Jump to content

Menu

So how is everyone's pre-algebra going this year? Happy with your choice of curric?


Recommended Posts

  • 4 weeks later...

Well, we were doing well, but have bogged down a bit at lesson 101 or so in Saxon. I've had her take a little while off and work with Khan Academy and Cool Math. Hopefully this will let some of the new concepts percolate a bit more deeply into her brain :) . I think she's hitting a growth spurt and that seems to mess things up in some areas for a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We started working with the AoPS Pre-Algebra book at the beginning of January (when I pulled dd out of public school). In the beginning, it was quite a transition for both of us to get used to the book. She wanted to just solve the problems, and it took a while to get her to think about the ideas that were being presented and how they can be used to work with the problem. And it took me a little bit of time to figure out how to work with the material. But about a month in, I am loving it. Dd is flying through lessons that would have stumped her a couple weeks ago, so it seems to be clicking. I also have her watch the accompanying videos on the website and work on Alcumus problems independently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We started with LOF prealgebra; she got about halfway through the second one, got stuck on a bridge with questions that had less to do with math and more to do with economics that DH couldn't help her with, and I've got her now starting on saxon. It makes her cry daily. Why? "Because I already know all this!" ugh. I don't want to tell her to skip any parts because I don't know if she will miss anything obvious...

 

 

Has anyone used the Math Mammoth prealgebra worksheets? I"m tempted by those.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We started with LOF prealgebra; she got about halfway through the second one, got stuck on a bridge with questions that had less to do with math and more to do with economics that DH couldn't help her with, and I've got her now starting on saxon. It makes her cry daily. Why? "Because I already know all this!" ugh. I don't want to tell her to skip any parts because I don't know if she will miss anything obvious...

 

 

Has anyone used the Math Mammoth prealgebra worksheets? I"m tempted by those.

 

Did you do a placement test with her for Saxon? When we were moving from Singapore to Saxon, my daughter missed placing in 7/6 by 1 pt, so we started her there. We had issues, so I called Art Reed and he suggested testing through 6/5 to identify gaps (I believe it was until she got less than 80 on two consecutive tests) and start there (dropping back 10 lessons to be sure we were covering the lessons on which she was tested). This is from the man who strongly advocates not skipping any problems in the books. Maybe something like that will work for your daughter? Also, is she doing 8/7 or Alg 1/2? I've read that 8/7 goes slower, so I would assume there would be more review in the early parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've been using Horizon's pre-algebra and liked it in the beginning.... not as much now..... Visually, organizationally we really liked the lessons, the format - it was very straightforward. Lately, it feels more like he's supposed to memorize forumlas (Compound interest, Lateral Surface area, etc.) without full conceptual understanding.... and then remember these formulas many lessons later when the problems come up in the review section.... Some of the combinations/ permutations problems also felt this way - memorize formula and apply beyond a typical pre-algebra conceptual level, (imho). In the mean time we still have some true "pre-algebra" weaknesses that we haven't had enough practice in to correct. We are taking a break from it and using Aleks for a bit to try and find and fill holes. I doubt we'll even look at Horizon's new Algebra I program for next year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We started with LOF prealgebra after DS finished SM6. It started to become just so much drivel. If they kept the science and other mess separate, it might have worked. In the end though, it drove us both insane. Now we're woking with AoPS, which is what I knew I needed to get in the first place. Once we figured out how to work the book, it became a wonderful experience. I'm really hoping to stick with the series all the way through. Only time will tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We started with LOF prealgebra after DS finished SM6. It started to become just so much drivel. If they kept the science and other mess separate, it might have worked. In the end though, it drove us both insane. Now we're woking with AoPS, which is what I knew I needed to get in the first place. Once we figured out how to work the book, it became a wonderful experience. I'm really hoping to stick with the series all the way through. Only time will tell.

 

This sounds similar to what happened here-- Life of Fred fizzled after a certain point. That was something I hadn't expected. On the other hand, more giggles with AoPS word problems today. So far, so good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've been using Horizon's pre-algebra and liked it in the beginning.... not as much now..... Visually, organizationally we really liked the lessons, the format - it was very straightforward. Lately, it feels more like he's supposed to memorize forumlas (Compound interest, Lateral Surface area, etc.) without full conceptual understanding.... and then remember these formulas many lessons later when the problems come up in the review section.... Some of the combinations/ permutations problems also felt this way - memorize formula and apply beyond a typical pre-algebra conceptual level, (imho). In the mean time we still have some true "pre-algebra" weaknesses that we haven't had enough practice in to correct. We are taking a break from it and using Aleks for a bit to try and find and fill holes. I doubt we'll even look at Horizon's new Algebra I program for next year.

 

 

When we ran into this, I just made up a sheet with the formulas on it for my son. There are certain ones I expected him to memorize but not all of them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...