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Saxon and math curriculum question


Okeychowie
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I'm trying to decide which level Saxon math to purchase. My son will be 5 in July and has done a year and a half of preschool. Next year we are doing k4, but hes already counting to 100, and as master the ab and abb, patterns. Should I be getting the K or 1 level saxon program? I think the only thing we haven't done from the k chapters is counting with money. With that being said what is really necessary to purchase with the Saxon math curriculum? Do I really need the manipulative kit when I already have manipulatives and can purchase indivudual pieces, like the scale, to fill in gaps ? How about the meeting book? Do use yours? Thanks!

 

Oh can anyone explain the difference between Saxon, Math Mammoth, and Seton K math? MM is tempting because of it's price. Thanks!

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If you go with Saxon, your son should be fine with 1, instead of K. You don't have to purchase the manipulative kit. You can just buy the individual pieces as you need them.

 

We always used the Meeting Book and enjoyed it. Many people don't, though. It's totally up to you.

 

Sorry, I'm not much help comparing the different programs. Is it possible for you to attend a convention? That way, you could look at each of the programs and decide what you think will work.

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For k4 we did Saxon k. It is fairly easy but we like it's simplicity. The lessons are short and usually take 10-15 minutes to do. I have Saxon 1 and have been looking over it for next school year. One thing I immediately noticed was the worksheets. Saxon1 does have your child write a bit. If your child isn't ready to do writing you may want to use Saxon k. Saxon 1 also seems like the lessons will take more like 20-30 minutes. They have much more they cover in a lesson.

 

We've loved the simple k lessons. I'm glad we started there.

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For k4 we did Saxon k. It is fairly easy but we like it's simplicity. The lessons are short and usually take 10-15 minutes to do. I have Saxon 1 and have been looking over it for next school year. One thing I immediately noticed was the worksheets. Saxon1 does have your child write a bit. If your child isn't ready to do writing you may want to use Saxon k. Saxon 1 also seems like the lessons will take more like 20-30 minutes. They have much more they cover in a lesson.

 

We've loved the simple k lessons. I'm glad we started there.

 

For K we used Saxon 1 without the worksheets. The Meeting time and the lesson activities really are enough to prepare a K'er to go on to Saxon 2 in first grade. We also did flashcards - but I didn't focus too much on getting all the math facts memorized that year.

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I think you could easily go into grade 1. The grade 1 Saxon is really easy. I would call it somewhere between K and 1 compared to some other programs (my son used it in private school K and 1st). The only part that might be difficult for a K'er would be the fact sheets, and you could do fact practice in a different way. The worksheets only had a handful of problems on them, and they were the same thing day after day after day with very minor changes between days. You don't have to do both sides of the worksheet (again, they're the same thing, with different numbers). My son's school did one side in class and assigned the second side for homework, but not every day. They didn't have homework on Wednesdays or Fridays as a general rule. It was never a problem. I think a lot of homeschoolers probably don't do the other side of the sheet, or you could do it orally.

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Oh can anyone explain the difference between Saxon, Math Mammoth, and Seton K math? MM is tempting because of it's price. Thanks!

 

 

I forgot to comment on this part. When my son was using Saxon in school, I used Math Mammoth at home afterschool. MM moves quicker and has more conceptual explanations. It also focuses more on mental math. MM is mastery instead of spiral, so you learn a topic, practice it to mastery, then move on to the next topic. There is review built in via word problems, end of chapter reviews, and cumulative reviews. I much prefer MM over Saxon. We use Singapore now, but I used MM grades 1-4 before switching. MM is a great program. I'd use it any day over Saxon (I'm a Saxon hater though :D ).

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If you go with Saxon, your son should be fine with 1, instead of K. You don't have to purchase the manipulative kit. You can just buy the individual pieces as you need them.

 

We always used the Meeting Book and enjoyed it. Many people don't, though. It's totally up to you.

 

Sorry, I'm not much help comparing the different programs. Is it possible for you to attend a convention? That way, you could look at each of the programs and decide what you think will work.

 

I would love to go to a convention but my husband is going to be gone when the one here is going on. I don't think I would be able to truly see what I want with my two crazy 4.75 and 3 year old boys getting into stuff or fighting. I'm hoping to find a babysitter! I really need to get in touch with a local support group to see if I could borrow them to see which is a better fit for my son.

 

I really appreciate everyone's input do far!

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For K we used Saxon 1 without the worksheets. The Meeting time and the lesson activities really are enough to prepare a K'er to go on to Saxon 2 in first grade. We also did flashcards - but I didn't focus too much on getting all the math facts memorized that year.

 

 

I hadnt thought of not doing the worksheets. Something to think about. I was worried about all the writing for kindergarten. I don't think mine will be up to all of that.

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DS turned 5 in January and attends a prek program that uses Saxon K. The teacher was nice enough to let me look through it and I chose to purchase Saxon 1 for Kindergarten. I found the TG used for $6, so I went ahead and started it now instead of waiting for fall. For the meeting, I found a meeting sheet that was originally used for a 1st grade classroom. We print one out each month and just use it as discussion for our meeting time. DS adds the number on the calendar, practices the days of the week and months, skip counts and he's just added counting tally marks. I do the lesson as directed in the teachers guide (at least kind of closely-I have issues with scripting). Then I write out a few representative problems for DS to do at the end of the lesson. So far, he seems to be having no problems with it. As we get on into the book, I think I'll add a bit more written work or a second shorter session to make sure that the concepts are sticking, but so far, I think my $6 has been well spent.

 

He'll probably finish Saxon 1 about January 2014. I'll decide then whether or not to get Saxon 2 or switch programs. My problem is that I really like Saxon for the older grades, so I hate to switch around in the early years.

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