Changing from Saxon after level 3... we need a workbook approach

[Malenki]

We've used Saxon 1 - 3 with our son and it's worked very well. We had previously tried Singapore and it was a disaster for him. He just could not get it. He does well with continued review of material.

 

I'm looking ahead for next year and am not sure that Saxon 54 is going to be a good fit at all. He just cannot transfer problems from a textbook to another sheet of paper. He already switches numbers in his answers ("21" becomes "12" by mistake).

 

We definitely need a workbook/worksheet approach where he can focus on getting his answers right without worrying he's copied the problem wrong.

 

Any suggestions for what would be a good fit?

[Rhondabee]

We've used Saxon 1 - 3 with our son and it's worked very well. We had previously tried Singapore and it was a disaster for him. He just could not get it. He does well with continued review of material.

 

I'm looking ahead for next year and am not sure that Saxon 54 is going to be a good fit at all. He just cannot transfer problems from a textbook to another sheet of paper. He already switches numbers in his answers ("21" becomes "12" by mistake).

 

We definitely need a workbook/worksheet approach where he can focus on getting his answers right without worrying he's copied the problem wrong.

 

Any suggestions for what would be a good fit?

 

If you like Saxon, and this is your only gripe, then why not just copy the problems for him? I don't know about *every* Math curriculum, but Abeka and BJU both move to textbooks in 5th grade, and I often copied the problems for my boys as we made that transition. (Actually, sometimes I wound up copying the problems from the worksheets with BJU 4th because my younger DS couldn't stand all the "extras" on the page - LOL!)

[thowell]

I just checked to make sure and Abeka actually uses a worktext in 5th grade. Now even in 4th dd9 has to use scratch paper to work most problems because the worktext does not have enough space to do all the work. Just want to let you know FYI.

[LinRTX]

I agree. I've had 3 transition to Saxon 54 at 8. I just wrote the problems for them at first and worked with how to do this and to check to make sure the problem is copied correctly. My dd9 is halfway through Saxon 65 and copies her own problems now. She still makes an occasional mistake, but then so do I.

 

Linda

[Jann in TX]

Middle dd went from Saxon 3 to Abeka 3--she wasn't ready to copy problems yet--after ABeka 3 she went into Saxon 6/5 for a few months and then on to 7/6 (she is a mathy child!).

 

Make sure you take any available placement tests because different programs move at different speeds! ABeka 4 would have been too big of a jump!

 

My oldest dd went from Saxon 3 to Horizons 3... she needed a slightly slower approach. She also moved into Saxon 6/5 after Horizons 3.

[JenAL]

Have you looked at CLE? www.clp.org. They have samples on their site now. We LOVE CLE math. We're using 3rd grade & 6th grade right now.

[momto2Cs]

Looking at the Saxon website, it looks like they offer worksheets for 5/4 now.

[homeschoolally]

We switched to CLE math because we needed a workbook approach as well. I've been VERY happy with it. It has the spiral approach like Saxon, but the repetition hasn't been as painful because you can work the problems right in the workbook.

 

Keep in mind that many kids place below grade level in CLE, from what I've read here at WTM. Mine was halfway through Saxon Alg 1/2, yet placed in CLE 600. There has been some review for him, but lots of new geometry concepts he hadn't touched in Saxon yet.

 

Hope this helps!

[Rhondabee]

I just checked to make sure and Abeka actually uses a worktext in 5th grade. Now even in 4th dd9 has to use scratch paper to work most problems because the worktext does not have enough space to do all the work. Just want to let you know FYI.

 

You are right.

 

But, we couldn't use it as a worktext since the numbers for the long division were in some itty-bitty font that even I couldn't duplicate. Of course, that was several years ago (with my oldest). Hopefully, they've updated since then and currently have enough room to actually work the problems in the worktext.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[Karen in CO]

I'm looking ahead for next year and am not sure that Saxon 54 is going to be a good fit at all. He just cannot transfer problems from a textbook to another sheet of paper. He already switches numbers in his answers ("21" becomes "12" by mistake).

 

 

I just switched into Saxon at 5/4. I let my dd use the textbook - as a workbook. I know that I can't resale it or reuse it, but it was the perfect book for what we needed, but she still needed workbook so I just let use it as a workbook. There is plenty of space in the book for writing the answers and it is softcover - I guess it just didn't occur to me to do it any other way.

 

She doesn't write in her LoF textbook - it is hardback and has a nice discussion of not writing in books. What is working for her in this book is a large - 11x18 piece of grid paper to do the problems on. It typically has fewer than 10 problems per assignment, and she will occasionally make a transcription error, but she catches those herslef when she is checking her answers.

[Malenki]

Thanks so much! I lost this thread (wow this forum does move quickly).

 

We're still considering Saxon 54 with my copying the problems but the thought of doing that every night or during our lesson time makes my eyes glaze over. Doable but at what cost to sanity? I didn't realize that there might be room enough in the book to just write there. But the pages are definitely busier from what I can see and the cleaner pages is one reason we went with Saxon orginally (he had/has vision issues).

 

CLE is high on the list. I'm pretty sure we'd be somewhere in the CLE 2 level. The 200 workbook looks easy for him; the 210 workbook has things we haven't yet covered but then we aren't finished fully with Saxon 3 so maybe we'd get there. It wouldn't hurt to have the review at this point.

 

We are running into a hiccup with the Saxon beyond the copying. He isn't getting enough practice on a new concept. There's so much review on the worksheets (which is wonderful) but he really needs a page or two of a new concept right at first to cement it. Plus the review. So we're learning adding things like 35+40 right now. Should be super simple and he caught onto the pattern the first day. But there was only 3 problems on the worksheet the first day. And the second day after learning it there was just one tucked in amongst other review type problems. And he totally froze... and swore to me up and down he'd never seen such a problem before. LOL

 

Maybe we need something like Math Mammoth that focuses on particular subjects AND something like Saxon done behind to keep the review going.

 

Or, as DH suggested, maybe we just need to take a math break for a while. Play some games, read some math books, and let it all settle.

[Karen in CO]

A math break is good. 21 is a great math game and for this level addition war is too - just like war, but you put down two cards and sum them.

 

Do you have the Saxon 5/4 already? In the back of the book are extra practice problems for many of the lessons. Then again, math amnesia is a common problem. When my dd gets it, we just do the facts practice until she kicks out of it. Do the earlier levels have extra practice tucked somewhere?