Can I begin Saxon K at any time?

[amselby81]

I think the calendar in the meeting book begins with September. Can I still begin the curriculum at any time of the year? And I'm also wondering whether I should even begin with the K. I've heard of people going right to Saxon 1 b/c the K is so basic. I think it's ust an introduction to using the manipulatives, or something like that? Beginning her on 1st grade concerns me some because I'd be afraid of it being too hard. But I guess we could always take a break if it gets too hard.

 

Thanks in advance!

[amselby81]

Bump? Maybe my question doesn't make sense. I was just wondering whether the whole meeting thing will be messed up if I'm not in the month that I'm "supposed" to be in.

[Jpoy85]

I dont know to be honest, I have Saxon 1 and it seems you could start at any time really.

[SorrelZG]

I would say .. yes. I haven't been through Saxon K (I think I lasted a month or two) but I have the meeting book here and each month is added at the side of each calendar as you go along so at first it will just say "September" and then October's calendar has Sept. and Oct. and so on. There are no calendars for July and August. Additionally, part of the meeting during each month is a color pattern and the pattern is of increasing complexity as you move from Sept. to June .. but I suppose you could start that progression wherever you wanted so .. never mind. But still, there is no July or August.

[southernmama]

I taught kindergarten at a classical school and have homeschooled my own both with Saxon. Questions to ask: How much is she familiar with number concepts now? Or are you just starting out? Is she holding a pencil, writing any? Or will this be her first school experience and learning to write?

 

Saxon K is very basic. It's a wonderful pre-k program, but can also be a gentle introduction to math for those kindergarteners who have not been exposed to math concepts at all. It has no writing component at all, except for a few optional handwriting masters (learning to write numbers), and is purely a hands on experience with math - all manipulatives. Also, one of the biggest benefits of doing Saxon K is the calendar part. The students learn the calendar and count the days of school, thereby learning to count to 100. This is a huge boost before Saxon 1 for students who need it.

 

Saxon 1 begins by expecting your child to write on day 1. There is a short overview of writing numbers in the first two or three weeks. It is worksheet based. It is solid and you can take it slowly, which I would suggest in kindergarten unless your child is catching on very quickly. There is a front and back to the worksheet. Front is meant to be done in class and the back is a repeat for homework. If you want to take it slowly, you can certainly do a lesson and the front of the page one day and then a short review and the back page the next day. This is what we did for some time in our classical school. After a few years, they wanted the kindergarteners to complete Saxon 1 and be ready for Saxon 2 for first grade and this method was abandoned. It required more from the student and parents to do homework, but most students handled it just fine.

 

In the end, there is so much review in Saxon, it is difficult to say that your child couldn't manage to do Saxon 1. The benefit is that, as you are homeschooling, you can take it at your child's pace and have no fears. Saxon K is a shorter curriculum meant for three days a week. You could certainly do it at a quicker pace and start Saxon 1 after Christmas. I've done it the classical school way with my students and the slower way with Saxon K and my own kid b/c he was a bit behind (heart patient). Now I'm beginning Saxon K with my four year old!

 

Oh, and yes, you can start anytime. You just use a different calendar month and substitute the appropriate wording in the teacher manual as previous post said.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Ashlea

mom to 2nd grader and pre-K boys

Edited April 14, 2012 by southernmama
edited to add note

[amselby81]

Thanks! I think if I go with Saxon, we'll just go with 1st grade. She is writing and she already has a basic introduction to math through MUS Primer. We're in the middle of that, and she's learning the concept of addition.

 

So back to the question about the meeting book, does Saxon 1 not have a meeting book like Saxon K has?

[lea1]

So back to the question about the meeting book, does Saxon 1 not have a meeting book like Saxon K has?

 

It does have a meeting book. I haven't used it but was researching it online yesterday and saw the meeting book listed. I too am wondering how the monthly thing works if you start at an odd time of year. I am thinking about starting Saxon 1 within the next month or two.

[southernmama]

Thanks! I think if I go with Saxon, we'll just go with 1st grade. She is writing and she already has a basic introduction to math through MUS Primer. We're in the middle of that, and she's learning the concept of addition.

 

So back to the question about the meeting book, does Saxon 1 not have a meeting book like Saxon K has?

 

If she's doing MUS already, I'd definitely recommend 1st grade. And yes, it does have a meeting book. Same set up, just with a few additions.

 

Ashlea

[Erica in OR]

With the meeting book, if you start during some month other than September, what we did was cross out September and write in the month that we started in and continue to do that through the book. I can't remember if it made a difference in Saxon 1 or not - in Saxon 2, the weather activity for the month is different as it progresses through the book. Changing the month title from September to our first month keeps us on the easy month activity first. I don't think I'm explaining this well, but hope it helps.

 

We started Saxon 1 after doing Singapore Earlybird workbooks and adjusted the meeting book. We just started Saxon 2 a month ago and are adjusting the meeting book again.

 

Erica in OR

[amselby81]

With the meeting book, if you start during some month other than September, what we did was cross out September and write in the month that we started in and continue to do that through the book. I can't remember if it made a difference in Saxon 1 or not - in Saxon 2, the weather activity for the month is different as it progresses through the book. Changing the month title from September to our first month keeps us on the easy month activity first. I don't think I'm explaining this well, but hope it helps.

 

We started Saxon 1 after doing Singapore Earlybird workbooks and adjusted the meeting book. We just started Saxon 2 a month ago and are adjusting the meeting book again.

 

Erica in OR

 

I think that makes sense. Crossing it out and writing the correct month in doesn't sound complicated. Would covering it with masking tape and writing the correct month on the tape work?

[Chris in VA]

Y'know, I ditched the meeting book in favor of a blank poster calendar and some sentence strips. Dd wrote the numerical part of the date on stickies and we put them in the squares. We changed the shape/color of the stickies based on the seasons and also on our art curriculum, which has you work with a different shape each month. Then she (or I, depending on when Saxon has them do it) wrote out the whole date on an erasable sentence strip every morning. We drew the patterns on a sentence strip, too, and kept them on a notebook ring (so she could take them down and play with them whenever, just for fun). We wrote the number of the day (like "1" for the first day of school, "2" for the second, etc.) on an index card and put them at the top of the wall; eventually, we had quite a number line!

 

Don't get me wrong--we did the Meeting, we just didn't use the book. It was more fun that way!:D

[ALB]

Yes, you can just cover the month with masking tape. Actually, I think I'll go back and do that since we just colored over the month and it looks kind of funny. Thanks for the suggestion :001_smile:!

 

The only other thing that won't match up is the season, but to be honest we just skipped those since we have covered seasons thoroughly in daily life.

[Plateau Mama]

I personally loathe the meeting book. I looked at the Math 1 meeting book I gave (that I never used) and it starts in August.