NEM 1 not a great fit - suggestions?

[NancyNellen]

Hello all,

 

My 8th grade son has completed Singapore PM 1-6, LOF Fractions and Decimal & Percents and Dolciani's Pre-Algebra. This year we decided to try NEM 1. While he is doing OK, I don't think it's a great fit for him. He needs more explanation than is offered, I think. I had a 23 year old friend come today to evaluate him. She is a homeschool graduate who is an honest-to-goodness rocket scientist. She has agreed to tutor my son in math, which is fantastic! She agreed that NEM isn't exactly right and recommended Bob Jones as a possibility. She also really liked the looks of the LoF texts. She used Saxon exclusively, but thought he might be bored to tears with it, given his personality.

 

My son is obsessed with history and languages. He is very bright, but has decided that he doesn't really like math. What sayeth the hive? Bob Jones? Bob Jones supplemented with LoF? Something else? What would you do?

 

Thanks!

[Stacy in NJ]

Check out the thread discussing Jacob's and Foerster's. Both are really good texts, superior imho to BJU.

[MIch elle]

If the tutor has the Saxon book why not try it? Take a look at Art Reed's video samples online - your dc might like them.

[Matryoshka]

My plan is to use Foerster's or AoPS for my mathier twin, and Lial's for the less math-inclined. I hear it has very clear explanations.

[radiobrain]

Jacob's, LoF, how about Singapore's Discovering Mathematics?

 

It needs to be somewhere between your son and the tutor, I think.

 

BJU seems like it might be on the other side of the Saxon spectrum then Singapore.

 

JMO from someone who is in Singapore 6A & LoF pre-alg. 1. Not from actual experience. ;)

[elegantlion]

We're using LoF supplemented with a little bit of Dolciani and Khan Academy videos. We've used LoF up to Beginning Algebra (except the Pre-algebra economics) and it clicks for my son. The only issue might be if he needs more explanation or problem sets. Then you could have to the tutor refer back to a more traditional text, like BJU, to help in those problems areas.

[Lori D.]

Our older DS loved Singapore and went through 6A/B; then we started NEM1. He still enjoyed it, but it was definitely a jump UP in difficulty. While we could *get* most of the concepts and problems, by about halfway through, it was taking way too much time for me to help him, so we spent the rest of that year doing a "skim review" of Saxon's Algebra 1/2 because I had one as a hand-me-down from a friend. The following year, DS started and completed Harold Jacobs Algebra. The next year DS went on and did the 2nd ed. of Jacobs Geometry -- both were great!

 

Jacobs Algebra is a mastery program, in very gentle incremental steps. DS almost never needed any help. There is a Teacher Book, a Solutions Manual, and I believe Dr. Calahan available as a DVD or computer CD as a video lesson support. Every single lesson has a wonderfully fun real-life example of the algebra or geometry topic used in real life. Set 1 has review problems; Set 2 builds slowly, starting with the basic topic learned for that lesson and then increasing in complexity. Set 3 is identical to Set 2, in case you need additional practice; Set 4 is an optional "challenger" problem.

 

I would circle selected problems in Set 1 for DS to do; he would do all of Set 2 or Set 3; and then I let him choose whether or not to do Set 4 for bonus points.

 

BEST of luck, whatever you go with! Warmly, Lori D.

[8filltheheart]

My 2 suggestions would be either Foerster or AoPS. Foerster is a more traditional approach in instruction, very solid and very thorough. AoPS teaches via breaking down problems and exploring the concepts within those problems. It is more of an exploratory, self-learning approach. (and also very good for students that think that way about math)