luthernose Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 This our first year of homeschooling. My third-grade son was doing Saxon math at the private school he was attending last year (last year in 2nd grade he did level 2). This year we started with Saxon Intermediate 3 like his previous class is doing, which is a little different than what he had been doing. So, we decided to switch things up until we found a good fit. We dabbled in Math U See a little bit and although he really enjoyed it and got it, I decided it didn't teach enough concepts (it was only multiplication, division and maybe a few other things). So, we switched on to Singapore level 3A, which is what I was really hoping we would like. He really loved doing SM but it started to get very challenging, mainly word problems .Even though it got challenging, he still continued to want to do it and enjoy it. We stuck with it for maybe 3-4 weeks. It finally got to the point where it took me 2 hours one day just to teach one single word problem in the workbook. So, we went back to Saxon and I told him SM is just too hard for him (I know, what a horrible message to send to my poor son who was trying so hard). Ever since then he has continued to fight me and insists he hates Saxon, though he has simmered down somewhat. He does periodically mention he wishes we could go back to SM. I dread doing math with him. He always fights it and is very obstinate (which is a whole other story). WHAT HAVE I DONE??? I feel like we have done SO much switching that he must be so confused about math. Last year math was his favorite subject, but now, I feel I have ruined it with trying to find the best math for him. I really only want him to enjoy math and do well. He will likely have to go back to his original private school when I go back to work full-time in a few years, so I also didn't want him to be "off the mark" compared to the other kids when/if he goes back. I just really don't know what we should do now. I don't want to confuse him further, but I do want him to like math. Any suggestions? Hypermom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Did you do a placement test before switching to Singapore? Singapore's scope and sequence is different so he may have been misplaced, which would make it very hard for him. I would definitely do the placement test and see where they put him -- if it was lower than 3A that would be why it was so hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I would see if he has problems with SM 3A or just the word problems. Some children take longer to catch on to word problems even though they can do the arithmetic to solve them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luthernose Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 I did give him the placement test and that indicated level 3A. Only the word problems gave him trouble. He has a hard time understanding problems that require more than 1 step. We printed out a "cheat sheet" that gave me a system for solving word problems. Maybe I should have just stuck with the SM teacher book. We also didn't start right at the beginning of the book, we went right to the part that seemed most like the Saxon he was doing. Maybe that was also a mistake. IF we did go back to SM at this point, should I start back at the point we left off at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 You can start back where you left off. Regardless of which math curriculum, take longer time if he needs on tackling word problems. It would help in the higher grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 IF we did go back to SM at this point, should I start back at the point we left off at? I would probably start at the beginning of the book -- if it is too easy, he can accelerate. I would also get the CWP (challenging word problems) book for 2nd grade and work through those. That will lead him into the word problems at an easier level, and the book is only $11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I would probably start at the beginning of the book -- if it is too easy, he can accelerate. I would also get the CWP (challenging word problems) book for 2nd grade and work through those. That will lead him into the word problems at an easier level, and the book is only $11. :Agree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luthernose Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 How terrible is it if he's technically in third grade, but we go back to SM 2B? If given the choice between going on with Saxon Intermediate 3 or going back to SM 2B, is one better for "keeping him on track"? If it's likely that he's going back to the private school he was at in a few years, should I keep him with the same math they use (Saxon)? Or, is math math? It's all just a different way to teach the same stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellen Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Check the topics taught in 2B first. It covers area, money, time, graphs, and volume off the top of my head. It may not be the kind of review you are looking for. I agree with getting the Challenging Word Problems for second grade. It is not weird at all. They really are challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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