Tenaj Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 My current 9yods is struggling with math. We started out with Math U See which frustrated him, though we stuck with it through Primer and Alpha and part of Beta. I've tried Right Start and Singapore with him but nothing really enthuses him about math at all and those styles don't fit well with my teaching style. We went into Saxon 3 last year and that was fine though it resulted in many tears on his part. Last fall we began Saxon 5/4. We made it to Lesson 60 or so but he just bombed several tests in a row (We backed up, retaught, redid and still bombed). After our Christmas break, I talked to him and we decided together to just back up to the beginning of the book and restart. He's been doing well and just before we ended school he passed up where he was before we restarted but he hates math with a passion! My question is, where do I go from here? If you've had a child struggle through Saxon 5/4 did you just keep going? Did it get better or did they just keep struggling? I'm resigned to him never being enthusiastic about math but dread it at the same time as he gets older. Another factor in this whole mess, is that the 9yods who is struggling is being pushed by his younger brother (7yo) who flew through Saxon 3 this year with absolutely no problem and will begin 5/4 in the fall (even though he's technically only a second grader). I'm fairly positive that the 7 yo will pass up the 9 yo in Saxon 5/4 because I'm guessing that 9yo will end up having to repeat lessons at the end of the book that younger bro will speed through. I was contemplating testing 9yo into CLE math and then starting him where he places because that will put him into a completely different math and it won't be so obvious to him when/if younger passes him. I've considered all sorts of solutions but am open to ideas. I'm fairly sure that MUS won't work, been there and done that. Also fairly sure that TT won't work because he hates being on the computer for anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gailmegan Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 At the recent conference at Valley Forge, SWB was asked a similar question. she said when a younger sibling is stronger at something than an older sibling, it is very wise to use different curricula so that there is no comparison. Since the older struggled through Saxon and the younger is doing well with it, I think it might be time to switch to another program for the older. If you like the looks of CLE, it can't hurt to try the placement test and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny_P Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Ugh. My son struggled through Saxon 5/4 as well. We slowed down for a while, but he was still struggling. This book REALLY picks up toward the end introducing a brand new concept like every other lesson. DS was scoring like 13/20 on every test. I posted on this topic previously, and I will be backtracking with CLE in the fall per the advice found on this forum. Part of our struggle was writing, as ds is dysgraphic. Having a workbook format will help us tremendously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 We used Saxon 5/4 this year too. My daughter did well on part of it and struggled through part of it. I really think having the Saxon Teacher CD helped her. Yes, I could have taught the lessons, but it was nice to let someone else do the teaching. It took me out of the equation. I had her correct every problem she missed. If she missed it twice, I either did it with her or sent her back to the CD to watch the problem get solved. I think re-doing missed problems was a big key to helping her do better. She still hates math, but her skills are pretty good. Best wishes, Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 We used Saxon 5/4 this year too. My daughter did well on part of it and struggled through part of it. I really think having the Saxon Teacher CD helped her. Yes, I could have taught the lessons, but it was nice to let someone else do the teaching. It took me out of the equation. I had her correct every problem she missed. If she missed it twice, I either did it with her or sent her back to the CD to watch the problem get solved. I think re-doing missed problems was a big key to helping her do better. She still hates math, but her skills are pretty good. Best wishes, Suzanne We were using the DIVE CD at the beginning of the year, but then I realized that he just was not listening to the teaching on the computer and did a bit better when I taught him the lesson after he read it. We also correct every problem, either he does it himself, or with me. Is there anyway to change a kid who hates math? My older dd is a math hater and I just dread dealing with it through another kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Ugh. My son struggled through Saxon 5/4 as well. We slowed down for a while, but he was still struggling. This book REALLY picks up toward the end introducing a brand new concept like every other lesson. DS was scoring like 13/20 on every test. I posted on this topic previously, and I will be backtracking with CLE in the fall per the advice found on this forum. Part of our struggle was writing, as ds is dysgraphic. Having a workbook format will help us tremendously. My son isn't dysgraphic but I have realized that he really likes working on things completely by himself. He hated the DIVE CD, tolerates me working with him but would rather go off in a corner with a workbook, thus, the reason I was contemplating CLE. How far back in CLE are you beginning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 At the recent conference at Valley Forge, SWB was asked a similar question. she said when a younger sibling is stronger at something than an older sibling, it is very wise to use different curricula so that there is no comparison. Since the older struggled through Saxon and the younger is doing well with it, I think it might be time to switch to another program for the older. If you like the looks of CLE, it can't hurt to try the placement test and see how it goes. Thank you so much for responding. It's nice to know that I'm on the right track in separating them, especially nice to think that SWB would agree with me. I've already split a LOT of our curriculum to separate these two - even in history and science - because of the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I'm just throwing this out there, and I wanted to mention this at the SWB conference at some point (math was the subject). Nathan made a huge jump in his math ability between fourth and fifth grades. Seriously, his attitude and ease are like the difference between night and day. I think it just takes some kids longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 I'm just throwing this out there, and I wanted to mention this at the SWB conference at some point (math was the subject). Nathan made a huge jump in his math ability between fourth and fifth grades. Seriously, his attitude and ease are like the difference between night and day. I think it just takes some kids longer. Thank you for this . . .it's a good reminder and it's really why I'm tempted to keep plugging along. That pesky little brother thing though is the factor that keeps me wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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