I've messed up big time on math and grammar this year. How to catch up?

[Greta]

I'm really embarrassed to post this, but I desperately need help and advice and won't get it without admitting to the problem!

 

We've had our best year ever in terms of history, literature, and poetry, and a great year in science too. We've covered a lot of ground, but not in a shallow way, in a really meaningful way, and we've had a great time doing it. But while we've done great in these subject areas, we've really floundered in the skill areas.

 

The fault lies entirely with me. I made some really poor curriculum choices at the beginning of the year, and it seems like I've somehow managed to snowball the problem all year instead of fixing it. We've hopped around too much, we've floundered. Maybe I'm not seeing the situation clearly, but to me it seems like we're at the same place now as we were at the beginning of the year - like we've made no real, measurable progress.

 

So, think of my dd as being at the beginning of 6th grade instead of 2/3 of the way through it. If you could pick one math text to get a sixth grader ready for pre-Algebra in 7th, what would you chose? (We'll be working on it six days a week, and we'll continue over the summer even when our other coursework is done.) She's naturally strong in math, and did brilliantly on her end-of-5th grade achievement test in all math areas. But this year, the same program (CLE) just did not work. She hated it. I tried Saxon next and that was even worse. I need something with a different teaching style from these two programs. I think that these "spiral" a little too much. She does need to review previous concepts, but I think she needs to stick with one concept for longer than these programs do.

 

Grammar I'm not as freaked out about, I just need a solid 6th grade program. It doesn't need to include writing, just grammar and mechanics.

 

I'm wondering about Rod & Staff for both. Or maybe Ray's Arithmetic and Harvey's Grammar? Or does anyone have a better idea?

 

Thanks for any help. I am feeling like the world's worst homeschooling mom today.

[Ellie]

:grouphug:

 

It's not that big a deal. Really. If she were 16 or 17, I'd be way more worried. :-)

 

Easy Grammar Plus. Two or three pages a day, every day.

 

Rod and Staff 6th or 7th grade math.

[Random]

 

So, think of my dd as being at the beginning of 6th grade instead of 2/3 of the way through it. If you could pick one math text to get a sixth grader ready for pre-Algebra in 7th, what would you chose?

 

 

 

How about Teaching Textbooks for math?

 

Don't beat yourself up too much...just fix the problem. :grouphug:

[wapiti]

You might look at MM6. It is organized for mastery, but also comes with cumulative reviews for each chapter. It would be easy to accelerate through areas that she doesn't need much review on, and it is excellent preparation for prealgebra.

[Tammyla]

Khan academy for math is worth checking out...and it's free.

 

http://www.khanacademy.org

 

Don't focus on the negative, just do the work daily and move forward. Kids are able to make leaps and lags in learning and both are often par for the course.

[Greta]

Thank you ladies so very, very much! I think I needed the :grouphug: and the "it's going to be okay" just as much as the curriculum help . . . maybe more! I've been having a rough week for other reasons, and the reality of how little progress we've made this year hit me like a ton of bricks a couple of days ago. I do need to find a curriculum that will work for her, and to stick with it, and I think we'll be alright if we just get serious and buckle down and do it.

 

Thanks again for all the recommendations, and if anyone wants to second one of these or mention another that they think would work well for us, I'm :bigear:!

[cjgrubbs]

We've used 6th grade Math mammoth this year after I floundered with my son in 5th grade. Math Mammoth has been rigorous and I feel he's ready for pre-algebra next year. Plus it's cheap!

[justLisa]

Well, if it helps.....I've totally bombed the other areas LOL! Math and grammar were our main focus this year. I feel like I've spent the entire year doing math and grammar, and reading books. I think it's ok to cycle your focus throughout the year.

 

I would get MM. It's cheap, and if she's completed 5th grade math with good scores she will be fine. It's not like you dumped the whole year and did nothing!

[Greta]

Well, if it helps.....I've totally bombed the other areas LOL! Math and grammar were our main focus this year. I feel like I've spent the entire year doing math and grammar,

 

So obviously what we need to do is get together -- you can teach math and grammar, and I can teach the other subjects. Then we'd have the perfect homeschool! :D

[Greta]

Rod and Staff 6th or 7th grade math.

 

This one is definitely still in the running. It looks pretty comprehensive, and I can afford it.

 

How about Teaching Textbooks for math?

 

It looks really good, but I think it's a bit out of my price range, considering I've bought and then not used three math programs this year. :blushing: :(

 

Khan academy for math is worth checking out...and it's free.

 

I have heard such great things about Khan academy! So I tried one lesson with her, and she hated it. I was stunned that my computer-loving child despised a computer-based math lesson. Sometimes I really can't figure her out! I'll talk to her again, though, and try to find out more specifically what she didn't like. (All I could get out of her at the time was "I hate it!") If it was the specific topic (I picked it because it was one she was struggling with) then maybe we could try again on an easier topic and see what she thinks.

 

You might look at MM6. It is organized for mastery, but also comes with cumulative reviews for each chapter. It would be easy to accelerate through areas that she doesn't need much review on, and it is excellent preparation for prealgebra.

 

I would get MM. It's cheap, and if she's completed 5th grade math with good scores she will be fine. It's not like you dumped the whole year and did nothing!

 

We've used 6th grade Math mammoth this year after I floundered with my son in 5th grade. Math Mammoth has been rigorous and I feel he's ready for pre-algebra next year. Plus it's cheap!

 

This looks good. What I like is that I could buy the download, print the first lesson, and start TODAY. And I can afford it. We did try a mini-unit of MM once, I think it was the one on decimals. She liked it.

 

 

I think I will have *her* take a look at R&S and MM and see which she'd prefer. Then if she doesn't like it she has only herself to blame, right? :tongue_smilie: I can wash my hands of the responsibility! :lol:

 

 

Again, thank you all for this help. I'm feeling hopeful again.

[Jpoy85]

you still have time to catch up. You can tread lightly during the next months until the fall. You have about 5 months to catch up. You can do it!

[Greta]

Easy Grammar Plus. Two or three pages a day, every day.

 

This sounds like it would be a pretty good fit for where we are and where we need to be. Thanks for mentioning it!

 

If I'm understanding it right, I could get by with just buying the teacher's book, because the student work pages and tests are in there -- I'd just need to make copies. Is that right?

[DarlaS]

You might look at MM6. It is organized for mastery, but also comes with cumulative reviews for each chapter. It would be easy to accelerate through areas that she doesn't need much review on, and it is excellent preparation for prealgebra.

 

:iagree:

 

As of right now, it looks like my dd will be using MM6 for much of grade 7. I expect her to find prealgebra a breeze after this.

 

One caveat is that it is VERY mastery.

[Another Lynn]

<snip>

 

 

I think I will have *her* take a look at R&S and MM and see which she'd prefer. Then if she doesn't like it she has only herself to blame, right? :tongue_smilie: I can wash my hands of the responsibility! :lol:

 

 

Again, thank you all for this help. I'm feeling hopeful again.

 

I think letting her look at those two options and have an opinion is a good idea.

 

FWIW, I had similar math struggles this year with my 12/13 yo ds. He's not as strong a math student (and he hates it), but when we started CLE 600 this year I thought it was moving too slowly for him. I thought he was ready for a "real" pre-algebra text. I had a used one on hand so we tried it. He did okay, but there wasn't enough review. It took me until Christmas to realize that. AFter Christmas I decided to have him do Singapore 6A because it covered some of the areas I thought he was weaker in. He flew through that pretty quickly. At that point I was looking at less than a semester to fill. I wasn't sure what we would be doing next year (i.e. if outsourcing would be a possibility), so I didn't want to start something else new if I didn't know for sure we could continue it in the fall. So, I opted for Aleks to finish out the school year. I know it's not well-loved as a core math program, but I knew it would "give him credit" for the things he already knows and gradually force him to work on the topics he hasn't mastered yet. So, that's what we're doing for now (and probably through the summer). Still not sure what we'll do for fall.

 

Long story to say, you are not the only one!!! :grouphug:

 

(As far as grammar goes - we started the year with R&S 6 and did not love it. After Christmas we could just not bare to crack the book again. He just finished AG season 1 today and we hope to do season 2 next fall).

[Greta]

One caveat is that it is VERY mastery.

 

Does that mean that it doesn't have a lot of review of previously covered concepts?

[Greta]

you still have time to catch up. You can tread lightly during the next months until the fall. You have about 5 months to catch up. You can do it!

 

Thank you. I need to hear this! :001_smile:

[Greta]

I think letting her look at those two options and have an opinion is a good idea.

 

FWIW, I had similar math struggles this year with my 12/13 yo ds. He's not as strong a math student (and he hates it), but when we started CLE 600 this year I thought it was moving too slowly for him. I thought he was ready for a "real" pre-algebra text. I had a used one on hand so we tried it. He did okay, but there wasn't enough review. It took me until Christmas to realize that. AFter Christmas I decided to have him do Singapore 6A because it covered some of the areas I thought he was weaker in. He flew through that pretty quickly. At that point I was looking at less than a semester to fill. I wasn't sure what we would be doing next year (i.e. if outsourcing would be a possibility), so I didn't want to start something else new if I didn't know for sure we could continue it in the fall. So, I opted for Aleks to finish out the school year. I know it's not well-loved as a core math program, but I knew it would "give him credit" for the things he already knows and gradually force him to work on the topics he hasn't mastered yet. So, that's what we're doing for now (and probably through the summer). Still not sure what we'll do for fall.

 

Long story to say, you are not the only one!!! :grouphug:

 

(As far as grammar goes - we started the year with R&S 6 and did not love it. After Christmas we could just not bare to crack the book again. He just finished AG season 1 today and we hope to do season 2 next fall).

 

Thank you for the empathy! I've not heard of Aleks before, so I'll take a look at it. I have looked at AG before and loved the philosophy of it. I would have snapped it up if it weren't for the price. Do you feel it's been worth it?

[DarlaS]

Does that mean that it doesn't have a lot of review of previously covered concepts?

 

Right. There are cumulative reviews after every chapter, but depending on the length of the chapter, it might be a while before an old topic gets revisited.

[Another Lynn]

Thank you for the empathy! I've not heard of Aleks before, so I'll take a look at it. I have looked at AG before and loved the philosophy of it. I would have snapped it up if it weren't for the price. Do you feel it's been worth it?

 

Aleks - it's on the computer and it's not cheap either. It has a monthly access fee. But, he complains less about it than other things and in his case his "gaps" are kind of all over the board, so I thought it might work better than starting another text and taking longer to get to the topics he needs. At the beginnng of each session it shows a pie chart of the topics in the course. Each piece of pie is "filled in" according to how much of it he has mastered. He can click on any topic he wants (that hasn't been "mastered" yet). It makes him take an assessment every two weeks - or I can go in and request an assessment any time. If he misses questions on the assessment that were previously considered "mastered" his new pie will reflect that and he will have to do that topic again.

 

AG - I like AG, but it's hard for me to tell someone else whether it's worth the cost, kwim? One thing you should know is that mechanics aren't covered until the end of the course (season 3, I think). Unless I'm mistaken, Season 1 and 2 are pure grammar. (There are skill builder writing exercises once a week, but they are optional). I do like how quickly we got to parsing and diagramming entire sentences (as opposed to R&S that works slowly through every detail you could ever want to know about every part of speech, one part of speech at a time.) If you know you're going to use it over three years, the price is comparable to buying a new grammar program every year for three years. Hth.

[HSinNH]

You might look at MM6. It is organized for mastery, but also comes with cumulative reviews for each chapter. It would be easy to accelerate through areas that she doesn't need much review on, and it is excellent preparation for prealgebra.

 

 

:iagree:

[AimeeM]

This one is definitely still in the running. It looks pretty comprehensive, and I can afford it.

 

 

 

It looks really good, but I think it's a bit out of my price range, considering I've bought and then not used three math programs this year. :blushing: :(

 

 

Can you sell your unused curricula to bring funds for a new math program?

If you are looking for something different that can be used independently, I'll second Teaching Textbooks. Initially, I was going to suggest CLE as that is what we use and love (and hey! I need CLE 6! Lol), but if that and Saxon bombed for you guys, Teaching Textbooks would be fairly easy. Check the sale boards - this is a great time to pick it up used for a decent price; and if she completed CLE 5 easily, I would think you could start TT Pre-Algebra with no problem. Frankly, CLE 5 is great prep for pre-algebra (and includes many things, in my opinion, that ARE "pre-algebra").

[Another Lynn]

By the way, when I read back over your original post, I think you should not be too hard on yourself. Imho, you did a great job on the harder part, and arguably the most important part. Skills are caught up more quickly than depth and richness. If I could say we had accomplished what you have, I would be thrilled right now, LOL!

[Ray]

Fractions and More, by Dina Migachyov. It is the 2nd book in her 'how to make your child successful in math' series. http://www.quaternionpress.com/buybooks.html

[Greta]

Right. There are cumulative reviews after every chapter, but depending on the length of the chapter, it might be a while before an old topic gets revisited.

 

Thank you for explaining!

[Greta]

Aleks - it's on the computer and it's not cheap either. It has a monthly access fee. But, he complains less about it than other things and in his case his "gaps" are kind of all over the board, so I thought it might work better than starting another text and taking longer to get to the topics he needs. At the beginnng of each session it shows a pie chart of the topics in the course. Each piece of pie is "filled in" according to how much of it he has mastered. He can click on any topic he wants (that hasn't been "mastered" yet). It makes him take an assessment every two weeks - or I can go in and request an assessment any time. If he misses questions on the assessment that were previously considered "mastered" his new pie will reflect that and he will have to do that topic again.

 

AG - I like AG, but it's hard for me to tell someone else whether it's worth the cost, kwim? One thing you should know is that mechanics aren't covered until the end of the course (season 3, I think). Unless I'm mistaken, Season 1 and 2 are pure grammar. (There are skill builder writing exercises once a week, but they are optional). I do like how quickly we got to parsing and diagramming entire sentences (as opposed to R&S that works slowly through every detail you could ever want to know about every part of speech, one part of speech at a time.) If you know you're going to use it over three years, the price is comparable to buying a new grammar program every year for three years. Hth.

 

Thank you Lynn! I appreciate this info.

[Alyeska]

:grouphug: Dd and I were in the same exact position. I fumbled the math big time.

 

It will be okay. Congrats on having such success in other topics!! We LOVE history...If I could, I would read/learn/teach history all.day.long. and forget about all other subjects. lol

 

Oh, and we started using ACE math. I had dd take the online placement to see where we needed to start. She really has flourished with ACE and is nearly caught up. I don't care for ACE math in younger grades, but have been impressed with the upper grade levels.

[Greta]

Can you sell your unused curricula to bring funds for a new math program?

 

I already gave them away to friends who use and love those programs.

 

If you are looking for something different that can be used independently, I'll second Teaching Textbooks. Initially, I was going to suggest CLE as that is what we use and love (and hey! I need CLE 6! Lol), but if that and Saxon bombed for you guys, Teaching Textbooks would be fairly easy. Check the sale boards - this is a great time to pick it up used for a decent price; and if she completed CLE 5 easily, I would think you could start TT Pre-Algebra with no problem. Frankly, CLE 5 is great prep for pre-algebra (and includes many things, in my opinion, that ARE "pre-algebra").

 

I hadn't thought about looking for it used (duh!) so I'll check into that. I thought CLE 500 was a great program, and I agree it certainly did seem to be introducing some pre-algebra concepts. I kind of miss it because it was so easy for me to teach! Hand her the book and off she goes. :D

 

 

By the way, when I read back over your original post, I think you should not be too hard on yourself. Imho, you did a great job on the harder part, and arguably the most important part. Skills are caught up more quickly than depth and richness. If I could say we had accomplished what you have, I would be thrilled right now, LOL!

 

I appreciate your kind encouragement! My husband is such a math guy, and has such high expectations in that regard, that I really freaked out the last couple of days realizing how badly I fumbled on the math instruction. Something which I haven't exactly explained to him at this point. :leaving: We'll have that conversation someday . . . after we've had some time to catch up!

 

Fractions and More, by Dina Migachyov. It is the 2nd book in her 'how to make your child successful in math' series. http://www.quaternionpress.com/buybooks.html

 

Thanks, I hadn't heard of this. I'll check it out!

[Greta]

:grouphug: Dd and I were in the same exact position. I fumbled the math big time.

 

It will be okay. Congrats on having such success in other topics!! We LOVE history...If I could, I would read/learn/teach history all.day.long. and forget about all other subjects. lol

 

Oh, and we started using ACE math. I had dd take the online placement to see where we needed to start. She really has flourished with ACE and is nearly caught up. I don't care for ACE math in younger grades, but have been impressed with the upper grade levels.

 

Can I just say how much it helps to know that I'm not the only homeschooling mom who has ever done this? Misery loves company I guess? :lol: Really, thank you, and everyone else who has posted, for the understanding. It has lifted my spirits more than I can say!

 

And I thought I had heard of a gazillion math programs, but there's more out there than I realized! I'll check this one out too. Thanks!

[Ellie]

This sounds like it would be a pretty good fit for where we are and where we need to be. Thanks for mentioning it!

 

If I'm understanding it right, I could get by with just buying the teacher's book, because the student work pages and tests are in there -- I'd just need to make copies. Is that right?

Yes, you could make copies. If you do that, it would be easier to have the spine cut off and the book drilled for three holes; then you could easily remove a page to photocopy it and then put it back.

 

Some people allow their dc to write in the book, but that would weird me out, lol.

[Ray]

There is this online math program- http://www.kosjourney.com/ it is something I have not used yet...fwiw.

[Corraleno]

You might look at MM6. It is organized for mastery, but also comes with cumulative reviews for each chapter. It would be easy to accelerate through areas that she doesn't need much review on, and it is excellent preparation for prealgebra.

:iagree:

It's cheap, you can start immediately, it's VERY thorough, and it's easy to accelerate (do odd # problems, test out of chapters she already knows, etc.). If CLE and Saxon didn't work at all, then I'd probably steer away from TT, as it's more "spirally" and less mastery-based than MM.

 

Jackie

[nansk]

MM has enough end-of-chapter reviews and tests to provide the spiral review you need. If you are used to handing the math book to her, then MM at higher levels is just that.

 

For grammar, I would use Harvey's Elementary Grammar. If you need a workbook for it, Classical Writing has two affordable workbooks.

[foxbridgeacademy]

You might look at MM6. It is organized for mastery, but also comes with cumulative reviews for each chapter. It would be easy to accelerate through areas that she doesn't need much review on, and it is excellent preparation for prealgebra.

:iagree:

[keyjoh62080]

I say Rod and staff for both math and english.

[Greta]

Thanks, everyone, for the help, and I'm sorry to be indecisive! But I'm wondering if anyone who has compared the two programs could tell me a bit more about Math Mammoth and Rod & Staff in terms of the way they do review. I think my ideal program for my dd would be one that is mastery in terms of the lessons, but spiral in terms of the review. Does that make sense? Will either one of these (or both?) provide review in terms of previously covered concepts that she may not have seen in the main lessons for awhile? Or will *I* need to make sure that she's getting that sort of review, because it won't be built-in?

 

 

 

 

Yes, you could make copies. If you do that, it would be easier to have the spine cut off and the book drilled for three holes; then you could easily remove a page to photocopy it and then put it back.

 

Some people allow their dc to write in the book, but that would weird me out, lol.

 

Thanks, Ellie!

 

For grammar, I would use Harvey's Elementary Grammar. If you need a workbook for it, Classical Writing has two affordable workbooks.

 

I'm really attracted to "vintage" programs like this, especially for language arts. So here goes my indecision again! I'll probably have dd take a look at both Harvey's and Easy Grammar Plus and see what she thinks. Since I've done so terribly in both math and grammar this year, might as well let her have a shot at it!

 

 

Fractions and More, by Dina Migachyov. It is the 2nd book in her 'how to make your child successful in math' series. http://www.quaternionpress.com/buybooks.html

 

 

Ray, the info about this program at the website looks really interesting, but there's not a whole lot of it. No sample pages or anything. It does say it includes a lot of word problems, which I think is great. Do you feel they are well written - challenging? Anything else you could tell me about this program? It sounds like the two "equations" books (that come after the fractions book) would be a complete pre-Algebra course. Am I interpreting that correctly? Do you feel this is a complete program, or is it more of a supplement?

[DarlaS]

Thanks, everyone, for the help, and I'm sorry to be indecisive! But I'm wondering if anyone who has compared the two programs could tell me a bit more about Math Mammoth and Rod & Staff in terms of the way they do review. I think my ideal program for my dd would be one that is mastery in terms of the lessons, but spiral in terms of the review. Does that make sense? Will either one of these (or both?) provide review in terms of previously covered concepts that she may not have seen in the main lessons for awhile? Or will *I* need to make sure that she's getting that sort of review, because it won't be built-in?

 

 

If you're looking for a certain amount of continuous review then no, MM does not do that. You would have to add it in.

 

The cumulative reviews at the end of each chapter could be few and far between if your dd averages about 3 pages a day.

 

Just to give you an idea, the shortest chapter in 6A is chapter 1 and it is 20 pages long. They more often tend to be 50+ pages.

 

That could mean 3-4 weeks between the cumulative reviews--which tend to be about 2 pages. That's not enough review for some kids. That IS often enough to give you a heads up early on that more review would be needed.

 

There is a certain amount of use of previously learned concepts (There would have to be) but if your looking for review of fractions, division etc. you would not find it in 60+ page chapter on Geometry.

 

Now, I like Math Mammoth, and I'm using it. I plan to continue. If constant review is something you know your dd to really need, you'd need to consider that.

 

Moving through it fairly quickly or intentionally hopping around a bit (I do this when we've had it with a particular concept.) would make it less of a concern. Adding something like Challenging Word Problems also helps.

[Greta]

Darla, thank you so much for this detailed information. This really helps.

 

If constant review is something you know your dd to really need, you'd need to consider that.

 

You know, maybe my daughter doesn't need constant review IF we're using a program that goes deeply enough into a concept that she truly masters it before moving on. I just don't know, because we've been using these really spirally (is that a word?) programs, and so maybe the reason I think she needs review is just that we haven't spent long enough on one topic for her to really understand it! Uggh. I'm so confused. The more I think about this the more my brain hurts. I don't know what to do.

[justLisa]

I'll tell you how I use MM. Sounds like your DD is a great kid and takes part in her studies :) My DS is much the same. I'll give you an idea of what I did the last couple months, working from MM4. MM4B chapters are division/long division, geometry, fractions, decimals. We went through the entire division/long division unit, then take the review/test. Then we start the geometry unit, and I print out 3 pages of previous topics of division, multi digit multiplication (from MM4A) and staple them together. I just tell him, do 2 problems from each page for practice each day for that week (or maybe 4 out of the 5 days). Easy peasy, that's only 6 problems, and since he has already mastered them, doing one or two a day is quick and painless. Then once we move on to the fractions and decimals, I will do the same sort of thing. My DS is pretty self driven and compliant with what he needs to do, so this works well for us. MM is really flexible IMO. There is also a worksheet generator for extra practice, and I use it for printing off review sheets.

[wapiti]

You know, maybe my daughter doesn't need constant review IF we're using a program that goes deeply enough into a concept that she truly masters it before moving on. I just don't know, because we've been using these really spirally (is that a word?) programs, and so maybe the reason I think she needs review is just that we haven't spent long enough on one topic for her to really understand it! Uggh. I'm so confused. The more I think about this the more my brain hurts. I don't know what to do.

 

It's possible.

 

I'll tell you how I use MM. Sounds like your DD is a great kid and takes part in her studies :) My DS is much the same. I'll give you an idea of what I did the last couple months, working from MM4. MM4B chapters are division/long division, geometry, fractions, decimals. We went through the entire division/long division unit, then take the review/test. Then we start the geometry unit, and I print out 3 pages of previous topics of division, multi digit multiplication (from MM4A) and staple them together. I just tell him, do 2 problems from each page for practice each day for that week (or maybe 4 out of the 5 days). Easy peasy, that's only 6 problems, and since he has already mastered them, doing one or two a day is quick and painless. Then once we move on to the fractions and decimals, I will do the same sort of thing. My DS is pretty self driven and compliant with what he needs to do, so this works well for us.

 

This is a nice example of how one could add in extra review easily.

 

MM is really flexible IMO.

:iagree::iagree:

 

There is also a worksheet generator for extra practice, and I use it for printing off review sheets.

 

This is an important point. It is a simple matter to print off a sheet on a few various topics, and have your student do one or two problems per day from each sheet, or every other day or whatever.

[Ray]

Ray, the info about this program at the website looks really interesting, but there's not a whole lot of it. No sample pages or anything. It does say it includes a lot of word problems, which I think is great. Do you feel they are well written - challenging? Anything else you could tell me about this program? It sounds like the two "equations" books (that come after the fractions book) would be a complete pre-Algebra course. Am I interpreting that correctly? Do you feel this is a complete program, or is it more of a supplement?

__________________

The first two books are written in a friendly tone one can almost ‘hear’ Dina talking to you. The last two are ‘pre-Algebra’, but they lack the personal speaking tone of the previous books becoming more formal in style. My opinion is that, Fractions and More is bare bones core material placing more focus on “how to†than “whyâ€. Also the word problems are straight forward not on par with something like Singapore’s CWP series. While not sounding like a glowing recommendation, my experience is for a concentrated period of study, upon completion(fractions and more) the student can transition into something like Russian Math 6.

Now, AOPS Pre-algebra is what I would spend a year or two using instead of working through the entire ‘Quaternion Press’ books. AOPS site has really raised the bar for math materials; videos, forums, and accurate texts. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Store/viewitem.php?item=prealgebra

[wapiti]

AOPS site has really raised the bar for math materials; videos, forums, and accurate texts.

 

FWIW, I completely agree. I love MM, but I love love love AoPS.

[Greta]

I'll tell you how I use MM. Sounds like your DD is a great kid and takes part in her studies :) My DS is much the same. I'll give you an idea of what I did the last couple months, working from MM4. MM4B chapters are division/long division, geometry, fractions, decimals. We went through the entire division/long division unit, then take the review/test. Then we start the geometry unit, and I print out 3 pages of previous topics of division, multi digit multiplication (from MM4A) and staple them together. I just tell him, do 2 problems from each page for practice each day for that week (or maybe 4 out of the 5 days). Easy peasy, that's only 6 problems, and since he has already mastered them, doing one or two a day is quick and painless. Then once we move on to the fractions and decimals, I will do the same sort of thing. My DS is pretty self driven and compliant with what he needs to do, so this works well for us. MM is really flexible IMO. There is also a worksheet generator for extra practice, and I use it for printing off review sheets.

 

This is an important point. It is a simple matter to print off a sheet on a few various topics, and have your student do one or two problems per day from each sheet, or every other day or whatever.

 

Oh, this is excellent -- thank you both! Sounds like review will be pretty simple to accomplish.

[Greta]

The first two books are written in a friendly tone one can almost ‘hear’ Dina talking to you. The last two are ‘pre-Algebra’, but they lack the personal speaking tone of the previous books becoming more formal in style. My opinion is that, Fractions and More is bare bones core material placing more focus on “how to†than “whyâ€. Also the word problems are straight forward not on par with something like Singapore’s CWP series. While not sounding like a glowing recommendation, my experience is for a concentrated period of study, upon completion(fractions and more) the student can transition into something like Russian Math 6.

Now, AOPS Pre-algebra is what I would spend a year or two using instead of working through the entire ‘Quaternion Press’ books. AOPS site has really raised the bar for math materials; videos, forums, and accurate texts. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Store/viewitem.php?item=prealgebra

 

Thank you, Ray. I really appreciate the further information. I have looked at AOPS before, and talked it over with my husband (he's the math person in the family) and we plan to use it. In fact, I guess I should have been more specific when I said I need to get her ready for pre-Alg, I should have asked "what's the best resource to get her ready for AOPS pre-Alg?" Would you suggest "Fractions and More" followed by Russian Math 6 and then AOPS pre-Alg?

[wapiti]

Thank you, Ray. I really appreciate the further information. I have looked at AOPS before, and talked it over with my husband (he's the math person in the family) and we plan to use it. In fact, I guess I should have been more specific when I said I need to get her ready for pre-Alg, I should have asked "what's the best resource to get her ready for AOPS pre-Alg?" Would you suggest "Fractions and More" followed by Russian Math 6 and then AOPS pre-Alg?

 

While I like Russian Math 6 a lot (I have it but have not used it), to some extent, in my mind, AoPS Prealgebra replaces it. AoPS is a bit more - in content, depth and difficulty - but it seems to me that there would definitely be significant overlap between those two resources.

 

I'm not familiar with the Fractions and More resource. I think you'd be in great shape doing most of MM6, however long or short that takes (assuming that's the correct placement for your dd at this time), and then starting AoPS Prealgebra (my dd started AoPS Prealgebra following MM5, having done only a few parts of MM6). I think MM6 is great preparation as far as content goes (the ratio chapter is excellent, in particular, as are the chapters on decimals and fractions), but would not make AoPS repetitive. There are a couple chapters that could possibly be skipped in MM6 in favor of doing the topic in AoPS (e.g., the probability and statistics chapter and the geometry chapter come to mind), depending on your student.

 

If you'd like to get her warmed up from a problem-solving perspective, she could try some of the prealgebra topics in Alcumus on the AoPS website - early on, some of the problems should be within her reach.

Edited April 14, 2012 by wapiti

[TracyR]

You know what? I've had that same issue. I really love CLE math, I think its gentle in how it presents new concepts. My younger three are working really well with it, but my oldest just could not progress with it at all. She did the same with Saxon at the private school she attended.

 

So with great trepidation I switched her to Horizons PreAlgebra, and wow, what a difference!

Though Horizons is spiral it focuses on one concept at a time , and reviews past concepts. It only has two pages per lesson so my oldest doesn't feel so overwhelmed. I asked my daughter what she liked about it she said the color helps her concentrate, the lessons are shorter, and she said there was more explanation. After searching around I've settled with this for now. Its a bummer it only goes up to Algebra 1 right now. I'm hoping that by the time we get to Algebra 1 that they will have some more levels out. But I really like Horizons at about 4th grade and up. It seems this is where it focuses on one concept at a time, and doesn't seem so scattered looking to me.

 

I was pleasantly surprised with it after shying away for years.

[Greta]

While I like Russian Math 6 a lot (I have it but have not used it), to some extent, in my mind, AoPS Prealgebra replaces it. AoPS is a bit more - in content, depth and difficulty - but it seems to me that there would definitely be significant overlap between those two resources.

 

Gotcha. I've heard of, but haven't looked closely at, Russian Math, so I didn't realize these would overlap. Thanks!

 

I'm not familiar with the Fractions and More resource. I think you'd be in great shape doing most of MM6, however long or short that takes (assuming that's the correct placement for your dd at this time), and then starting AoPS Prealgebra (my dd started AoPS Prealgebra following MM5, having done only a few parts of MM6). I think MM6 is great preparation as far as content goes (the ratio chapter is excellent, in particular, as are the chapters on decimals and fractions), but would not make AoPS repetitive. There are a couple chapters that could possibly be skipped in MM6 in favor of doing the topic in AoPS (e.g., the probability and statistics chapter and the geometry chapter come to mind), depending on your student.

 

This is really helpful, thank you!

 

You know, I actually already have the book from the MM "blue series" called Fractions and Decimals 3. We haven't used very much of it (a big part of my problem this year was a lack of consistency!). Since I already have that, would I be better off buying a few other of these topical books rather than the entire 6th grade curriculum? And if so, which ones would you suggest? I *know* that she needs more help with percents, so I'd definitely get one on that. But from what you said, we could skip probability and statistics, and geometry and cover those with AOPS?

[wapiti]

Gotcha. I've heard of, but haven't looked closely at, Russian Math, so I didn't realize these would overlap. Thanks!

Now that I think about it, Russian Math 6 is a nice alternative for students who for whatever reason don't find a fit in AoPS. It makes a nice prealgebra with the addition of a couple of topics from elsewhere. I haven't looked at it in a while.

 

You know, I actually already have the book from the MM "blue series" called Fractions and Decimals 3. We haven't used very much of it (a big part of my problem this year was a lack of consistency!). Since I already have that, would I be better off buying a few other of these topical books rather than the entire 6th grade curriculum? And if so, which ones would you suggest? I *know* that she needs more help with percents, so I'd definitely get one on that. But from what you said, we could skip probability and statistics, and geometry and cover those with AOPS?

 

To add to the Fractions and Decimals 3, if you look at the topic book list, I'd take a look at the four books at the bottom - operations, ratios, percent and integers. Maybe your dd doesn't need all of them, or all the parts of all four of them, but that would be an option if you didn't want to buy MM6 and did not feel the need to do those other two chapters mentioned above. You could just start within them wherever your dd's skill level is. As for skipping those two chapters, I suppose if you got to those sections in AoPS and struggled, you could go back and do them in MM first. Just thinking out loud....

[A home for their hearts]

Has anyone suggested Math U See? I wonder if that would work for you?

 

MM has totally bombed with my math phobic dd12. She is way behind in her math skills and MM hasn't helped a bit, she hates it. Now, my ds7 loves MM and is doing very well.

 

We are using Winston Grammar. It's simple, easy and gets done.

[Greta]

To add to the Fractions and Decimals 3, if you look at the topic book list, I'd take a look at the four books at the bottom - operations, ratios, percent and integers.

 

Those were the ones that caught my eye too. Thank you!

[Greta]

Has anyone suggested Math U See? I wonder if that would work for you?

 

I had not considered it because I've heard that the sequence of concepts covered is rather unusual, and since I'm trying to get her ready for pre-Alg, I guess I don't want anything unusual in that regard (I want all the usual stuff to be covered, kwim?). But maybe I've heard wrong?

 

MM has totally bombed with my math phobic dd12. She is way behind in her math skills and MM hasn't helped a bit, she hates it. Now, my ds7 loves MM and is doing very well.

 

It's so hard to know what's going to be a good fit, isn't it?

 

We are using Winston Grammar. It's simple, easy and gets done.

 

Thanks, I'll take a look at it! I remember a friend mentioning some time ago that she really liked it. At least, I think it was that one. It uses color-coded cards or something like that?