Saxon Sequencing

[mjbucks1]

I need some help from all of you experienced Saxon users. I want to preface this by saying that I know this is the high school board, but my son will be taking all high school classes next year even though he will "technically" be in 8th grade. We have used Saxon since kindergarten and it has worked quite well. My son is just finishing the Algebra I book and I am uncertain if we should go straight into Algebra II (the traditional Saxon "way"), do the new Geometry book (thie biggest plus I see is that it has formal proofs and some colleges may prefer to have a separate Geometry course....from talking to the Saxon reps the traditional sequence does not include formal proofs?), or take two years and do Algebra II and Geometry concurrently (so as not to lose any Algebra skills.) My son is a math/science kid and we are planning on doing Calculus his junior year and then perhaps a college math course his senior year (if all goes well). Let me know what has worked for you, especially if you have a child interested in engineering/computer science, etc. Thanks in advance :001_unsure:

[coffeegal]

My plan is to go straight from Algebra 1 to Algebra 2, possibly supplimenting with Life of Fred Geometry. I haven't fully thought it out. ;)

 

ETA: In high school I completed both Algebra 2 and Geometry the same year. I didn't forget any Algebra before moving on to Algebra 2, and loved Geometry.

Edited April 24, 2010 by coffeegal

[Teachin'Mine]

I would recommend taking a formal geometry course, but I don't know whether it's better to take it after Algebra I, or after Algebra II. We did it between the two algebra courses, but if I had it to do over, I'd have done the algebra courses consecutively and then the geometry - my daughter agrees. For us, it would have been too much math - too time consuming - to take them together.

[mjbucks1]

If we did them together, we would definately take two years. But the more I read about the Alg II and Adv. Math I am really wondering if that would be overkill with re: to geometry. Decisions, decisions.....any other thoughts?

[Quiver0f10]

We have done Saxon Alg I, II, then Advanced Math.

[silliness7]

My oldest is in Algebra 1/2 right now. But I've had lots of questions about our future with Saxon myself. HomeschoolWithSaxon.com seems to have some very current and helpful information. Here's a link that explains at which point a Saxon student can list Geometry on the transcript (without having taken their separate Geometry course). Also this article claims that the traditional Saxon sequence (sans the separate Geometry) does use 2 column formal proofs. I remember doing those myself back in the day and loved the logical structure of the whole thing. It was difficult and I struggled a bit which I guess is why I was so pumped when it finally clicked. I definitely want my children to master the formal proof. I'm glad to see that they will have the opportunity to do that following the traditional Saxon sequence Alg. I, Alg. II, Advanced Math.

 

Here's the link to a specific geometry article. I recommend reading through the past newsletters as well. There's just a wealth of information on how to be successful with Saxon.

 

http://homeschoolwithsaxon.com/review-credit.php

[mjbucks1]

Rebecca,

Thank you so much for the website. It was very helpful. I am leaning now towards just doing the traditonal sequence. And if we do the geometry course I think I will have him do it concurrently as this article does discourage putting a year between the Algebra I and II books.