Saxon Math 1. What do you do if your kid is ready for concepts but not its writing?

[BethG]

My son is ready for the Saxon math 1 but isn't ready for the writing of the numerals. I have heretofore completely neglected teaching him to write numbers, so do I not start it until he's writing the numbers easily or do we start with the handwriting hold-up issue?

(BTW, we have just recently begun Miquon Math so we're doing MATH, but my goal is to do Saxon and Miquon).

[boscopup]

Teach him to write numbers. I'm assuming this is a K aged child? You asked about using MM1 with a K'er. Part of a K program is learning to write numbers. Pick up something cheap and easy and fly through it. I like Singapore Essential Math K. Book A is really easy, but teaches number writing. You can do several pages a day or skip pages altogether. Book B goes farther than Saxon K does, so it'd be about where Saxon 1 starts, but without the facts drill.

 

I think it's worth spending some time to work on writing numbers with EASY stuff before delving into the harder math. And I say that as someone who does accelerate her kids in math, so I'm not at all against doing that. ;) I just make sure they can write. That doesn't mean they need to be able to write pages and pages, but unless there is a learning disability preventing them from physically writing, I think spending time teaching them that very basic skill is worthwhile. There is plenty of time to move ahead. :)

 

Alternately, you could look at something like Rightstart, where there is not as much writing involved in the early stages. I'd still work on writing numbers though. It doesn't take that long to teach. My middle son is not really advanced, and he learned to write his numbers last summer with the R&S Counting With Numbers workbook (ABC series preschool books). Just doing that simple workbook had him writing his numbers very well in a very short time (within a couple months of starting it).

[Five More Minutes]

I used Saxon 1 last year with a 5 yo, and didn't figure out until it was too late that it was WAY too much writing for a student who hadn't mastered writing numbers 1-10. Math became a dreaded subject for us both because of the writing demands.

 

If you feel that you really want to get into Saxon because of the concepts, then some advice that others gave me may be helpful: have your child use number cards to show the answers, or else scribe for him.

 

However, I would probably hold off on Saxon (since you are using Miquon already) and add in some workbooks that teach numeral-writing. Singapore Essentials is a good one; so are Kumon workbooks.

[veggiegal]

I'd simply do the bulk of the writing for him. Both my boys started off this way in math: they did a little writing, then told me what to write (verbal answers); a bit later they did a bit more of the writing, and so on. I figured if the point of the activity was math, not writing, I'd focus on the math. (I did have them do the activities that were about the writing--like spelling number words). Now, my 9 year old does 100% of the writing required by his curricular materials, and my 6 year old about 75% (all subjects).

[lewelma]

I'd simply do the bulk of the writing for him.

 

I did this for both of my boys for ages 6-7 1/2 (we didn't do math at age 5). Didn't hurt them at all. Both write their math just fine now, and were able to keep up with their mental ability.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Hedgehog]

My son is ready for the Saxon math 1 but isn't ready for the writing of the numerals. I have heretofore completely neglected teaching him to write numbers, so do I not start it until he's writing the numbers easily or do we start with the handwriting hold-up issue?

(BTW, we have just recently begun Miquon Math so we're doing MATH, but my goal is to do Saxon and Miquon).

 

You could do Saxon 1 orally; you could write it down for him; or you could teach him his numbers first so that he can do it himself. Or a combo.

 

I actually had a rather different situation with Tigger; he's been writing for a long time, but hasn't understood what he's writing. That confused me for a while, but I realised that just because he couldn't remember what those symbols meant, didn't prevent him from copying them down pretty accurately. We also had a bit of an issue with ADHD which I've now dealt with, and suddenly he can memorise all these symbols for letters and words and his reading is coming on by leaps and bounds. I just love watching it happen!