Gamom3 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I love the way CD teaches but I don't think ds is getting it! I feel like we have wasted this year trying to do CD. I don't want to add more work on him. I am seriously thinking about getting Saxon, and see where he is and start from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 My older ds used CD alg. 1 for 3-4 mos before we ditched it and borrowed Saxon algebra 1. He finished the yr using Saxon and then repeated alg. 1 in 9th grade at his private high school. Expensive mistake for us! The problem with switching from CD to Saxon is that you can't skip ahead with Saxon because it also includes geometry. UGH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 We used CD Pre-algebra then went back to Saxon. I really liked CD but I didn't like the way the lessons were set up and found it confusing day to day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhondabee Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 We used CD Pre-algebra then went back to Saxon. I really liked CD but I didn't like the way the lessons were set up and found it confusing day to day. I didn't like the set-up of CD, either. Like Michelle, I had my DS switch to Saxon. We have never used Saxon in the past, and this experiment may yet fail - LOL!!! I had him take the placement test, and we are back to Algebra I, which DS is *not* happy about. But, we are using Art Reed's DVD's, so I'm not teaching it and dealing with his attitude. And, *I* can tell, even if DS can't, that he is understanding stuff so much better this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 While I love CD I'm not sure it is the best for my dd. We're having to do many more problems than recommended in order to get the concepts - and it is taking a good deal longer than I had planned. Not only that, the small print in the book/answer key is *killing* me (I have multiple eyesight issues, both nearsighted and farsighted - gah.) That being said, I don't care for Saxon all that much. I am not sure what to do as I hate to jump ship from CD. In the meantime, we plow on. Bah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamom3 Posted January 21, 2010 Author Share Posted January 21, 2010 While I love CD I'm not sure it is the best for my dd. We're having to do many more problems than recommended in order to get the concepts - and it is taking a good deal longer than I had planned. Not only that, the small print in the book/answer key is *killing* me (I have multiple eyesight issues, both nearsighted and farsighted - gah.) That being said, I don't care for Saxon all that much. I am not sure what to do as I hate to jump ship from CD. In the meantime, we plow on. Bah. I don't care much for Saxon either, but I don't know what else to use. I don't like Abeka, BJU or Lial's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Or Thinkwell online algebra from Homeschool buyer's coop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I didn't like the set-up of CD, either. Like Michelle, I had my DS switch to Saxon. We have never used Saxon in the past, and this experiment may yet fail - LOL!!! I had him take the placement test, and we are back to Algebra I, which DS is *not* happy about. But, we are using Art Reed's DVD's, so I'm not teaching it and dealing with his attitude. And, *I* can tell, even if DS can't, that he is understanding stuff so much better this time around. We are using Art Reed's DVD too and my kids love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z2_mom Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I am so in this place right now. We used horizons math, then went into saxon 87 and 1/2. I switched to Chalkdust for Algebra 1 because I thought it was better/ stronger math program and heard about saxon's weaknesses in the upper levels. Algebra 1 went ok, not great but ok. I hated having to choose the problems on my own with chalkdust. My dd finished alg 1 and we moved onto geometry with TT only because she finished early and chalkdust geometry was not in the budget and a friend loaned me TT for free. My dd loves TT and asked to not do chalkdust again next year for algebra 2--she is even willing to go back to saxon. I just am not sure what I would like to do... UGG I hate math decisions!!! lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 As of today, we are going back to Teaching Textbooks. i am not looking back....just moving on. CD did not work for this ds. ~~Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 As of today, we are going back to Teaching Textbooks. i am not looking back....just moving on. CD did not work for this ds. ~~Faithe If I may ask... what about CD did not help your ds? Was it the DVD lessons? Or problem sets? Or lack of support? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 If I may ask... what about CD did not help your ds? Was it the DVD lessons? Or problem sets? Or lack of support? Ummm...yes. I guess the set up was not "clean" enough. It also had to do with me not staying completely on top of his progression. I don't think DVD learning works for this ds. He uses the DVD's with TT, but not as his main teaching. That he gets from the text. I think with CD, you use the DVD's as the main learning vehicle and the text as back up. That did not work for him...sigh.... ~~Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z2_mom Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 He uses the DVD's with TT, but not as his main teaching. That he gets from the text. I think with CD, you use the DVD's as the main learning vehicle and the text as back up. That did not work for him...sigh.... That is what my dd was saying. She loves just being able to read the lesson in TT and then go to the DVD/CD if it is needed. She said that math is much faster this way. She also said that the DVD's for Chalkdust would put her to sleep sometimes. I am wondering now if it may just be her style of learning..... now I have to think about this some more. Lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 If I may ask... what about CD did not help your ds? Was it the DVD lessons? Or problem sets? Or lack of support? Dana Mosley was too longwinded for MANY of the lectures. The book set-up was NOT homeschool friendly and there are not tests/quizzes provided. The chapter summary self-test is used as a test which I didn't like. We'll be using Art Reed's DVDs with Saxon alg. 1 next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The CD DVDs are fine - I don't care so much for the book. It is packed with information - perhaps more information than is necessary for a high school course. The problems range from easy to difficult and I hate deciding which ones to assign - there are hundreds of problems. That part rattles me. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here. They recommend assigning every 4th problem. I do that, and then it looks like I am almost certainly leaving out key areas (mom gets pang of guilt). If my dd misses a problem, we go back to that section and select more problems of that general type. I have to keep up with grading every single day or we do not move on. Maybe that is the nature of teaching algebra, I don't know - but for a DVD course it has been fairly labor-intensive for me. Maybe I'm spoiled and don't want to think about it as much as I am needing to. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Ummm...yes. I guess the set up was not "clean" enough. It also had to do with me not staying completely on top of his progression. I don't think DVD learning works for this ds. He uses the DVD's with TT, but not as his main teaching. That he gets from the text. I think with CD, you use the DVD's as the main learning vehicle and the text as back up. That did not work for him...sigh.... ~~Faithe Thanks! We are currently using TT: Algebra I and I am following along with the lessons/DVDs to better understand how to help son. As a result, I have found some "gaps" in TT -- that are making me think of switching to CD or another set. :confused: We've used Saxon 7/8 & DIVE DVDs, used TT: Pre-Algebra with the DVDs together and then assign the work. Son hates the TT DVDs -- calls TT too "longwinded" and he prefers to read the text on his own. He'll use the DVD if he needs help or I will go over the problem with him. Now, I'm wondering what to do for Geometry next year? Did you use the new edition of CD or the 1995 text? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 (edited) The CD DVDs are fine - I don't care so much for the book. It is packed with information - perhaps more information than is necessary for a high school course. The problems range from easy to difficult and I hate deciding which ones to assign - there are hundreds of problems. That part rattles me. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here. They recommend assigning every 4th problem. I do that, and then it looks like I am almost certainly leaving out key areas (mom gets pang of guilt). If my dd misses a problem, we go back to that section and select more problems of that general type. I have to keep up with grading every single day or we do not move on. Maybe that is the nature of teaching algebra, I don't know - but for a DVD course it has been fairly labor-intensive for me. Maybe I'm spoiled and don't want to think about it as much as I am needing to. :confused: I also find DVD math courses to be labor intensive and I purposely keep up with son's lessons to understand what he is comprehending or not. When we did Saxon or TT, I would pre-read the chapter test to get an idea of what problems to truly drill on. I never assigned the entire problem set. However, it really isn't a medium where one can plop the kid down and you can go do something else. Or check his work weekly. You need to be aware daily of progress. The high school sciences are like this too if taught at home... I pre-read and prep lecture notes or powerpoint presentations weekly. Lots of work. Edited January 22, 2010 by tex-mex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The problems we had with CD: Not knowing what problems to assign. If you skip one that is on the test, you are sunk. The information comes too "fast" with no intermediate steps to learning the concept. No review or reminding when something from earlier in the book is used. I have changed (probably permanently) to BJU w/dvds. I close my eyes at the cost, but the teachers actually teach the math, review concepts, break them down into bite sized chunks, give quizzes, review for tests. If they skip a problem in the lesson, then it means it won't be on the test. I can finally relax! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I would never recommend using Saxon's Algebra 2 if the student has not used Saxon's Algebra 1... Saxon has a unique way of teaching (and wording) and switching at this point is asking for trouble--the Algebra 2 text does not do a good job of reviewing Algebra 1--it assumes you understand the Saxon methods taught at that level... If Chalkdust (Larson Text) is too overwhelming then consider a program like Lial's that is more direct--it teaches to the SAME level as the Larson text--but it breaks the information down to a more digestible level--plus the student book contains the complete teaching lessons (not an abbreviated version) including step by step examples with the 'whys' listed to the side of each step. The video lessons are optional--most of my students use them only on occasion if at all--but at $30 they are a nice back up--they are not as fancy as Dr Mosley's but they get to the point). With Lial's the students are assigned the odds and ALL of the Chapter Review problems--each lesson is worked over a 2 day period (it was written for block scheduling) students work 20-30 problems a day depending on the concept. Test questions are NOT a surprise as the book teaches above the test (the last questions in the homework assignments challenge students). I use Lial's in my online classes... My middle dd is doing Pre-Calc and insisted on using the Larson's text (her friends are using the same on in PS)... so I TOTALLY understand how hard it is to plan from if you are using the chapter tests from the book! I spent a few hours yesterday planning her schedule for the next 2 weeks--and the whole time I was WISHING she was using the Lial program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I don't care much for Saxon either, but I don't know what else to use. I don't like Abeka, BJU or Lial's. I am a fan of Math Relief for algebra. I believe the teacher is truly gifted in one area -- and that is in teaching algebra. They have a sample video on their website. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eumyang Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 If Chalkdust (Larson Text) is too overwhelming then consider a program like Lial's that is more direct--it teaches to the SAME level as the Larson text--but it breaks the information down to a more digestible level--plus the student book contains the complete teaching lessons (not an abbreviated version) including step by step examples with the 'whys' listed to the side of each step. I got a chance to look through the 9th edition of Lial's Introductory Algebra text, and I agree with Jann's comments. I too like how the text is laid out. The only problem with Jann's post is that the OP stated that she doesn't like Lial. So my question to the OP is, why? Please don't take this as an attack. I'm actually not a homeschooling parent, but a HS math teacher, and one of my searches on Algebra textbooks led me to this forum. I haven't found any posts yet of someone diskliking Lial, so I'd to hear the OP's opinion, because I want to hear everything, good and bad, about Lial. I'm considering changing the textbook for my Algebra I Honors class to the Lial. (The Introductory Algebra text is also available as a hardback, and I'm not talking about the BEGINNING Algebra text by the same author.) 69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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