Please help me figure out math for my ds.

[iammommy]

DS is 11. Not a mathy kid. His major area of weakness is not knowing his mult/div facts. He picks up on things pretty quickly, though. We started homeschooling mid-3rd grade and used K12 math. He had been using Saxon 3 in public school and was doing OK with it. K12 Math freaked him out. It moved too quickly, and he hated it. As part of a cyberschool that first year, we felt very pressured to keep up, especially with Math.

 

So, in 4th grade we switched to Horizons 4. Well, I should have used Horizons 3 because there were topics he hadn't covered yet. Difficult year in math, and he hated it. BUT he liked Horizons itself. The level just seemed too difficult.

 

OK, this past year (5th) we used Teaching Textbooks. He liked it a lot. Math phobia disappeared. Here's the issue. We finished TT 5 early and began TT 6. I was disappointed, to be honest. Almost half the book is review of TT 5. It just feels like we are spending tons of time reviewing things he knows pretty well. And I don't feel like TT is teaching him to generalize his knowledge. He is getting so used to the way TT presents things, like word problems, he's stumped if he sees a word problem in a different context.

 

I was thinking of going back to Horizons 5 this coming year. I know for sure he's not ready for Horizons 6 since many of the topics haven't been covered in TT 5.

 

I don't like jumping around,but my gut keeps telling me that although he's doing well with TT, he's not getting enough review of the things he needs to, and too much review of things he can do well.

 

Advice?:confused:

 

Nan

Edited July 9, 2010 by iammommy

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

I have tried all the same curriculum you have with my ds10. I ended up deciding to go with Saxon. He "got it" better with Saxon and there was a lot less complaining. It is not my favorite, but I think it fits his style better and it gets the job done.

[Rosy]

Maybe you could keep in in TT since he likes it, but skip the review lessons and supplement with something else (maybe something word problem-based)? Or do something like multiplication.com for drill? I don't know much about math curricula at that level, but my DS has struggled and for him (and maybe your DS as well), attitude is everything when it comes to math. The review might actually help him cement some of the concepts if he's struggling to generalize.

[thowell]

Maybe you could keep in in TT since he likes it, but skip the review lessons and supplement with something else (maybe something word problem-based)? Or do something like multiplication.com for drill? I don't know much about math curricula at that level, but my DS has struggled and for him (and maybe your DS as well), attitude is everything when it comes to math. The review might actually help him cement some of the concepts if he's struggling to generalize.

 

:iagree: if he is finally liking math due to TT I don't think I would stop it right now. You could always continue with TT and supplement with Horizons if that is your other choice. I know that dd10 only takes about 20 minutes to do a lesson in TT so there is plenty of time to also do some supplementing. I will be supplementing with MM.

[SnegurochkaL]

My friend has 2 children who are not mathy. Her boy is 11 years old and her daughter is 13. She tried different math programs with her kids but decided to stick with TT, because it allows her kids to work independently. Her boy has used Horizon for several years, but this year (6 grader) he is switching to TT. I think TT is good for Algebra and higher. I will second the opinion of Rosy, who suggested to skip review portion of the curriculum and move ahead. You don't need to do all review section. You can assign several key problems to each chapter to be sure his knowledge are solid there and move ahead. That is what I would do if I were you.