cseitter Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Ok this is my first year homeschooling and like all first years (or so I have heard) on of our curriculum choices isn't working out. We are using Saxon Math 87 with pre algebra and my son is not retaining it at all. He says he doesn't like the program and that he doesn't understand. He is not a mathmatician at all. I do have the dive cds and those are not helping.. What are some other suggestions for his math? I have looked at teaching textbooks. They are expensive!! But I am not a mathmatician either so I can't teach him his math..... Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cseitter Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 No one has any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveBaby Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Have you looked at Math-U-See? The DVD's are great and my children really enjoy Mr. Demme and his instruction. I know some will say that it isn't as advanced as some other algebra programs, but if he's struggling and not enjoying it, then having something more accessible and understandable would be great. We aren't at Algebra yet, but I plan to use MUS all the way through Algebra. There is something about the way math is explained that just makes more sense to me and my children! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara R Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Two possibilities: (1) Saxon isn't a good fit for him. Saxon introduces one tiny piece at a time over weeks. Some kids do better if they understand one topic at a time, thoroughly. or (2) He is placed too high in the program and needs review on the earlier material. Did he take the placement test? What was his math education like before Saxon? Many elementary schools are not teaching math skills to mastery. Which way you go depends on which one is the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 CLE math is excellent! Look at the samples and S&S on their website - clp.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 There are also dvds that go along with Saxon that show you how to work the problems. I haven't used them, I've only read about them. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jade Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I am considering using Life of Fred. There is a pre-algebra book. I have used Singapore Math as an afterschool supplment. There are also lots of DVD and online type programs to check into. People have been helpful providing ideas here, which I appreciate immensely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yslek Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Two possibilities: (1) Saxon isn't a good fit for him. Saxon introduces one tiny piece at a time over weeks. Some kids do better if they understand one topic at a time, thoroughly. or (2) He is placed too high in the program and needs review on the earlier material. Did he take the placement test? What was his math education like before Saxon? Many elementary schools are not teaching math skills to mastery. Which way you go depends on which one is the case. :iagree: I'm one of those people who does really well with the incremental approach. I don't have any problem assimilating the little bits of information into a complete picture in my mind, and the constant review keeps me from forgetting stuff. (Saxon was a life-saver for me in High School.) I've met others who find it way too fragmented, though, and feel like they're constantly jumping all over the place without ever really learning anything. If that is the situation here, I second checking out something mastery-based such as Math-U-See or Systematic Mathematics (http://www.systemath.com/). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommix3 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Math u see is WONDERFUL. We haven't got to the algebra yet but all the other levels have been great. They teach in an easy to understand way.. My kids do well with it. Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cseitter Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Two possibilities: (1) Saxon isn't a good fit for him. Saxon introduces one tiny piece at a time over weeks. Some kids do better if they understand one topic at a time, thoroughly. or (2) He is placed too high in the program and needs review on the earlier material. Did he take the placement test? What was his math education like before Saxon? Many elementary schools are not teaching math skills to mastery. Which way you go depends on which one is the case. He was in PS up until this year. He was making A's in PS with math so I am kinda trying to figure out what is going on. What he really gets hung up on in this book is the geometry. The equations and such he seems to be getting. He did take the placement and he placed squarely in the 87 book so I am not sure what to do from here. Change curriculum or stay and work through it? We do have the DIVE cds and he uses them..... He does well with the Lesson practice and then has issues in the mixed practice.. He will to a problem that was introduced in Lesson 7 (for example) and he is in Lesson 37. He says he doesn't know how to do it.... I want to pull my hair out! My DH says that he really needs help being seeing the big picture. He can't take a shape and see the sides are all the same and figure out the area. Does that make sense? Thanks for all your responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara R Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 If he took the placement test, he probably is at the right level. If he's having a hard time getting the big picture, that might be because Saxon doesn't teach the big picture very well. The incremental approach means that it introduces one tiny piece at a time, which is good for some learners and not for others. Ask on the High School board (or do a search there) for other ideas. You're looking for a mastery curriculum and not a spiral. Lial's Basic College Math comes highly recommended for pre-algebra. Life of Fred and Math U See are other mastery curricula, but they have their pros and cons. I especially like to read what Jann in TX says. She has tutored a lot of kids in high school math and she has opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 What he really gets hung up on in this book is the geometry. The equations and such he seems to be getting. If it's just the geometry he's struggling with, then maybe you could go through a simple geometry workbook. My dd used this one: http://www.amazon.com/MS-Geometry-Solids-Middle-School/dp/0739829327/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1261245425&sr=8-3 These are thin workbooks and could be done on a few Fridays or something. I even had a set of "geometry solids" for manipulatives. You can get both solid wooden ones and empty plastic ones, which you can pour water & such into. I'm assuming you're talking 3D geometry, but Steck-Vaughn also has 2D geometry workbooks, one on polygons, & so on. Another option is to get a high school textbook and do the introductory sections, or something else meant for high school such as Geometry the Easy Way or Barron's. Even test prep books have good geometry reviews in them. Singapore is excellent in geometry, but I don't know how hard it would be to jump into just those sections at say level 6B. I do think you could easily do a couple of early sections in one of their upper level maths -- we did just the negative numbers in NEM and it went fine in 7th grade. Singapore is quality mathematical thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 He was in PS up until this year. He was making A's in PS with math so I am kinda trying to figure out what is going on. Could it be so boring he can't keep on point with it? I know math isn't screaming-fun-wahoo, but Saxon's method is uninspiring to me. OTOH, if he gets everything but one part (the geometry), have you thought about a supplement in that subject until it "clicks"? I haven't reached this stage in my homeschooling, but well I remember the math that stumbled me up in school. I recall, among my friends, the algebra camp and the geometry camp. Some of us were very lopsided in our "natural" abilities. If it is topic, and not the whole thing, I'd think about some radically different approach to the topic is having trouble with. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 When I was younger, I couldn't stand Saxon either. Could be laziness, I suppose. But, I purchased VideoText.... and so I plan to do some combination between perhaps the Singapore higher level math... (right... there's one??) and VideoText.... with my daughter. I already started the first few lessons of VideoText and like it:-) Carrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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