DB in NJ Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 We've had a very rough year -- Mom was diagnosed with serious heart disease and stage 3 lung cancer. She came through emergency heart surgery and is done now with chemo. She still has lung surgery and radiation ahead of her. This is pertinent because Mom lives with us, and I am her primary care-giver. We have managed to do a decent amount of school work this year; I've been careful to spend time almost every day on math, reading, Bible, and grammar. And yet, but still.... This kid is sharp, but he's afraid of math. We had used R&S up until this year, and he did well with it. He just got bogged down by how many problems there were on a page, and well, just, ya know.....anyway, we switched to MUS Delta because I felt he needed the review in division. My plan was to go through Delta, Epsilon, & Zeta over the course of this year and next. With all the interruptions, we haven't gotten into Epsilon yet. HERE'S MY QUESTION: My goal is to have him do pre-algebra in 8th grade. I'm thinking we can cover the topics that are taught in MUS Epsilon & Zeta by using a different text. But which one? I don't know where to go.... push through MUS Epsilon & Zeta (and spend lots o' $$) work through MCP Level F - just covering the topics he hasn't gotten to this year due to MUS's funky scope & sequence work through the Keys To....series (fractions, decimals, & percents) One concern is that I really wanted to have him stay with one series through high school. MUS is the only one on my list that does that. I don't think switching to Saxon or TT or BJU or ABeka or __________ at this point would be a great idea for him -- remember, he gets overwhelmed & frustrated. Having said that, staying with MUS means spending a lot of time and money covering topics that could be covered more quickly & efficiently using a different method or publisher. Switching from MUS leaves me wondering where to pick up with pre-algebra, etc. Back to MUS? Saxon? TT? Something else??? HELP!!!!!! Sheesh....you'd think after 14 years I'd know what I was doing :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Lial's BCM? And you can stick with Lial's through high school except for geometry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB in NJ Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 hmmm.....I have BCM. I used parts of it for my dd last year. It might work if I teach from it and give him problems to do. But I wouldn't put the book in front of him; I think it might be a bit much. Thanks for the idea! Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Is there any money for a math tutor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB in NJ Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Is there any money for a math tutor? unfortunately, no. dh hasn't worked since Thanksgiving; neither has mom. We co-own the house with her, splitting certain household costs. They're both saying we're ok with expenses, but there's no money for extra right now. Any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 You consider him currently a 6th grader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truebluexf Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I would stick with what you are doing, probably, since it can be done fairly independently. And resale looks pretty decent. Also, if Delta is supposed to be a lot of review for him, can you have him do less of the practice pages? Or... Just get the MM topic books for like $5 each. He could do division and go through at his own pace and skip what he knows and then hop into Epsilon, ready to tackle fractions and then decimals. Or get the division and fractions books, then move into Zeta. The MM booklets would be easy to take when you have to go to chemo, radiation, etc vs something that requires a dvd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 If you currently consider him 6th grade AND find the explanations in MUS to be doing the job for him, I would stay the course, despite your frustrations or yearning to go faster. For some kids there just is no faster and there are no shortcuts. I don't know that going to a book with no manipulatives is going to be easy for a struggling, insecure student as his first experience with fractions. If you want to change from MUS, I would chose something that maintains what is working for him. If the manips are essential, then he needs those. BJU uses lots of manips and can be made very real-world. You could get the gr 5 textbook (it's a textbook, not a workbook) and do it together on a whiteboard, a lesson a day. In a school setting they would have that work in the textbook *and* homework, ie. twice that amount. Since some of it will be review and some new, it might be a good placement for him, rebuilding his confidence. Does he have an issue with facts and fact speed? I'll be brutal: there's nothing like more math to get the facts faster. My dd doesn't learn out of context, and she doesn't learn things just because. She has to *see* them, and she has to *use* them over and over and over in a memorable context. So I don't know how much math you're doing, but I'll tell you that I have my 11 yo pushing 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours a day. Don't make your life hard, but if he's not doing anywhere near that, you might feel free to try to nudge it up. I break it up, and that's NOT all on one topic. We're using Math Mammoth, so I use a page from each of 5 or 6 chapters. We've tried other math with long lessons like Horizons and CLE, and she just melted. It's a mercy even this is working. But we worked up to it, and I allow/encourage breaks. You might need to do 1/2 hour in the morning, 1/2 hour in the evening as homework, and sneak in another 15 minutes as drill time on a Flashmaster or drill sheet. Don't be afraid to do that. It seems mean, but it might help a lot. Reward him. Pay him. Feed him. Whatever it takes. Math is self-rewarding in that sense; the more you do, the more proficient you become, and the more proficient you become, the more you're willing to do. It's just something to think about. We've btdt with the dying over work thing. She still dies. I just resurrect her with marshmallows and tell her to keep going. I also let her use a multiplication table for her work. She did that for 2 years I think. This is the first year she has voluntarily put it aside. She's a visual learner, and it just let her see the patterns over and over to get faster. You might do an online learning styles assessment to see what his best modality is and make sure you're using that with his drill. Is there anything else going on with him like dyslexia or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Maybe keep going with what you're doing, but add in Aleks or Math Whizz. They will help him to fill in the blanks. This is what we're going to do with our 11 yr old who is behind due to family illness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Has he tried the Khan Academy? It's a) free b) has as many problems as he needs to get it mastered c) fun d) has great explanatory videos to tutor him, also free! I could suggest all kinds of other curricula, but since you say you want to stay with what you're doing, this is a nice, no-cost supplement that will allow you to do exactly that, but give him some extra instruction and practice as well. http://www.khanacademy.org Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB in NJ Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Great ideas, thank you ladies! We're just going to stay the course, and get in extra practice where we can. He likes MUS, and I know that switching isn't always the answer! Actually, switching is hardly ever the answer.... :tongue_smilie: I'll be using the Khan Academy website plus a Mastering Essential Math Skills book for extra practice. I also have the Saxon Middle Grades Activities book that we'll add in when we can. Thank you all so much for your input! I feel better now :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosyl Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Check homeschoolclassifieds.com or WTM for sale forum and get MUS for less and use only the parts he needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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