lamolina Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Some thoughts and suggestions please! My son is 7 and a rising 2nd grader. We will be starting a new hybrid school this fall where they go to class 1 day per week and then work on projects and assignments the rest of the week at home with me. It is a classical school that uses Saxon Math. They use Saxon books that I haven't seen before, not the ones that say 5/4 or 6/5. His would be called Intermediate 4 or 5. My son took the placement test and placed into 5th grade math. They prefer to put him into the 4th grade class due to his age. He is 7 and pretty wiggly and this will be his first time in a school setting other than 2 months in Kindergarten. He is good at math but does not have times tables memorized and hasn't yet learned long division. What does everyone think? Go with 4th or 5th?? If it matters at all, his older sister is in 5th grade. Oh, and we have used Math Mammoth up to this point. He is about in the middle of the 4th grade books. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherOfBoys Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 You might want to post on the accelerated board. This is a tough call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Are you going to be working through the summer on math? Will he be pretty close to having his multiplication tables down solid (perhaps not memorized but fairly automatic) & have the intro to long division before he starts with school in the fall? If yes to both of those, I see no issue with Intermediate 5. If you aren't going to work on math through the summer, I'd go with Intermediate 4 as it will be his 'intro' to Saxon and it'll help to have the material not be mostly new as he's going to be in a new environment that one day a week. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 It never hurts to have a solid base. You can always supplement with "fun math" at home. I'd go with 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I'd go with 4. Being a wiggly little guy and not knowing times tables (typically memorized in third grade here) and not knowing long division (taught in 4th here) suggests 4th grade placement would be appropriate. I always figure, when in doubt, go lower... It's so much easier to accelerate or promote then to hold a kid back and make them repeat material. And math needs a solid foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 How would his sister feel about a wiggly little brother in her class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Saxon problem sets can be brutal. I like Saxon, so I'm not slamming it! I just like placing students lower than some others do. The newer the edition, the lower I want to place the student. Each edition, the series gets wider and "stronger". These babies are trying to juggle SO much. Juggling is hard work, even when it is all review. Juggling 20 topics that are all at the frustration level is just cruel, even if they can do it. That is for MOST students; not all. I realize that! Students only need enough math to leaven the rest of the curriculum. More yeast doesn't make better bread, and more and more math usually doesn't make for a better education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamolina Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 His sister actually wouldn't care, she is our most easygoing kid. We could keep going during the summer, although school starts in just a little over 2 months already! I don't see a big reason to push him ahead too far and just frustrate him, but I don't want to hold him back either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamolina Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Also, I do think I would continue some more fun math with him at home, maybe Beast Academy or something. I don't really think Saxon is the best choice for him but since I love the rest of the school I am willing to go with it. Hmm, just had a thought that maybe he could do math without the school part. I might have to check into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Also, I do think I would continue some more fun math with him at home, maybe Beast Academy or something. I don't really think Saxon is the best choice for him but since I love the rest of the school I am willing to go with it. Hmm, just had a thought that maybe he could do math without the school part. I might have to check into that. I'd be hesitant to change what's clearly working for him -- (math mammoth) -- is there any way that they'd let you continue to provide math instruction at home using those books, and have him just work with the class on whatever they're doing for the one day he's there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Yes, as he's clearly accelerated in math, I would talk to them to see if you can do the math he needs and he can opt out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamolina Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Do you think you would just have him do 4th grade Saxon with the school and Math Mammoth at home? Or would that just be too much and I should check into having him opt out of Saxon and only do MM with me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I would think that working through Saxon and MM at once would be a huge lot of math for him (unless he absolutely loves math and wants to do more). Also, if he's getting a lot of homework that the school expects you to supervise, you may want to avoid duplicating math curricula just to avoid overloading him on seat work in general. I'd probably drop MM and just go with Saxon. You could try to get the school to let him do MM, but then he'd be doing different math to everybody else, and I would think that since this is his first school experience it might go more smoothly if you don't make him more different from the other students than he needs to be. I think you would be right to place him in the lower grade if in doubt, just to minimize the challenges while he adjusts to the school environment. If he ends up flying through and being bored at the slow pace, he could go up a class later on, with less potential for upset than you'd have if he had to be 'demoted' a grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Do you think you would just have him do 4th grade Saxon with the school and Math Mammoth at home? Or would that just be too much and I should check into having him opt out of Saxon and only do MM with me? I think that'd be way too much math. If they won't let him opt out, I *would* go ahead and supplement with interesting, conceptual, non-writing math at home, but I would put him in the lower class due to handwriting issues. I *would* look into just doing your own math though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 How does it work. Do they teach one lesson a week and you teach the rest? I can see going to a school once a week to do electives but have a hard time comprehending doing main subjects that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Do you think you would just have him do 4th grade Saxon with the school and Math Mammoth at home? Or would that just be too much and I should check into having him opt out of Saxon and only do MM with me? If opting out of Saxon at the school is an option, I'd look into it. Even if he could just opt out of the "at home" portion of Saxon math, I'd do it. He could play along with Saxon Intermediate 4 at school for that one day & just keep going with MM at home. Weird, but doable. If MM is working, I'd be loathe to change it. But I didn't think that was an option, thus my previous answer .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 If opting out of Saxon at the school is an option, I'd look into it. Even if he could just opt out of the "at home" portion of Saxon math, I'd do it. He could play along with Saxon Intermediate 4 at school for that one day & just keep going with MM at home. Weird, but doable. If MM is working, I'd be loathe to change it. But I didn't think that was an option, thus my previous answer .... Yes. This would also work -- he should be enough at the same level to participate in any activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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