CyndiLJ Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Maybe you can help me walk through this...I have a 9 year old 4th grader who will finish Teaching Textbooks 6 in two weeks. He will immediately begin Teaching Textbooks 7, because he loves math. I am trying to figure out what this looks like if we think ahead and if he keeps going at this pace, which I do realize may slow down eventually but he IS finding math to be fairly easy. Can you help me as I think this through? So if he is 4th grade and finishes TT7 by the time he starts 5th or somewhere near the beginning of the year (we homeschool year round with breaks), here is what I was thinking 5th grade - TT7 & PreAlgebra 6th grade - TT Pre-Algebra & Algebra 1 7th grade - Algebra 1 & Alegbra 2 8th grade - Algebra 2 & Geometry 9th grade - Geometry & Pre-Calc 10th Grade - Calc So...what we do then? Statistics? What for 12th grade? I think that with him it may even be feasible that he finishes Calc even earlier than the end of 10th grade. I don't have any other advanced math students so I am not sure when they are starting younger with a little higher math what we should do. I'd love anyone's suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 You might ask on the accelerated learning board. There is a recent thread about math sequence options at the higher levels that you might find helpful. My two cents: (1) if he's finding it fairly easy, I'd consider adding more challenge (there are many options) and (2) there is no rush to get to calculus - detours are possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccolopy Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 There was just a thread on the Accelerated Learner Board about math sequences for advanced kids. You might find some useful posts in there, or in some of the other math threads. There are quite a few! I'm not too familiar with Teaching Textbooks, but you might find that a different program will provide more of a challenge for him (in a good way) and slow him down a bit. You could also do some math "electives" in between or alongside the more traditional courses. Art of Problem Solving has several of these. If he does get to calculus early, is dual enrollment a possibility? Statistics would be one option, but he could also go on to study more calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, etc. while still technically a high school student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiLJ Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 Thanks so much for the help on this one. Having never made it beyond Algebra 2, the higher levels of math are beyond me! Haha! We are not in any hurry at all to rush him, he just seems to be moving that way on his own and last night as I ordered his new curriculum I started counting it out and saying "Uh oh...what do we do later on?" I like the idea of math electives somewhere along the line and hadn't thought about that. I do realize that TT is lower level than other programs like Saxon, which we used for 2 years prior, but he was moving just as quickly through that as well...and with 5 kids we can't find the time to keep up with all the grading and teaching with Saxon :glare: I will check out the thread on the accelerated board, too. Thanks for the ideas. I didn't even know there were other math courses such as linear equations, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I would agree with supplementing even if you stay with TT all the way. Finding math easy isn't necessarily a good thing. Its one indicator of not being adequately challenged. In supplimenting with Challenging Math such as Zacarros or other books you could strengthen his foundation and provide greater breadth as well. There is a really good article written by AoPS author Richard Rusczyk called The Calculus Trap. He discusses some of these same issues which many bright young students face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I would be careful about rushing into the higher maths just because math is easy for him. Algebra requires a reasoning that sometimes takes time to develop. I think he would be better served to spend time on more problem solving, logic, puzzles, etc., than just pushing ahead into higher math. I have a math degree and didn't even start Algebra 1 until 9th grade because it wasn't available to me. Have you considered trying to find a way to involve him in math competitions? I think my Alg. 1 teacher saw that it was easy for me very early on and put me on our school's math team. I was able to be challenged beyond the classroom this way. I would try to see if there are any ways to get him involved in competitions. I LOVED them, and felt really challenged. Here is a fun supplemental book that involves problem solving. The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 If he likes math, he might be able to do AoPS, which would help slow him down and add a LOT more challenge. AoPS is designed to be self-teaching, so there shouldn't be much grading on your part, unless your child isn't mature enough to check his own work (and I don't expect that maturity at his age, but only you know your child... My son grades his own LoF at age 8, and he's honest about it, so some kids are ready and some aren't). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.