Erin Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 We'd probably do Jacobs for geometry though, not Saxon. And before everyone starts in about Saxon and the gifted kid, Buck likes Saxon. He doesn't have some inherent love of math, though it does come fairly easily to him. Instead, he sees math as a tool. (I love what I can do with my hammer, but I don't love my hammer, KWIM?) Saxon works for him as it's easy to skip over things he's already got a grasp on, and re-hit things he doesn't, and the format is familiar and comfortable. Also, despite what people always say about Saxon students not knowing how to apply concepts, that simply is not what I've noticed. In fact, he's been teaching two of his buddies who are struggling with pre-algebra right now in a different series. He's talking engineering (even when he was little it was, "I want to be an engineer when I grow up! Either the kind that drives the trains or the kind that builds them." lol) So, eighth grade, we're currently in (3rd ed.) Algebra. He likes geometry. He masters it fairly quickly whenever it's in the lesson and even says "oooh, yay! Geometry today." The conundrum: I know classic Saxon is scheduled such that Geometry is written in to both Algebra I&II as well as Advanced Math. IIRC, completion of Alg.II gets you the first half of your high school Geometry credit and AM, the second. I don't think he'll probably need a separate Geometry class, though he might actually like it. Our schedule would be either: 9th--Alg.II, 10th--Advanced Math (spreading to two years as needed), 11th/12th--something, Trig maybe?, at the local community college OR 9th--Geometry, 10th--Alg.II, 11th--Advanced Math (again to two years as needed) 12th--CC option Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy G Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 My son used Saxon in a school through pre-algebra. I looked at using it for homeschool, but it was not the fit for him. When I looked through the high school levels, I felt I would need separate geometry curriculum. Saxon is weak in geometry compared to other curriculum. I applaud you doing what fits your child instead of using what everyone says is the best for gifted, every child is different. You could also supplement with a geometry course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 You may have already seen this, but this link helped me tremendously in figuring out what to do next according to edition: http://usingsaxon.com/newsletterpage-2013.php#0413 My DD was labeled as gifted too, only I had not heard Saxon was a poor fit for gifted kids. I started out with Aops and she crashed and burned the minute she opened it. lol I tried Saxon next and off we went. She came right out of PS this year to homeschool and of course, math is the hardest fit. Saxon is just really right for her. All her sloppy mistakes are gone and she's only got around 25 lessons on her book left for this year. I don't really listen to anyone else because it's so individualized anyway. It shocked the heck outta me when this worked for her but..whatever works! ETA: In that link, the whole page is good, but scroll down to the April 2013 entry for an examination of the different Saxon editions and the order recommended per edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I have tried many other math courses with dd, who is good at math but is not passionate about it. We always go back to Saxon and modify it to fit her learning style best. I used a separate geometry course with all my kids…Jacobs. I like to do proofs so make up some for them as well as those in the book. I have them go through Algebra 1 then do Geometry before Alg 2 but give them a couple review Alg 1 problems every day or every other day to keep it in their heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinRTX Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I've used Saxon through Calculus twice and through Advanced Math once. The fourth child is currently finishing up Algebra 1. We have never done a separate geometry. Both my older ones (the ones who went through Calculus) have jobs as engineers. They never needed the separate geometry. The next child is a nursing major. She did not need the extra geometry. My only regret is that I wished I would have done a statistics course with them. So instead of geometry I would add in a statistics course (and probably will for the youngest). Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I was a gifted math kid who would have loved Saxon and detested AoPS. I like clean pages, clear expectations, spiral review, and traditional approaches. Knowing what was coming and exactly what I had to do were extremely important to me. I would have played with AoPS, but had fits without a book like Saxon. You have found what works - go with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions! Particularly thank-you to Linda, I'm glad to hear you've already been-there-done-that and it worked as advertised. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 My son is using the separate Geometry book now http://www.christianbook.com/saxon-geometry-homeschool-kit/9781600329760/pd/329760 It is certainly in the Saxon style. Worth a look if your child likes Saxon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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