Staceyshoe Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 We're doing Singapore Math 5 this year, and my plan is to move on to something else for next year. He does not enjoy arithmetic, but loves mathematical reasoning and has done quite a bit of learning on his own in that area. I'm trying to figure out the best next step for us. Obviously, a placement test now won't tell me where he will be at the end of this year. If we need to take the EXPLORE to open up opportunities, I need to be looking into that process now because we have scheduling challenges. If it's unnecessary, then I prefer to skip the EXPLORE because it would involve travel and overnight stay for us.I don't plan to be ds's primary math teacher after this year so I'm looking at other options. Instead of plunging him into algebra (though maybe that is the right step??), I think an online self-paced condensed pre-algebra class would be great. Here's what I've considered: *The Center for Talent Development through NWU has a class that would meet our needs, but it's still pretty expensive IMO. * AOPS (the curriculum I'm leaning toward) has online classes, but they aren't self-paced. I am concerned about pre-algebra being too boring, but algebra being overwhelming. * ALEKSWhat do you recommend? What else should I be looking at? Any advice about pre-algebra vs algebra placement? There's no rush to decide *unless* we need the EXPLORE, in which case I would need to register him in the next couple of months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I really don't think AOPS pre-algebra will be too boring after SM 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 I don't think the Explore will open up opportunities that will be very useful for math. Explore scores let me know that I can push my son a bit more and gave me permission to go a bit faster with some material. From what I've read, the CTY and CTD math classes at the elementary level aren't going to be any better than what you can do on your own. We moved from Singapore Standards 5 to algebra without any difficulty. AoPS is designed to be done by the kids from the book alone, so you could start with the Prealgebra book and move quickly through it - or just start with Algebra and see how that goes. I'd probably not start with an online course. They sound like they move really quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 We used Derek Owens Prealgebra when my son was 9yo and ready intellectually for algebra but not ready for the organization of written output required. He went on to be very successful in Algebra I in his b&m school the next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 We are using AoPS PreA right now. I think that Kai's suggestion is a very strong one for your situation -- I would hesitate to move into AoPS PreA as a self-taught course directly. And also seconding Dana's point about the pace of online courses; they can easily become very stressful. If you do look at AoPS materials, Richard there is very responsive to emails so you could run it by him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 The new "Elements of Mathematics" program from eIMACS is an intriguing looking option. http://www.elementsofmathematics.com/ I skipped my DD from Singapore 5 into DM 7, but it turned out she wasn't quite ready to move on to DM 8A after she finished. Primary Math 6 would've been too easy, however, so we're instead doing selected units from MEP years 7-9. I also jut got a copy of Ron Larson's "Math and You", which is a consumer/"real world" math book written at the pre-algebra/early algebra 1 level. So I'm planning to throw that into the mix to help deal with the "but when am I ever actually going to USE math after graduation?" complaints. http://www.math.andyou.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 We're doing AOPS Pre-A after SM through 5B, LOF fractions, decimals, and pre-Algebra I and 2, and Key to Algebra, and it's still not boring for DD-every section has has new to her material and has had challenging problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 There has been lots of great chatter on the boards about Jousting Armadillos before AoPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 Thank you! It looks like there are more options I need to consider. I'm glad to hear that there isn't any pressing need to do the EXPLORE. Now I can take some time to weigh other options and decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 AoPS Prealgebra is anything but "boring arithmetic". :) Well, the first chapter was a little boring in the problem sections, but the exercises themselves were fun. Then we got to exponents in chapter 2, and it became more fun. We'll start Chapter 3 sometime this week (after doing a couple of sections of Dolciani to get some "drill and kill" in the topic before moving on to the fun stuff :D ). We did Singapore 5B before moving to AoPS. It's been a good fit. I just needed to throw in Dolciani a bit, because my son does need some time using basic concepts (like exponents) before jumping into difficult problem solving with them. Our combo is working really well. We're not using all of Dolciani, but we do every AoPS problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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