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Any Canadians? What do you use for math?


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Do you use a homeschool or homeschool-friendly curriculum that follows the American sequence, or do you use a Canadian public school textbook? Something else that I'm missing? If you use the American sequence, do you plan on your children ever going to public school?

 

My boys are in grades 6 and 7, but based on the placement tests I've seen, it looks like my older son is ready to start Algebra 1.

 

Thanks!

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Hi Kathy,

We have tried several programs and what works the best for us is Mammoth Math. It uses American money but kids are loony savvy so no worries for us there. It covers both the imperial and metric systems. We live near the boarder so we want the kids to be proficient in both systems.

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Right now my 5th grader is using the Key to Series and my 9th grader is using Foerster's Algebra 1. We've used Singapore and MM as well.

 

I never paid attention to the sequence in elementary school and junior high. I did try an integrated math with Singapore Discovering Mathematics but it was a flop with my daughter. I decided to just follow the American sequence because there's such a wealth of good stuff. The only really integrated options were Singapore and correspondence course from my province and, well, their (Nova Scotia's) textbooks suck. Really suck. Foerster's has been an excellent match for my daughter.

 

I don't plan on sending my daughter to high school but I don't imagine there will be any great issues. The local high school still seems to be mostly plugging along in pre-algebra topics in 9th grade.

Edited by WishboneDawn
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We've used Singapore, but I wouldn't recommend jumping into it at the grade 6 or 7 level. If I were you, I'd look at the homeschool programs that are available. Homeschool programs tend to have more (and clearer!) instruction plus the possibility of extra helps like DVD or videos online, full solutions, online classes, etc. It's not too hard to compare your math program's coverage to your provincial learning outcomes (if you're thinking about following them).

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I also use Singapore. I pulled one of my sons out in grade 7 and we started back in book 5 and sped on to Discovery 1B before he started back to high school. He hasn't had math yet (2nd term) so I can't say how he is doing. I did have to supplement a bit to make sure everything was covered (i.e. Pythagorean Theorem). I also had a book from Chapters which was for Grade 8 just to make sure nothing was missed. He actually ended up learning some of the math that my daughter didn't learn until grade 9.

 

My other son who came home last year (grade 5) is finishing up Singapore level 5 probably in the next month and will then go on to 6 and the new 7,8. We use the California editions of the Singapore books.

 

I should let you know that my kids where both very strong in math and it is my favourite subject so this curriculum was a great fit for us.

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So far I've used MM but this year I've switched my 5th grader to R&S. For 7th and up I am planning on using MEP. I really like the integrated approach that I grew up with so I want to do that with my kids. And Singapore DM looks too scary for me. :lol:

 

I am not planning on putting my kids in ps at any point (so far).

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For grades 1 and 2, we loved the Canadian workbooks MathQuest, which I think are now out of print. For grades 3-7, Teaching Textbooks works great for us. I wish those lower grades had been around for my oldest. We emphasize Canadian money and metric measurements in our day-to-day life, and sometimes just substitute them right into a lesson. I haven't found a good fit for gr. 8-9, though. TT Pre-Alg and Alg 1 were not a great fit, though the transition to Math 10 at public school went just fine. My next child starts grade 8 next year, so this is on my mind, too. At this point I am favouring whatever p.s. text is current. I think Mathpower is out of print (maybe?); Math Makes Sense only goes to grade 8; not sure what else is out there.

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Thanks! I'll have to give Singapore another look, but I'm not sure about starting it this late. My boys are really good at math, but it still looks a little tricky to jump into.

 

I've been looking into AoPS for the older one and it seems perfect for him. He's been playing around with AoPS, Volume 1 for a few months and really likes it. I only discovered the videos and Alcumus today, but I think he'll love them.

 

My youngest doesn't really love math, but is good at it. Key to, Teaching Textbooks and Math Mammoth all look like good options. I'll get him to take a look at the samples tonight to see if I can rule any of them out.

 

It does look like MathPower is out of print. Our schools are using McGraw-Hill right now, which is okay, I guess. I think I'll hang on to the textbooks for the year to make sure we don't miss anything major.

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I take it you're asking about middle and high school. We've used Singapore (NEM, but we're switching to Discovery for the youngers) because they also use the integrated approach that is used in Ontario. The biggest difference in scope and sequence is that probability and averages are taught later. My oldest used Nelson 10(Ontario) for 10. I'm considering using Nelson 11 for 11 if ds14 is still home.

 

I was just looking a US math programs today, and I just can't bring myself to use their concentrated method. I'd say that Canadian math scores reinforce and the integrated method is the way to go.

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