How long to complete MUS Epsilon & Zeta?

[lovemywhirlygirls]

I would like for my oldest dd to be on track to begin pre-algebra in 7th grade. She will start MUS Epsilon next week. On average, how long did it take to move though Epsilon and Zeta at your house? (Yes, I know each child/family does MUS differently. I'm looking for a ballpark idea.

 

We do math daily and we continue math through the summer.

Thanks in advance.

[Quad Shot Academy]

My son will have spent 6 months on Epsilon, 1/2 page a day, 4 days a week. The end of the book seems to be pretty much the same thing, so he does a couple units a week. I was surprised how well he did with the book, considering fractions are usually considered difficult, but this has been the easiest book for him.

[joannqn]

I'd say it really depends on the student. How new is the material? How quickly do they pick up new concepts? How much do they drag their feet on getting their work done? How fast do they work? Are they willing to do more in order to finish faster?

 

I plan on one lesson per week, and there is 30 lessons in each chapter. We do the lesson and page A on Monday. Tuesday through Friday they do one page, but one day they do an extra page. We skip the tests because they are identical to the first three pages of the lesson. We only use the final exam. So, my daughter who is working on Epsilon will do it in 60ish weeks. Once or twice a year, we may have to repeat a week she didn't get.

 

My son did both levels in 3 months. They were both mostly review for him, and he wanted to get to prealgebra faster.

[Mom22ns]

My 12 yo completed Epsilon in 4 months - it was mostly review for him. My 10 yo will take most of the school year with it. She does every page, 2 pages/day for the new pages, one page/day for the reviews (they usually take her longer). We do use the test, they are not just the first lessons as the pp said. They are a combination of the current lesson plus some review. Really, they aren't much different from D, E, & F but they have more of the current unit on them.

 

My ds is doing zeta now, so I can't say how long it will take. He is flying through it (the first unit - 8 chapters took 3 weeks), but we flew through the first part of Epsilon, got a more steady pace in the middle and slowed at the end. My plan with him is to start pre-algebra when we finish zeta and go on through the summer until we're done so he can start algebra at the beginning of 8th grade.

[lovemywhirlygirls]

Epsilon/Fractions will be new material for her. I pulled her out of ps several years ago and then spent quite a bit of time trying to get the math facts drilled. She seems to be one of those folks who will always have to think about it. She can do the facts with lots of thought and some time, she can do the formulas....she just doesn't have the facts memorized (despite all kinds of various helps to that end). So, we began moving on with material and are "catching up".

 

Yes, ultimate goal is to have her ready for Algebra in 8th grade.

 

Thank you for responses!

[ABQmom]

We've used MUS from the beginning, and I plan on having all my dc ready for Algebra by the time they hit 9th grade unless they show a real aptitude for math. Then I might want them to do Algebra in the 8th grade. That being said, my first 2 kiddos are not math people. They both finished the first four books in a school year, but Epsilon and Zeta took them both about a year and half (that's taking the summers off.) If I had made them do math through the summer, they would have finished before they next school year started. I'm just not in a hurry to push them because they struggle with math some. I will have them ready for Algebra in the ninth grade, however.

[lovemywhirlygirls]

I have algebra in 8th grade as a goal, but I will not push them too hard or sacrifice their understanding of material between here and there just to get there. This is why I was curious how it has played out for others, so that I can imagine a reasonable time frame and plan accordingly (with give and take as needed).

[Lori D.]

Epsilon is all fractions, so it will depend on how your child grasps that topic. Here, DS grasped fractions quite easily. We spent 18 weeks (1 semester) on Epsilon, and went on to Zeta (pre-algebra topics), which is more abstract/logical (DS does NOT connect as well with that topic), so Zeta took about 28 weeks (3/4 of a school year). BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[monk17]

Epsilon took almost the whole school year but we should be done with Zeta soon. Zeta has been pretty easy considering his good grounding in the rest of the math concepts.

 

Exactly our experience!

[Ginevra]

I have algebra in 8th grade as a goal, but I will not push them too hard or sacrifice their understanding of material between here and there just to get there. This is why I was curious how it has played out for others, so that I can imagine a reasonable time frame and plan accordingly (with give and take as needed).

 

I was in this exact situaton. I used Life of Fred to "speed up" this portion. I am not a fan of skipping pages (I feel like it creates bad habits) and there was no other way to work out completing Epsilon and Zeta in order to be ready for Algebra in 8th grade. (Even doing math through summer.) So, my dd finished Epsilon, then we did LOF Fractions and Decimals through last summer and into the beginning of 7th grade (this year). Now, she is working quickly through LOF Pre-Algebra. I may do some MUS Pre-Algebra through the rest of this year and summer and then begin LOF Algebra Sept 2010 (8th grade).

 

Epsilon did not go quickly for dd and she is not especially math-adept.