JeanM Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 I'm trying to make a plan for calculus next year for ds. DS is good at math, but doesn't like it, and right now claims he has no interested in going into a STEM field. When dh and I took calculus in high school (a long time ago!), we had a choice of A.B. calculus or B.C. calculus for our senior year. B.C. (obviously) covered more material, and was considered a more difficult class. It seems like a lot of what I've found online considers A.B. to be a pre-requisitie for B.C. calc. Does anyone still do B.C. in one year? DS does not want to do an online class, and he really hates watching math videos. My dh is the one who will be helping him, and he is very comfortable with calculus. What they really need is a plan to keep them on track, especially if ds is going to take the A.P. exam. DH doesn't mind grading, but he thinks it would be easier if he had an answer key (not just the answer at the back of the book), but it's not critical. If it helps, ds has been using Lial this year and last year (Intermediate Algebra last year and Precalculus this year). Any suggestions?Thanks! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Saxon Calculus is one that has a solutions manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Does anyone still do B.C. in one year? There are kids who complete BC Calc in one year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Thanks, I'm looking into Saxon. Somehow I hadn't even thought of it. And it's good to know that there are kids who complete BC calc in one year. I'm not sure if this is the best pathway for ds, but it's good to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Saxon has a first and a second edition for calculus. The first edition has fewer lessons and covers just AB whereas the 2nd edition has more lessons and covers material similar to a BC course. You can simply start at the beginning and see how far he gets. If he covers it all within a year and has some time before the AP test to prep, then you can go for the BC test. If he doesn't make it to the end, you can see how what he's done compares to the AB requirements and he can aim for that test instead. Dd just studied on her own and found it to be good prep for her community college calculus classes. With your husband able to help your son, it should be an awesome course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 When you get to the point that your son is looking for test prep for the AP Calc exams, we have had success with the prep material at eIMACS. http://www.eimacs.com/educ_tpoverview.htm Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 PA homeschoolers have an asynchronous class. (they don't meet at specific times, but you have a schedule to keep, and a teacher who grades and answers questions). Best of both worlds for you? No videos to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Saxon has a first and a second edition for calculus. The first edition has fewer lessons and covers just AB whereas the 2nd edition has more lessons and covers material similar to a BC course. You can simply start at the beginning and see how far he gets. If he covers it all within a year and has some time before the AP test to prep, then you can go for the BC test. If he doesn't make it to the end, you can see how what he's done compares to the AB requirements and he can aim for that test instead. Dd just studied on her own and found it to be good prep for her community college calculus classes. With your husband able to help your son, it should be an awesome course. That sounds perfect. I'm forwarding the info to dh and ds, but I think this is a great plan. And we can add the prep materials suggested from eimacs! Thanks! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Glad I could help Jean! Whatever text you use, whether Saxon or other, definitely do AP test prep as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 The BC test also has an AB subscore, so it is possible to get credit for AB even without passing the BC exam fully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
at the beach Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Saxon has a first and a second edition for calculus. The first edition has fewer lessons and covers just AB whereas the 2nd edition has more lessons and covers material similar to a BC course. You can simply start at the beginning and see how far he gets. If he covers it all within a year and has some time before the AP test to prep, then you can go for the BC test. If he doesn't make it to the end, you can see how what he's done compares to the AB requirements and he can aim for that test instead. Dd just studied on her own and found it to be good prep for her community college calculus classes. With your husband able to help your son, it should be an awesome course. Hi again, Teachin'Mine. A bit of a hijack here. I am also looking at calculus options for next year. We're considering cc but I am also interested in considering a home-based option over the whole year that will cover one semester of college level calc. How do you think it would work to do Saxon Calculus (first edition) w/o having used Saxon before--and assuming the student has the appropriate preparatory work and is ready for a calc course. Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Hi again, Teachin'Mine. A bit of a hijack here. I am also looking at calculus options for next year. We're considering cc but I am also interested in considering a home-based option over the whole year that will cover one semester of college level calc. How do you think it would work to do Saxon Calculus (first edition) w/o having used Saxon before--and assuming the student has the appropriate preparatory work and is ready for a calc course. Thanks. :) Oh my. I just finished a huge response and on my last few words it disappeared. I'm not loving technology right now! lol Why can't these forums have some kind of automatic draft save when we hit whatever it is that we hit that makes it all vanish??? Good question! I thought about that before recommending Saxon calculus to Jean. I think, but don't know for sure, that switching to Saxon is more of a concern when going to algebra than when going to calculus. The student should have a high enough level of math to figure out a new way of solving problems and would likely find differences when transitioning to college texts as well. The first few lessons are long and give a quick review of pre-calculus topics. During these few lessons the student can learn Saxon's way while using math they should already know. So it may take a bit longer to get though those lessons, but they should be up to speed after that. IMO calculus will look like a foreign language no matter what text you use. Never fazed dd, but made it challenging for me just reading along with the solutions manual. lol Jean and her son have the advantage of a live-in math tutor. I think that doing the first edition in one year is very manageable. One lesson can be covered in a day, and for longer lessons or harder material, the student can take two days to complete it. If you use the 2nd edition, I believe that you only need to complete though lesson 100 (it has 148 lessons). But whatever you use, figure out what's needed based on the AP AB test to make sure everything has been covered. The best way to find out if Saxon will work is to give it a try. Since you have cc as an option as well, I'd try to get it this year or over the summer so you'll have an idea of which way you want to go. But a cc Calculus I class will move very quickly and it can be really helpful to have done Saxon calculus first. I also thought about recommending a college text to Jean, but the texts are really designed with the intention of a teacher teaching the lessons, whereas Saxon teaches the lessons to the student. I'm sure I've forgotten something I had in my original post, so let me know if there's more I can add. If I remember correctly, the calculus lessons took about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete, probably closer to the 2 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
at the beach Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Oh my. I just finished a huge response and on my last few words it disappeared. I'm not loving technology right now! lol Why can't these forums have some kind of automatic draft save when we hit whatever it is that we hit that makes it all vanish??? Good question! I thought about that before recommending Saxon calculus to Jean. I think, but don't know for sure, that switching to Saxon is more of a concern when going to algebra than when going to calculus. The student should have a high enough level of math to figure out a new way of solving problems and would likely find differences when transitioning to college texts as well. The first few lessons are long and give a quick review of pre-calculus topics. During these few lessons the student can learn Saxon's way while using math they should already know. So it may take a bit longer to get though those lessons, but they should be up to speed after that. IMO calculus will look like a foreign language no matter what text you use. Never fazed dd, but made it challenging for me just reading along with the solutions manual. lol Jean and her son have the advantage of a live-in math tutor. I think that doing the first edition in one year is very manageable. One lesson can be covered in a day, and for longer lessons or harder material, the student can take two days to complete it. If you use the 2nd edition, I believe that you only need to complete though lesson 100 (it has 148 lessons). But whatever you use, figure out what's needed based on the AP AB test to make sure everything has been covered. The best way to find out if Saxon will work is to give it a try. Since you have cc as an option as well, I'd try to get it this year or over the summer so you'll have an idea of which way you want to go. But a cc Calculus I class will move very quickly and it can be really helpful to have done Saxon calculus first. I also thought about recommending a college text to Jean, but the texts are really designed with the intention of a teacher teaching the lessons, whereas Saxon teaches the lessons to the student. I'm sure I've forgotten something I had in my original post, so let me know if there's more I can add. If I remember correctly, the calculus lessons took about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete, probably closer to the 2 hours. Thank you for the information!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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