decimals and Percentages - together they take a few months. Mr Schmidt is working on a pre-algebra book, which is due out shortly. I am also using LOF for Beginning Algebra, but am glad that this is a second pass through the basics of the subject for us. For Calvin, it's much too easy to read the stories as stories, not concentrate enough on the teaching, then die in the exercises. With a younger child, I'd use the story as a read-aloud, to ensure that the point is getting across; this is how Hobbes and I are using the Fractions book at present. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 I'm not sure what your dd's background is up to now, but I had a 10 yos that used MUS's alg/geo combo book (it is part of their classic program which they are phasing out but I think they are currently still available. My DD9 did ALEKS through level 6, some Singapore Math and otherwise was public schooled prior to that. She is currently working through EPGY. We are also using Holt Mathematics, which I don't really care for. We have done LOF up to Algebra I. I looked at Videotext but it is really expensive. I've looked at ChalkDust, but I'm not to sure there. I have looked at Thinkwell, since that is also used with the Holt textbooks we have. Whatever we choose we will continue with EPGY as well, we use it currently more as a review. I am not as familiar with all the textbooks. I have seen posts about Lial's BCM, Foerster, Jacobs, and Discovering Mathematics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fractalgal Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I need a list of good resources for younger children. (DD9) Any ideas? Russian Math 6, Singapore NEM 1, Dolciani Algebra It may be helpful to work a little bit ahead of your daughter if you choose one of these. Good Luck :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 My DD9 did ALEKS through level 6, some Singapore Math and otherwise was public schooled prior to that. She is currently working through EPGY. We are also using Holt Mathematics, which I don't really care for. We have done LOF up to Algebra I. I looked at Videotext but it is really expensive. I've looked at ChalkDust, but I'm not to sure there. I have looked at Thinkwell, since that is also used with the Holt textbooks we have. Whatever we choose we will continue with EPGY as well, we use it currently more as a review. I am not as familiar with all the textbooks. I have seen posts about Lial's BCM, Foerster, Jacobs, and Discovering Mathematics. It is at this point that you have to really evaluate your child's personality and what you goals/objectives are. My ds was more than ready for algebra at 10 (actually at age 9). But, he was still very much a little boy and definitely not ready for a high school textbook with pages of explanation, small print, and problem sets of 70+ problems. MUS was a good fit b/c it only has 15 problems in the student text and something like 10-20 (can't remember) in the extra practice sheets. The alg is mostly simple arithmetic type manipulations (point-slope formula, factoring polynomials, etc.) There is very little application that does not nearly duplicate the example problems. It was a good transition to Foerster b/c Foerster is a heavy application text. With younger kids, using a simpler approach followed by a more thorough/complex text provides a solid foundation. I have heard about people getting the Jacobs, Foerster, and Larson texts through their libraries. You might be able to get them to look through them and see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I need a list of good resources for younger children. (DD9) Any ideas? We plan to use AoP but probably not yet. :) If there is already a thread please link for me. Thanks! With my oldest (now 10), I used Singapore through 6b and supplemented that with Life of Fred Fractions, and Life of Fred Decimals and Percents. We've started algebra now, and he is using Life of Fred Beginning Algebra as his primary program. I'm supplementing with Dolciani's "Modern Algebra" and occasionally writing stuff myself to keep him amused. I've also had to change a lot of the problems in the Life of Fred book, to prevent ds from solving the problems in his head. We're not going very fast through algebra, which is fine with me. I'd prefer to go slowly and really have him solidly understand the stuff, than to rush through. I looked at the AoP stuff a while ago, and it looked really cool, but is unfortunately out of our budget right now. Hope that helps, Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 We are in our fourth year of Chalkdust. We moved into Chalkdust Pre-Algebra when he was ready for Pre-Algebra. He completed that prgram in one school year working 4 days per week for the first 27 weeks of school and then 5 days per week for the last 9 weeks of school. He did Algebra I at age 10, and Geometry at age 11. He is currently doing their Algebra II program at age 12. I have ONLY good things to say about the program. We buy DIRECTLY from Chalkdust to obtain their technical support. The program is expensive, but it is worth every penny, IMO. I do plan to take 1.5 - 2.0 years to cover Pre-Calculus since his young age gives us this advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Jacobs Algebra is good for younger children. This is working well for our ds9 this year. We are supplementing it with some hippocampus.com and other "worksheets" b/c ds begs for "more, more more!" and I don't want to fly him through it. We plan to start the AoP books next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 For Calvin, it's much too easy to read the stories as stories, not concentrate enough on the teaching, then die in the exercises. With a younger child, I'd use the story as a read-aloud, to ensure that the point is getting across; this is how Hobbes and I are using the Fractions book at present. Laura My dc race through LoF and already know the story before they go back and learn the math part of it and do the problems, so that's one solution to that problem. My middle dd is going to use LoF for her first time through Algebra, and if she hasn't already read the entire book, I'll let her read the entire story first. My eldest has read the Geometry twice through, and is now going through it for the math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Hands-On Equations is a good program for introducing algebra to younger kids. Just make sure you get the Verbal Problems Book as there's not a lot to the program without it. I had ordered the kit from Rainbow Resource without the DVD's and then had to go back & buy the Verbal Problems Book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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