Saxon 3 or 54 (with DIVE)

[Tabitha]

I just saw the link posted for the Rainforest math helps...so I might not jump ship....

 

However, I am thinking of ditching our Horizons 3, and going over to Saxon. Horizons just isn't working for my 8 yo 3rd grader, nor myself, this year. Our biggest prob is that I didn't get drills in during the previous years (younger sister and a new babe took up a bit of time)...so we are floundering. Dd gets her stuff right, just takes a bit or wants to always use her fingers. Now that we are in division...that lack of drill is hitting a bit harder.

 

Looking at the online Saxon placement tests...dd knows all on the K-3, and on the middler test, her skills and knowledge would get her at 8 or 9 placing her in 54.

 

Due to the need to beef it up on drills, should I start with 3 and move fast/skip to get to whatever lessons start to challenge (if I do this, I've now wasted 1/2 of Horizons, and perhaps 1/2 of Saxon)? Or, start with 54 and go at whatever pace she can handle (also getting the DIVE cd for extra help if we needed it)?

 

I'm at a loss of which to start with.

 

I do want her to play around on Rainforest Math for a bit and see if that might fill in the gap for us, and then definitely switch over to Saxon next year.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Tab (I was on the old boards for quite a bit, and then have been pretty absent the last 18m or more...catching my breath from dd #3).

[Sue G in PA]

Go to 5/4 and just let her move at her own pace. About halfway through, my ds9 hit a "snag" and we had to move a lot more slowly. It hinders him that he doesn't have his mult/div. facts memorized yet. We are going to use MUS Gamma for the remainder of the year through the summer in combo w/ Saxon to try and get him up to speed.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Hmmm....5/4 is such a transitional year. 3 is very different from 5/4. You might get 3 and skip the meeting, previewing to see if any skills are introduced there, then have her complete the workbook pages. Or you could get 5/4 and work on the timed drill sheets while spreading lessons over 2 days until you get the feel for Saxon. Or just wait until next year.

 

 

If it were me I would probably start with 5/4. (My 8yo is in 5/4.) Please, whatever text you choose start Saxon at the beginning of the text, even if it seems simple. A key missed skill or explanation may not seem apparent at first, but could cause you to backtrack later!

[Tabitha]

Thanks. I'm thinking 54 would be the better choice. She gets all her probs right in Horizons now, somethings just take her longer to figure out but she always gets it right. I would fear Saxon 3 would be a waste (I think anyways - lol).

 

Tab

[Jolash]

Tabitha, DS 8 is in 2nd and we did Saxon 3 this year and have moved on to 5/4. I've found the first lessons of 5/4 to be a pretty thorough review of 3 - and it looks like it continues up until lesson 70 or so. The transition has been a little difficult in that in 5/4 the student is expected to do all work on his own... ie, no more workbook pages. My son has balked at having to "copy all of the problems". I've gotten around that by having him do the the simple review orally, copying only 10 or so problems to do on paper. The one thing we do everyday is the facts drill. It has helped trememdously. By the way, I have Math 3 TM if you'd like it, so you can take a hands on look at it.

[Tabitha]

Thanks for the offer. I have a friend locally who might still have hers. I'm hoping to look at it before doing anything.

 

I can see copying being a small issue for dd, but she needs the writing practice (she's very sloppey), so that might be good.

[Chris in VA]

I could be wrong, but I think you can get worksheets for Saxon 5/4. I will check on it for you.

I'd definitely do facts over the summer--and know there's lots of review in Saxon 5/4, but then it starts to go much faster. Dd just turned 8 and is in 2nd grade--if we were going to homeschool her next year, I'd probably copy problems for her for the first few months, then gradually let her take over.

 

And please, don't skip the meeting if you do Saxon 3. It is one of the biggest mistakes people make in using Saxon. You can skip some parts of it, but the problems, patterns, and counting are pretty much essentials to the program.

[Unicorn.]

My ds used Saxon 5/4 and hit a wall near the end of it and I switched him to Horizons. My dd's are in Horizons 3 now. I have had the same feelings towards it as you and considered switching them, but they seem to be getting it more than I thought they were. Sometimes I think they aren't getting it, and then after a while, it just cements itself.

 

Personally, I think that sticking w/ Horizons and supplementing w/ Singapore works really well. We did that last year, and it really helped. I think our problem this year is that I too am not doing enough drill, and not supplementing. Having used both programs though, I think Horizons is much better than Saxon. JMNSHO

[Tabitha]

My ds used Saxon 5/4 and hit a wall near the end of it and I switched him to Horizons. My dd's are in Horizons 3 now. I have had the same feelings towards it as you and considered switching them, but they seem to be getting it more than I thought they were. Sometimes I think they aren't getting it, and then after a while, it just cements itself.

 

Personally, I think that sticking w/ Horizons and supplementing w/ Singapore works really well. We did that last year, and it really helped. I think our problem this year is that I too am not doing enough drill, and not supplementing. Having used both programs though, I think Horizons is much better than Saxon. JMNSHO

 

Thanks for that insight. I am making (forcing) myself to make this decision a bit slow. Perhaps some online math drills might help get us past the hump for this year. I'll be looking and reading, and giving it a few weeks of trying some new drills before I buy anything.

 

Thanks again.