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Saxon Math or Teaching Textbooks for 8th grade?


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Trying to decide between Saxon Math 8/7 and Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra for ds for fall of 2014. Any feedback on either of these? He's using Saxon 7/6 now, and seems fine with it, but I love the idea of computer assistance in teaching him math as he progresses toward high school.

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I haven't spent much time with Saxon (though used it as a kid), and we only had one attempt at TT and I wasn't super impressed, though I think it has a place for some families.

 

But... I know the feeling of wondering if some other curriculum is better or cooler than what you have now.  Steel yourself. Resist!  If your son is happy and learning with Saxon, then stick with it.  If you are concerned about finding that he has surpassed your abilities to teach him... there are videos that go along with Saxon, or the possibility of outsourcing.  Or even using TT in the future.  But I really would recommend staying with what is working until it no longer works.

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I haven't spent much time with Saxon (though used it as a kid), and we only had one attempt at TT and I wasn't super impressed, though I think it has a place for some families.

 

But... I know the feeling of wondering if some other curriculum is better or cooler than what you have now.  Steel yourself. Resist!  If your son is happy and learning with Saxon, then stick with it.  If you are concerned about finding that he has surpassed your abilities to teach him... there are videos that go along with Saxon, or the possibility of outsourcing.  Or even using TT in the future.  But I really would recommend staying with what is working until it no longer works.

 

:iagree: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I've found the phrase to be invaluable in my homeschool.

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We are using Saxon Alg 1 with the at your own pace free online class from the Virtual Homeschool Group. Www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.com. They have many levels of Saxon as well as free online live classes (the particular level changes). My daughter likes their voice threads as much or better than the Art Reed videos.

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My ds is using Saxon Algebra 1/2 after doing 7/6 last year.  We were going to use 8/7, but ds really wanted the hard-cover book.  He loves it and is really good at math since we started with Saxon last year.  He's not one for video academics (at all), so TT wasn't a good fit for him.  He ended up just using the book.  Since the book wasn't sold without the CD Rom, I switched programs.  I like the way Saxon explains how to do things - it really resonates with ds.  We do 30 minutes of math every weekday.  My dd, on the other hand, is more of a visual learner and did well with TT and Math U See.  

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My ds has only ever done Saxon (using Algebra 1/2 now) so I don't have personal experience with TT.  But I was considering switching to it and asked a friend who is using TT PreAlgebra.  She said TT is weak and if she were really focusing on math this year she wouldn't be using it but because of their emphasis on other subjects right now she says it's good because it's light.  I know Saxon has the DIVE CDs but we haven't tried them.  They are a bit pricey even on ebay.

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We're in our second Saxon book - having used algebra 1/2 and now Algebra 1. I do the problems alongside my dd, and I really like the program. (I'm rocking a solid A-, LOL!!! Some days I skip the lesson and the test will usually catch me, LOl!!!) we use the Art Reed DVDs which I love. It's a real person, vice a screen shot, he's funny, and it's short. Most lessons are 5-10 minutes. A rare one is 11 or 12. I'd highly recommend it.

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