Saxon math...?

[eksargent]

I have Saxon math 1 for ds 6 and math 3 for ds 9. This is our first year using Saxon. As I was making our "schedule" and looking over the lessons...it seems fairly easy. I was wondering if anyone does more than 1 lesson a day. From the looks of it, we could do several lessons a day and be done by Christmas. I would then move into Saxon 2 and 4. I'm not in a hurry. I just don't want the kids to be bored and unchallenged.

 

Does anyone do more than 1 lesson a day? Could I just say we will spend a certain amount a day on math and see how far they get? What works for you?

 

Thanks!

Emily

[starlashine]

Meh, my son does not like to write too much, so I did one lesson a day and will continue with that this year. They have to write for the meeting, the ditto, and the fact sheets. I think 2 lessons a day would be a bit much if you do the meeting time properly. Of course, I've heard of people skipping the meeting altogether, so YMMV.

[scrappyhappymama]

I think it would be a challenge to do two lessons a day everyday. Some of the lessons are deceptively involved and time consuming.

 

I have combined two lessons sometimes when one was particularly easy. And I usually combine the written assessment lesson with the lesson before or after it. The biggest challenge with combining lessons is the daily worksheets. They are a lot of work for the kids, and doing two worksheets a day would be way overwhelming for my kids. But the worksheets are valuable and reinforce the ideas well, so you wouldn't want to skip too many of them. We already cut back on the sheets by only doing the front side.

 

So, in my opinion, I don't think finishing by Christmas is really feasible. But you can do some combining to give you a little more breathing room during the week. The combined lessons we do allow me to plan for four day weeks and not worry when we take off for field trips, fun days, or sick days.

[Hoggirl]

let them "test out" rather than having them do two lessons per day. My ds always tested out of the first 8 tests (covering the first 40 lessons). As long as he got a 90% or better we moved on. This meant only 80 lessons of Saxon per year rather than 120. I also feel that Saxon should be used one grade above level. In other words, using Saxon 3 in grade 2, using Saxon 54 in grade 3, etc. But, this is just my opinion. YMMV

[Rosy]

We've done more than one lesson in a day at times--last year I set aside 30 min. for math for DD(7) and we'd do whatever she could accomplish in that time. We also skip lessons if I'm confident she's mastered the concept. We got through Saxon 2 in about 6 months that way. I don't do this with DS(6) though, not yet anyway. I probably wouldn't make a goal of finishing by Christmas, with my kids I try to play it by ear and take as long on each concept as they need, and have the next book waiting when they're done.

[lvbeingmom]

We did more than one lesson a day too if dd knew it. We also would skip or glance through the 1st 30 or so lessons due to it being a refresher from the last book. We also only did the front of the workbook sheets. If dd missed a concept than she would do the back of the sheet but that concept only.

 

Tami

[EKS]

I started with Saxon 2 when my son was going into 2nd grade. On the placement test he was one problem away from placing into Saxon 3. I should have put him in 3 looking back on it. Anyway, we were done with Math 2 by Christmas and with Math 3 by April. We then did 5/4 and 6/5 the next year, doing two lessons per day, 10 problems per lesson.

 

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have gone so fast. I would have skipped Math 2 and done Math 3 (and all the problems (or at least one side of the worksheet) over the whole year. At that point I should have switched to Singapore, but assuming that I stayed with Saxon, I would have done two lessons per day, but I would have had him do all of every other problem set.

 

Saxon loses the very thing that makes it a strong program when you start eliminating problems and compacting lessons. It is great for getting math into long term memory and for developing math fluency. But it can't do that when problems are skipped. If you think you'll be done by Christmas, I would consider starting at a higher level or going away from Saxon altogether, to something like Singapore, which has lots of challenging supplemental materials.

[Suzannah]

We have sometimes combined lessons when one or both were easy (or we were really pushing to get through the book by the end of the year :glare:). What we do is go through both "lessons" then do the work for the second one. As someone else said, there's a lot of work there and the kids' hands just wear out even if their brains are able to do more. Don't push it. But if you do have energetic students who want to do 2 or more, let them. DD occasionally does.

 

Good luck!

[fractalgal]

I have Saxon math 1 for ds 6 and math 3 for ds 9. This is our first year using Saxon. As I was making our "schedule" and looking over the lessons...it seems fairly easy. I was wondering if anyone does more than 1 lesson a day. From the looks of it, we could do several lessons a day and be done by Christmas. I would then move into Saxon 2 and 4. I'm not in a hurry. I just don't want the kids to be bored and unchallenged.

 

Does anyone do more than 1 lesson a day? Could I just say we will spend a certain amount a day on math and see how far they get? What works for you?

 

Thanks!

Emily

 

My children do Saxon one year ahead of grade level and one day a week we do Singapore Math CWP or workbook. It's worked well for us.

[eksargent]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with me. I am thinking about doing 30 minutes of math a day. I had ds (9) in ps last year and we spent at least that much time doing just homework. I would assume we can get through a lesson in 30 minutes. He can then do the extra work on his own later in the day. Same goes with my ds (6).

 

I gather it is important to complete each lesson fully. Good to know. The extra practice proves helpful down the line. That's something I would not have considered. I will play it by ear, see how the boys deal with the time/lesson, and move on when they are ready.

 

I just feel this incredible need to have a "plan"...whatever it is.

 

Thanks again to everyone for sharing!

Emily

[scrappyhappymama]

My children do Saxon one year ahead of grade level and one day a week we do Singapore Math CWP or workbook. It's worked well for us.

 

This is a good point! My rising first grader is just finishing up Saxon 1 and will be moving into Saxon 2 soon. We were advised by a Saxon rep that Saxon K works for preschool ages, and so started it in pre-K and used Saxon 1 for K. I think many kids could easily go ahead in the early levels, so it might be worth pretesting your children and just starting at a higher level if indicated.

 

Based on many recommendations on this board, we are also adding in Singapore's Challenging Word Problems once a week.

[newlifemom]

I'm curious all of you that whizzed through the math in less than a year did you do the meeting? While I hate the meeting personally, I think them invaluable and they cannot be done well constantly doubling lessons imo. I suppose my dd could have cruised through the books but I like the feeling that she is going into 5th grade with 6/5 and will not struggle with any concepts. I am very nervous about not building up enough so I could never do what you all are talking about. But, many would call me uptight :D so what do I know.

[eksargent]

This is a good point! My rising first grader is just finishing up Saxon 1 and will be moving into Saxon 2 soon. We were advised by a Saxon rep that Saxon K works for preschool ages, and so started it in pre-K and used Saxon 1 for K. I think many kids could easily go ahead in the early levels, so it might be worth pretesting your children and just starting at a higher level if indicated.

 

Based on many recommendations on this board, we are also adding in Singapore's Challenging Word Problems once a week.

 

Singapore Challenging Word Problems...please tell me more. Does the Singapore plan go along with Saxon? Is it just extra drill sheets that you use to supplement? Where do you get them? I know nothing about Singapore...can you tell?

[Rosy]

I'm curious all of you that whizzed through the math in less than a year did you do the meeting? While I hate the meeting personally, I think them invaluable and they cannot be done well constantly doubling lessons imo. I suppose my dd could have cruised through the books but I like the feeling that she is going into 5th grade with 6/5 and will not struggle with any concepts. I am very nervous about not building up enough so I could never do what you all are talking about. But, many would call me uptight :D so what do I know.

We don't do the meeting--personally I haven't felt the need for it. I look at the lessons before I give them to her to see if there are new concepts, and I answer questions if she has them and review to see if there are concepts she doesn't seem to be getting. And I have the TG and look it over for tips on how to teach different concepts. But I haven't felt the need to do stuff like calendar, weather, etc. every day. And to be honest, the first Saxon we got I bought on eBay and didn't come with the meeting book, so I decided I'd wait and see if we were missing anything without it, and so far I haven't missed it. :)

[fractalgal]

I'm curious all of you that whizzed through the math in less than a year did you do the meeting? While I hate the meeting personally, I think them invaluable and they cannot be done well constantly doubling lessons imo. I suppose my dd could have cruised through the books but I like the feeling that she is going into 5th grade with 6/5 and will not struggle with any concepts. I am very nervous about not building up enough so I could never do what you all are talking about. But, many would call me uptight :D so what do I know.

 

When working a year ahead, for example Saxon 2 for a first grader, I

would not completely skip the meeting book. I'd still do it at least once or twice a week. :iagree: , there are valuable things in it. For us, doing it everyday was too much.

[eksargent]

When working a year ahead, for example Saxon 2 for a first grader, I

would not completely skip the meeting book. I'd still do it at least once or twice a week. :iagree: , there are valuable things in it. For us, doing it everyday was too much.

 

I admit I was considering skipping the meeting. Or, at the very least, doing the meeting together...instead of 1 meeting for ds 6 and 1 meeting for ds 9. So, I'm thinking of monday-wednesday-friday as days we start with the meeting all together. (Again, my need for a plan returns.) Any thoughts on that?

 

4 days of lessons, each 30-60 minutes (as suggested by WTM), and a day for review. Also, I was thinking math would be our first subject of the morning. Does Saxon goes well with coffee?

[EKS]

We skip the meeting. I scan the notes for it each day just to be sure there isn't something that is truly valuable. If there is, I teach it quickly, he does the practice for it, and we move on. Because the new/important things don't crop up on a schedule, I just kind of wing it. Also, sometimes things in the meeting are preparation for more advanced things to come. For example, in the Math 3 book at the beginning there is a lot of work with problems involving weeks until certain events. I *think* this is a gentle preparation for the 7 times table. That is the only reason I can think of for why they introduce the 7s first.

[fractalgal]

I was thinking math would be our first subject of the morning. Does Saxon goes well with coffee?

 

I'm probably not the best person to ask. Since Math/Science are my favorite subjects, I tend want to get Reading/English out of the way first thing in the morning so I can focus the rest of the day on Math. :tongue_smilie:

[Chris in VA]

We did Saxon one year ahead, ending this year with Saxon 3 in second grade. I did not do the meeting book for 1 and 2, instead using a big wall poster-calendar, like in a typical classroom. We graphed the weather almost every day, and occasionally made note of the temperature. We nearly always did the skip counting and most of the questions. What I've loved about Saxon is the intentionality and the clever way they prep the child for more advanced skills.

 

For example, all the coin counting helps prepare for place value and adding and subtracting larger numbers. In Saxon 3, the meeting has the child doing the temp every day--about 3/4 of the way thru the year, they intro the number line. Then near the end of the year, they introduce the coordinate plane by showing that it's like a thermometer going up and down, and a number line going across. It's quite easy to grasp, since they have weeks and weeks of experience with the temperature! It seems like many concepts are taught, then repeated and practiced, and then finally applied in new ways. I love that about Saxon!

 

So, I'd say make sure you do the meeting about as much as you can, but you can streamline it a bit to fit your schedule and your child. It will just make the main lesson so much easier. Don't skip the skip counting, even if it drives you bonkers, because, once the multiplication facts are introduced, they quickly have to do 100 of them, timed. If the facts are rather new, that's a hard expectation to meet, but if the child has been skip counting for months, then the chances are the facts will come much quicker. And, because the multiplication facts are so thoroughly learned, division facts are also tons easier to learn.

 

There's definitely method to Saxon madness!!!

[Nestof3]

I would add math/logic puzzles and word problems rather than doubling up lessons. I am using Saxon 2 and 3 this year and plan to use Figure it Out word problem books Level 2 and 3 as well.

 

www.rainbowresource.com sells these. I used them with my oldest, and they are great.

[fractalgal]

using a big wall poster-calendar, like in a typical classroom.

 

That is a great idea. I like to add visual aids and get creative whenever possible to make things more interesting.