bnbacademy Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I am considering SF Math for my 4th grader next year, but I know nothing more than that one homeschooled family's kids now excel in math in college. I looked for threads here, but was not successful. iIapologize if this ? has already been asked, I appreciate a link to a past thread, if there is one. So, if you use it/like it, why? Or why did you stop using it? What exactly would I need to purchase? Can I start ds at 4th grade... with a hx of MUS and 3rd grade math mamoth last year? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah&emmasmommy Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'm not sure which SF math you are looking at, but I just reviewed SF's enVision Math on my blog here. I can give you some more of my honest opinion about it here, if the enVision Math is what you are looking at. Just let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) I am looking for whatever title would be for homeschooling. ETA: I think I'm looking for the "Exploring Mathematics" series? Edited May 25, 2011 by bnbacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'm not sure which SF math you are looking at, but I just reviewed SF's enVision Math on my blog here. I can give you some more of my honest opinion about it here, if the enVision Math is what you are looking at. Just let me know. Apologies to the OP for the slight hijack, but my son is using enVision math through his school for 1st Grade and his workbook is not in color, or 650 pages (more like 255, plus a section of supplemental materials). They do get some color pages that come home and some "e-pages" (enrichment pages) that are extra to the workbook, but it looks different to me than what you are blogging about. Strange? To the OP, while the enVision materials are not bad I wonder why you would seek to use them when there are (to my mind) stronger math programs available for home education? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) To the OP, while the enVision materials are not bad I wonder why you would seek to use them when there are (to my mind) stronger math programs available for home education? Bill SIL used Scott Foresman math in hs, I haven't received her reply re: which actual series, but her dc were proficient in high school math. However, they were hs'ed until high school. I thought I would at least investigate SF for math for my dc. I think that I'm not looking for the enVision series, I think what I am possibly needing info on is the "Exploring Mathematics" series for elementary, and then the SF University of Chicago School Mathematic Project Algebra text for my 7th grader. Has anyone used these? Edited May 25, 2011 by bnbacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 SIL used Scott Foresman math in hs, I haven't received her reply re: which actual series, but her dc were proficient in high school math. However, they were hs'ed until high school. I thought I would at least investigate SF for math for my dc. I think that I'm not looking for the enVision series, I think what I am possibly needing info on is the "Exploring Mathematics" series for elementary, and then the SF University of Chicago School Mathematic Project Algebra text for my 7th grader. Has anyone used these? Our school system used Scott Foresman prior to enVision. My exposure to it was limited. It does, like enVision, fall into a category of being "neither fish nor fowl" relative to the preferences in this (WTM) community for math programs that are EITHER whole-parts/conceptual/Asian-style OR are very "Traditional." Programs like enVision and Scott Foresman try to split the differences by not really being whole-parts, not really being traditional and not really being "reform" math, but being a little of all 3. This makes them sort of "public school-y" and that is not a key to success in this community. The University of Chicago reform math program Everyday Mathematics is the reason many patents here home school. I've never seen it myself, but (except for a few brave souls who have defended parts of it) it is not a popular program here (understatement alert :tongue_smilie:). In all the time I've been on the forum I've only seen Scott Foresman math mentioned a couple times, and it has been in conjunction with what their children were using at school. It just has not been a program that (to my knowledge) than any of the regular posters here have used in a home education setting. So, now that I've said that maybe someone will come along and prove me wrong :D It's a bump anyway. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Thank you for your summary and for enlightening me on this forum's history, Spycar. Now I know why I have not heard of SF on this forum. I may need to look elsewhere to satisfy my curiosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Thank you for your summary and for enlightening me on this forum's history, Spycar. Now I know why I have not heard of SF on this forum. I may need to look elsewhere to satisfy my curiosity. Yea, sorry but outside of former public school parents turned home schoolers, or some after-schooler (both of whom can be found here) I don't think it's likely you will find anyone who has used/is using Scott Foresman math on this forum. Nothing new in this post, but at least it's another bump :D Good luck! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Well, I guess I am the minority but I didn't choose it. I am using SF with my 2 daughters who have been home schooling since January. We are linked to a charter school and the reason to HS came upon us quite quickly. I didn't really have a lot of resources and didn't know where to begin so we purchased the "typical" curriculum books from the school to get started. In some ways this was helpful to me because it seemed to be the most consistent with what they had been exposed to and it came with clear pacing guides on how to teach it. Move forward five months and I am feeling like I am in PS at home because of the curriculum that we are using. A few weeks ago I completely stopped the SF math book with both my kids and they have been working through the ALEKS program. My girls were both very unhappy with the math book. Now, they ask to do math first thing in the morning. As I have researching curriculum for next year and I am more educated and on what I want. I am moving away from most of these type of textbooks that you would see in the PS setting. I am looking forward to all the creative and extraordinary curriculum that will be available to my children now that I can choose what we study from. I don't know if that helps but I was using it in the HS setting but not because I chose it and I am most looking forward to new materials! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Yea, sorry but outside of former public school parents turned home schoolers, or some after-schooler (both of whom can be found here) I don't think it's likely you will find anyone who has used/is using Scott Foresman math on this forum. Nothing new in this post, but at least it's another bump :D Good luck! Bill Yeah, that's me the public school parent turned home schooler. Actually I have always wanted to HS my girls but the opportunity really wasn't there until recently and I am so, so very happy that I doing it. Basically, your right. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't be choosing SF for the kids. And in fact, I stopped using it before the year ended because I disliked it so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have used SF. For about 5 minutes. I believe the level I have around here, somewhere, is grade 5. I chose it for "summer work" when I was trying to convince the school system to let ds accelerate in math, figuring the best way to do that would be through the curriculum the school was actually using. And it cost me a fortune, lol. Technically, I don't have anything BAD to say about it, except for the fact that it really isn't geared toward homeschool use. We found it much too cumbersome and boring, and I drove ds nuts with it. After researching and comparing, we went with Saxon for actual homeschooling with ds. Calvert Math with my younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Thank you for all your help. I was just looking at ALL my options. I will most likely continue on with MUS and/or Math Mammoth for 4th grader and Saxon Algebra 1 for 7th grader as planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah&emmasmommy Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Apologies to the OP for the slight hijack, but my son is using enVision math through his school for 1st Grade and his workbook is not in color, or 650 pages (more like 255, plus a section of supplemental materials). They do get some color pages that come home and some "e-pages" (enrichment pages) that are extra to the workbook, but it looks different to me than what you are blogging about. Strange? To the OP, while the enVision materials are not bad I wonder why you would seek to use them when there are (to my mind) stronger math programs available for home education? Bill Well, if you read my blog post, you will see that it is not our main math curriculum, nor do I actually use it. I recieved it for free to write an honest review with the TOS Homeschool Crew. I see from the description of what your son has, that we have been in contact with two completely different programs, or the public school version and the charter/homeschool version are very different. Ours most definitely was enVision math, 600+ pages long, and full color. For homeschool use, I would recommend against using any type of public school curriculum whatsoever. It is designed to prepare students for standardized testing, and does not fit into a homeschool environment. Our favorite math program continues to be Math-U-See for our son, and we are still searching for the right one for our daughter but are leaning towards CLE, Horizons or MUS. When it comes to homeschooling, we must remember that we should not be trying to imitate school at home, but should be teaching our children with a learning lifestyle, making their academic learning a priority, but not in the context of a "public school at home" type of environment. This completely goes against the purpose of homeschooling. (IMHO :001_smile:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 When it comes to homeschooling, we must remember that we should not be trying to imitate school at home, but should be teaching our children with a learning lifestyle, making their academic learning a priority, but not in the context of a "public school at home" type of environment. This completely goes against the purpose of homeschooling. (IMHO :001_smile:) :iagree: We have used MUS for oldest, but younger ds may require something different. I had SF mentioned to me, and unknowingly discovered that it is not so much written for homeschool, but that Pearson publishing is often directed toward public school textbook printing. I posed the original request to find out if this might be a "sleeper" product, ie: a little known product (I didn't know anything about it, anyway) with big returns. I have homeschooled dc since Kindy, so I don't even know the ps publishing company names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah&emmasmommy Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I know what you mean about wondering if it is a "sleeper" product. I've done that myself. I actually found enVision math through Connections Academy, when I was just perusing around there website wondering if maybe I needed to sign my kids up for it for one year, just to get some relief on the budget. I ultimately decided against that because I knew it would not mesh with our homeschool lifestyle. We all thought it very strange that Pearson was sending samples for the TOS Homeschool Crew to review anyway, being that you almost cannot purchase anything from their website if you don't represent a public school. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssexton Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 If I remember correctly, the SF Exploring Mathematics used to be recommended by Sonlight. I believe it went out of print when SF was purchased by Addison Wesley and the math products went downhill from there. I remember it being used quite a bit by others on a Sonlight board back when my oldest was little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 If I remember correctly, the SF Exploring Mathematics used to be recommended by Sonlight. I believe it went out of print when SF was purchased by Addison Wesley and the math products went downhill from there. I remember it being used quite a bit by others on a Sonlight board back when my oldest was little. This is what bro is saying. They used Sonlight K-8 with SF for math, which was several years ago as his dc are now in college. This is probably what bro is referring to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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