Talk to me about Math curriculums

[elliotterae]

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[elliotterae]

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[elliotterae]

I promise not to post from this device again, lol. 

[Elisabet1]

I love math!! It is my fave!

 

Anyway..here goes...

 

Saxon..I don't like it

 

Singapore...fine program. Always expect to use a level where the number is lower than her grade level. The levels are not the same as grade levels. There are only 6 levels. When done, the next is Algebra 1, a typical 8th grade class. However, there is a specific and way of doing things with this program that does not fit all children. Plus, it is extremely difficult for any one to jump in to this mid series due to the methods being different. And the methods are not end all be all methods. Your child can easily still grow up to be a mathematician or engineer without ever doing Singapore. Also, scope and sequence are different, so will need to back track for that too.

 

Math U See...excellent program. Very visual. Also has excellent teaching methods. Has a scope and sequence different from usual, so, will have to back up again. It is easy, however, to skip around and get straight to what you need. It is a mastery program where you cover a bunch of a subject and are expected to master it before moving on. That topic will be reviewed on future assignments, but not re-taught.

 

BJU math....TM heavy, but still like it. And I tend to ignore the TM a lot. It is a normal scope and sequence. It is also of the mastery sort, but in a spiral way. It covers the same subject for 10 lessons. Then, it moves on to the next thing. However, they do come back and re-teach and review in the teaching portion of the lessons later on. This program is used in private schools.

 

Horizons....great program too. It is very similar to BJU. It used the workbook for all the way through though, where as BJU has you switch to a book where you have to copy problems at 5th grade level.  It is way less TM heavy.

 

Math Mammouth and Galore Press programs...I have no experience with these, but it looks good from others reviews. Same for Right Start. 

 

Teaching Textbooks....very weak. Perhaps it is good for the non-mathy student. It is behind. This could actually be good for your daughter because someone on grade level for 5th grade would likely do 7th grade TT. So, a 5th grader who is behind could probably easily do 5th grade TT. The samples online look good. But I have never used it. I know that a student who does the entire high school sequence will only have enough to cover a normal algebra 1 program (I am basing this on reviews and from reading their scope and sequence). Again, not a problem at all if your child struggles anyway and is not going in to any sort of math college program or career. They have great customer service. I used to tutor and had to contact them once and they were very pleasant. I did not use the program myself though, I just had a question with regards to a student I was helping.

 

MCP...I think it looks boring.

 

All those public school books...yuck!!

 

Abeka...workable. I like it fine. I buy from local home school stores and it is not available there. 

 

I hope that helps! Feel free to PM me with any other questions! If you simply ask here, I probably won't see the question. Good luck!

[mama27]

Oh my, thank you so much for all the comments already. Each comment I read, I think, " Oh that's a good idea, I'll get/do that." Then I read the next comment with another idea and a different approach and I think, "Oh, well, maybe I'll do that instead"

 

I did not do the Saxon placement test. I figured I knew I could use the 3 for my 2nd grader anyway and when I looked through it I noticed that about half way through it looked like things my DD needed to refresh as well. Another thing that may be pertinent  is that DD is actually only 10. She probably should be in 4th grade for her actual age, she barely made the cut off when she started Kindergarten and was actually 4yrs the first 2+ months of school. So she was the youngest in her grade and I have an extra year to play with if needed. I think all of the suggestions seem better than the current route of plugging along in this book. 

 

I'm thinking maybe I will print out assessment tests for all of the programs. Saxon, Math U See, Math Mammoth, Teaching Textbooks. Miquon if it has one. Then I am leaning toward just spending next week going over placement tests so I can get a feel for which ones seems to stress her least and get a better grasp of what it is exactly that she needs.Does that sound like a good idea or is it overkill and I should pick a program first?  I was going on this assumption that if she was that confused with 3 ways to mentally add 32 + 48, she must need to start completely over. I was also thinking I wanted something super easy to build confidence again before I moved her into a more difficult area. I don't want to go back to Singapore right now, maybe a bit later, but right now I think it shocked her self-esteem so much that just seeing the book would stress her out before we started. I am kind of hoping Teaching Textbooks isn't the answer because I'd like to not spend quite that much, but of course I will if it is really superior for her.

Another thing I am thinking is that for now, my DD8 (would have been in second grade in PS) is doing great with this Saxon3. Someone mentioned there being two different Saxon 3 books. This one just says "Saxon Math 3, an Incremental Development". I am noticing though that having them in the same book isn't good for DD10. I overheard her telling someone at church that she was "so dumb she is taking the same math as her little sister". So I need to get two different programs so that isn't in her mind.

 

I actually really love the idea of letting her progress in theory with charts and practice math facts at another time. That might give her more sense of accomplishment, So I am hoping if I do sit down and do a bunch of placement tests, I find we can move her a bit more forward. I just want her to have a good math base before we get to far. 

I've done this and it "can" give you an overall idea of what she needs to work on BUT these math currics all have different scopes and sequences meaning one will teach a concept before or after another.

I have tried too many math currics and really Saxon is the easiest to use. The fact that it basically starts over at the beginning of almost every math book practically guarantees that a child will learn as long as you DO NOT skip any problems and DO NOT skip the mental math! Part of the mental math before each lesson is 50 to 100 basic fact problems, like 5 x 9. I have my kids do these orally. You could do the one the lesson tells you to do and the multiplication one or whatever she needs more work on. Takes like 5 minutes.

If I were you I'd give her the Saxon placement test and if she does NOT place higher than Saxon 3 I'd put her in Saxon 54 and tell her it's a 5th grade book. Which it is because it CAN be. Then whatever she needed extra work on, I'd do that.

You can pickj up an older edition of Saxon 54 for very cheap on Amazon.

I am not a fan of TT because there's not enough drill, IMO.

And I hate Singapore. lol It's way too complicated to me.

I'm going to use some Math Mammoth because I don't like Saxon k through 3. All those meetings...shudder...

Saxon Intermediate 3 is way different and really, too advanced compared to the older Saxon 3. Again, IMO!

[mama27]

I disagree, especially if the child can start with Math 54 or 65, which the OP's dc would probably be able to do. Starting with Math 54 (which only requires a knowledge of basic arithmetic and multiplication up through the 5's), would absolutely fill in "gaps" and bring the dc up to grade level with a rock-solid understanding.

Even if they don't, learning the multiplication would not be all that hard or time consuming. There are exceptions, of course. My 14 dd has never memorized her times tables and I tried EVERY thing ever invented. lol

[Hunter]

.Wow, this is a lot of duplicate posts, I am so sorry. I cant find a delete option but I am trying to get them all as close to removed as possible,

 

:lol:

[Elisabet1]

Oh my, thank you so much for all the comments already. Each comment I read, I think, " Oh that's a good idea, I'll get/do that." Then I read the next comment with another idea and a different approach and I think, "Oh, well, maybe I'll do that instead"

 

I did not do the Saxon placement test. I figured I knew I could use the 3 for my 2nd grader anyway and when I looked through it I noticed that about half way through it looked like things my DD needed to refresh as well. Another thing that may be pertinent  is that DD is actually only 10. She probably should be in 4th grade for her actual age, she barely made the cut off when she started Kindergarten and was actually 4yrs the first 2+ months of school. So she was the youngest in her grade and I have an extra year to play with if needed. I think all of the suggestions seem better than the current route of plugging along in this book. 

 

I'm thinking maybe I will print out assessment tests for all of the programs. Saxon, Math U See, Math Mammoth, Teaching Textbooks. Miquon if it has one. Then I am leaning toward just spending next week going over placement tests so I can get a feel for which ones seems to stress her least and get a better grasp of what it is exactly that she needs.Does that sound like a good idea or is it overkill and I should pick a program first?  I was going on this assumption that if she was that confused with 3 ways to mentally add 32 + 48, she must need to start completely over. I was also thinking I wanted something super easy to build confidence again before I moved her into a more difficult area. I don't want to go back to Singapore right now, maybe a bit later, but right now I think it shocked her self-esteem so much that just seeing the book would stress her out before we started. I am kind of hoping Teaching Textbooks isn't the answer because I'd like to not spend quite that much, but of course I will if it is really superior for her.

Another thing I am thinking is that for now, my DD8 (would have been in second grade in PS) is doing great with this Saxon3. Someone mentioned there being two different Saxon 3 books. This one just says "Saxon Math 3, an Incremental Development". I am noticing though that having them in the same book isn't good for DD10. I overheard her telling someone at church that she was "so dumb she is taking the same math as her little sister". So I need to get two different programs so that isn't in her mind.

 

I actually really love the idea of letting her progress in theory with charts and practice math facts at another time. That might give her more sense of accomplishment, So I am hoping if I do sit down and do a bunch of placement tests, I find we can move her a bit more forward. I just want her to have a good math base before we get to far. 

Yes, way overkill. That would just not be nice, or fruitful to do 5 placement exams. Each program has a few exams too. Pick one and go with it. Then, if it doesn't work out, try another later. But don't harm your home schooling by spending the first few weeks just doing placement exams for several programs. And the exams will not give you a feel at all for how the program teaches. 

[WahM]

I just remembered about Jump Math. It maybe something to look into. It is made mainly for kids struggling in math.

[scrapbabe]

 

 

What I recommend is not only doing placement tests from the different programs but demo'ing them out *with* her.  Allow her to participate in the selection process which will also give her a greater sense of ownership once something is selected.    

 

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Sorry double post.  

[scrapbabe]

 

 

What I recommend is not only doing placement tests from the different programs but demo'ing them out *with* her.  Allow her to participate in the selection process which will also give her a greater sense of ownership once something is selected.    

 

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I agree to let her see the different programs and try out some samples.  But I would only do placement tests on the ones she's interested in.  There's no sense in taking placements tests on all of them.  That might be very stressful and overwhelming.  

 

I'm also going to be very raw here and hope no one tramples on me.  I have a son who has struggled with math.  We lost a year or two in progress when I got cancer.  I put him in a very small private school and I think he actually got worse instead of better. :(  We are making steady progress now, but he will not get to prealgebra until the end of 9th grade or even the beginning of 10th.  But what matters most to me is that he have a solid understanding of the math he does take.  It'll do me no good to rush him through so we can put pre-calculus on his transcript.  Whatever he doesn't get to in high school he'll simply have to do in college.  But I'm absolutely certain that pushing him too hard now is going to get us nowhere.  So we're just plugging along at an even pace for him.  I'm not saying this to say you shouldn't try.  I'm simply saying sometimes we have to take a deep breath and not worry so much about being "behind".  Find a good program that works for her.  Do it steadily every day.  At that age it's not too hard to catch up as long as she isn't stressed out and feeling like she's dumb.  So don't let her know how worried you are about her.  Relax a little and just move forward one step at a time.  I might also throw in some fun living math books, or math board games to just show her that math isn't so terrible.  But whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck.  I do understand how stressful it is for a child to be "behind" in school.  

[dereksurfs]

I agree to let her see the different programs and try out some samples.  But I would only do placement tests on the ones she's interested in.  There's no sense in taking placements tests on all of them.  That might be very stressful and overwhelming.  

 

I'm also going to be very raw here and hope no one tramples on me.  I have a son who has struggled with math.  We lost a year or two in progress when I got cancer.  I put him in a very small private school and I think he actually got worse instead of better. :(  We are making steady progress now, but he will not get to prealgebra until the end of 9th grade or even the beginning of 10th.  But what matters most to me is that he have a solid understanding of the math he does take.  It'll do me no good to rush him through so we can put pre-calculus on his transcript.  Whatever he doesn't get to in high school he'll simply have to do in college.  But I'm absolutely certain that pushing him too hard now is going to get us nowhere.  So we're just plugging along at an even pace for him.  I'm not saying this to say you shouldn't try.  I'm simply saying sometimes we have to take a deep breath and not worry so much about being "behind".  Find a good program that works for her.  Do it steadily every day.  At that age it's not too hard to catch up as long as she isn't stressed out and feeling like she's dumb.  So don't let her know how worried you are about her.  Relax a little and just move forward one step at a time.  I might also throw in some fun living math books, or math board games to just show her that math isn't so terrible.  But whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck.  I do understand how stressful it is for a child to be "behind" in school.  

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, though difficult I'm sure.  This is some of the best advice I've heard yet which goes beyond any particular curriculum choice.  

 

It can be difficult to not project our own fears, nervousness, etc... onto our child.  Making them feel dumb or behind is obviously the last thing any parent wants, especially on a forum such as this.  But sometimes its hard for them to not pick this up when a curriculum 'says' 2nd grade and they are in 3rd or fourth.  Or their siblings get things they just don't.  Low self-esteem can result in a child feeling dumb at math.  We struggle with this with our middle dd as well.  While our oldest whizzes through everything math related, the middle one seems to struggle more with the basics.  Consequently I've had to adjust my expectations for her while attempting to provide opportunities for confidence and skill building.  She's said 'I'm just stupid' at times when math frustrated which kills me to hear. 

[Elisabet1]

I agree with looking over the demos too, on maybe your favorite programs...pick 1 or 2 or even 3, and then show them to her. Then, do one placement exam on one. Leave it at that. Then get to work. Commit to 1 year. If it does not work out, then move on. Most programs still won't feel right in the first few weeks. And all programs will generally have something you wish for being different. But few are so bad that I would say just give up in the first few weeks. It takes time to get used to things.