mom4him Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 (edited) I just as well say school was a wash last year. Many reasons but that really is the bottom line. I started integrating my two into BJU last Jan/Feb and this fall I had them both in everything and I like it for the most part except my dd simply is NOT getting the Math. She is tech. a 6th grader, I have her in 5th grade and she has been struggling with it almost from the beginning. I have to be honest, I think it is as much or more the teacher(me) as it is her. I just simply don't seem to be able to present it in a way that she is grasping. I had finally decided that I was going to bite the bullet and order the DVDs that go with it only to find out that they are not out in 3rd ed. and the one consultant that I talked to did not advice going with the 2nd ed. So I am looking around and found the 5/4 Saxon Math. It has DVDs that go with it. If you have used this can you tell me if they are engaging, easily understood, etc. When she is struggling in 5th grade BJU math will the 5/4 Saxon be the right spot to start her? Have any of you used the 5th grade BJU DVD in the 2nd ed. and liked it? I am sure there are other questions but it is late and I am so tired simply from trying to figure all of this out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. ETS: One other thought that I have had is to back her up to 4th grade BJU Edited September 28, 2011 by mom4him One other thought that I have had is to back her up to 4th grade BJU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I like the MUS dvd's and manipulatives better than Saxon but I'm sure others would vote for Saxon. I found an old mathusee vcr tape on ebay for $10 and used it for learning stuff my dd didn't get in another program. That along with their manipulatives might be an inexpensive option to meet your needs. I find the explanations on the video to be very clear and easy to understand and so does my daughter. We used the vcr tape to review the alpha level then completed Beta. We are currently using Gamma but will start Delta in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 We used Saxon in the beginning and switched to MUS. I find that people have a love/hate relationship with both curricula -you either love it or hate it, very little inbetween. It just depends on what fits your daughter. I will say I've loaned out my MUS dvds quite often to kids who are struggling in math and it helps it "click", but the format can take some getting used to if you are using it as a whole math curriculum. It's concept mastery, not spiral, so only one concept is focused on at a time - which can seem quite slow to a child who has done otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I know you didn't ask about this, but have you considered Teaching Textbooks? I think it is GREAT for a non-mathy kid and does a fantastic job of patiently showing and telling step by step how to do each problem. They don't overwhelm a kid with tons of problems every day but they use lots of repetition from lesson to lesson to reinforce concepts, the animation makes it fun for a lot of kids, it keeps a gradebook for you, it can be done pretty independently which frees you up for other things...it's been an absolute lifesaver here. I have a more detailed review with some pics etc on my blog if you are interested in taking a peek (and it also goes into detail there about how my daughter's math scores have improved and her confidence and everything). Love love love it! http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/124221.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 (edited) I started integrating my two into BJU last Jan/Feb and this fall I had them both in everything and I like it for the most part except my dd simply is NOT getting the Math... I just simply don't seem to be able to present it in a way that she is grasping. Truly it is a tricky balancing act to find curriculum that works for *us*, the teachers, AND for our children, the students. And that gets harder if the student has a strong, particular type of learning style (esp. when it's DIFFERENT from our own learning/teaching style!), and/or the student has learning disabilities. What stuck out in your post to me was what I quoted above. Not knowing you or your DD, it is hard to discern for sure, but it sounds to me like BJUP is a good fit for you as an instructor -- but NOT for your DD as the student. So you are probably doing a great job of presenting the material as it is written -- but it is just not in a format that connects for DD. Could you explain more about specifically where/how your DD does -- and does not -- connect with learning? Is it just the math that is a difficult area? Or other areas as well? Has math always been a difficult area? Switching to Saxon may -- or may not -- help. Saxon is spiral-based (small "bite" of teaching in each of several math topics, then in 2-6 lessons, spiral around for another small "bite" of teaching in another math topic), which is a parts-to-whole type of learning. Saxon is also very abstract (non-visual or hands-on) in its presentation. And the pages are very dense with type. If your DD is a highly visual learner and is a global processesor (big picture first, then gets the "parts"), and she is overwhelmed by a lot on a page, then Saxon will not be a good fit for her. I looked at a sample of the BJUP grade 5 math online, and am thinking that if math is a difficult area for your DD, she may just be visually overwhelmed by the amount and variety on each page. It is great with all the color and presenting the material in a variety of ways -- BUT, that may actually be overload to a highly visual learner. Switching to something with a very simple, clean page with very few problems on it may help her finally be able to calm down and take a breath and not feel overwhelmed visually. Rod and Staff; Math Mammoth, and Math-U-See all fit that description. Without knowing more details about your DD, my recommendation would be to look into Math-U-See (MUS); not only due to the simple, uncluttered page layout, but also because of the very helpful video teaching for each week's lesson. I recommend you watch it together. Steve Demme explains the "why" behind the math topics through working out the problems, but also by visually demonstrating with manipulatives -- so you really do SEE why the math works that way. MUS offers a free demo video to give you the chance to see if it would be a match for you AND for DD before having to buy. Also, in case it is of help, I'm attaching in a second post a quick checklist to help you determine what your DD's learning style might be, in case that is heavily playing into the math difficulties, or would be of help if you are deciding to switch math programs and are trying to determine which might be a better fit. Your DD is old enough to look through the list with you and point out which ways of learning she naturally gravitates towards. :) Hang in there! Please don't beat yourself up about the last year. Sometimes it takes a long time to determine what our students' issues and needs are -- but once we get them connected with what works for them, they are amazing resilient and bounce back quickly. :) Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited September 28, 2011 by Lori D. added info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 LEARNING STYLE = how a person most easily/naturally/usually TAKES IN information. kinesthetic = through touching/manipulating and hands-on auditory = through hearing it visual = through seeing it Brain Dominance = how a person PROCESSES that information in the brain. LEFT hemisphere dominance = abstract, sequential, understands the individual parts which leads to adding up to "the big picture" RIGHT hemisphere dominance = concrete, random, intuitively sees the big picture first and then begins to understand the parts that add up to it LEARNING STYLES KINESTHETIC (Do-ers/Touchers) Kinesthetic Traits: - favors sports and building - high energy - loves to touch - uses body when antsy - in constant motion - dislikes sitting long - uses fingers to count - usually has rumpled clothes - has difficulty following oral directions Kinesthetic Helps: - math manipulatives - manipulatives - allow touching - take many breaks - use hands-on activities - divide chores up - allow building/construction AUDITORY (Talkers/Listeners) Auditory Traits: - remembers commercials - uses rhyming to remember - talks aloud doing math - a better listener than reader - reads aloud - has difficulty reading maps - very verbal - likes to talk to people Auditory Helps: - make audiotapes (esp. for spelling) - set learning to music - talk them through writing a paper - read aloud - study groups - have a quiet place for study/learning - watch videos (for audio narration) VISUAL (Watchers) Visual Traits: - assemble by pictures - close eyes to memorize - observant - good with puzzles - vivid imagination - looks neat - better reader than listener - rarely volunteers answers - takes many notes - watches/learns from TV Visual Helps: - illustrate everything - make a mind-map (visual plan) for writing - use post-it notes to organize - highlight different topics in different colors - write down chores - use transparency sheets to reduce glare "Hook" your child's interest with their learning style strength, then present the material in all the learning styles to strengthen their weak areas and really embed the information in their brain in multiple ways, using a variety of learning styles. BRAIN DOMINANCE LEFT BRAIN Left Brain Uses or is Strong with: - analytical - dates - numbers - taxon memory - lists - names - math facts - short term memory stored here Left Brain Takes In Information By: - Words - the Familiar - Sequential - Listens - is a Joiner - Step-by-Step - Routine - Organized - Linear Thinking - Writing/Talking - Detailed - Focused RIGHT BRAIN Right Brain Uses or is Strong with: - spatial - color - music - creativity - design - feelings - storytelling - hands-on - long-term memory stored here Right Brain Takes In Information By: - pictures - the new - is random - particpates - is independant - demonstrations - is impulsive - creative - 3-D thinking - drawing - oblivious to detail - highly distractable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 (edited) A few thoughts. When we first started home schooling my oldest was in 5th. We started at the beginning of the year. She completed 4th in the PS system. We started with BJU math and I got the 5th grade book. She just.did.not.get.it. So I got the 4th grade book. Again, she gave me the look of :001_huh: so what I ended up doing was getting the 3rd grade book and we did it like this: (these are just examples, I do not remember the topics we followed) We followed the 3rd grade book and I used the chapter review to determine if she needed to go over the material. Once we got to a section she did not understand (say multiplication) then we did it from the 3rd grade book, then the 4th grade book then the 5th grade book. Then we would go through the 3rd grade book again til we got to another area she did not under stand, and again, we did it from the 3rd grade book, then the 4th grade book, then the 5th grade book. Once we completed the 3rd grade book, I went to the 4th grade book. Anything we did not cover (I check marked the chapters we did) we started with the chapter reviews again until again there was something she did not understand. We did it from the 4th grade book, then the 5th grade book and so forth. Once we were done with the 4th grade book there was VERY little undone from the 5th grade book. At that point we just finished the chapters in order (say we had chapters 3,6 and 9 undone we would do them in that order.) That took us about 14 months and she was completely caught up. This works so well because BJU is a good spiral/mastery based program. It worked wonders. I then made the mistake of switching her from BJU last year due to my own math phobia I thought I needed a program with DVD's. I would not recommend it. I basically lost a year of math with her again last year due to my insecurities. Also, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend getting MUS blocks if she does well with manipulatives! They are AWESOME! I use them for EVERYTHING! Adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and negative numbers! If you want to know how let me know. Hang in there, my friend! You can and WILL do this! I know it :001_smile: :grouphug: If you want to know more detailed about how we did this either send me a message or call ;) If you honestly feel it is the BJU approach then switch to a spiral program and give her the placement test. Do not worry about the number on the book. Worry about getting the correct level and moving forward from there! I have had to deal with this more than I wanted and my pride tried to get in the way and that is why last year was such a bomb! Edited September 28, 2011 by wy_kid_wrangler04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I am going with Saxon with the DVDs. I have looked at the MUS several times but just never felt it would be a fit. I had both kids in TT last year but that really didn't work for us AT ALL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy7 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Could I ask why TT didn't work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Could I ask why TT didn't work? My dd simply didn't like it but my ds was finding ways to cheat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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