jkl Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 OK, this is bad! We are starting school the first week of Sept, and I don't know what to do about math for ds8. I'd love some advice! Please! Here's the background. For 1st grade and half of 2nd, we did MEP (yr 1 and half of yr 2). He did ok, but needed lots and lots of hand holding, and sometimes there were tears. Then, I got pregnant and really sick. dh took over math with ds at night after work, and there were tears every single night. Ds was making a lot of careless mistakes because he didn't know his addition/subtraction facts. We had to switch math anyway to something easier for me to do pregnant and with 3 kids. I loved the look of R&S, and thought it'd be perfect: pretty open and go, focused on the facts We started him at the beginning of the second grade book to build confidence, and we are finishing up this week. DS does fine with it, but HATES it with a passion. I had planned to do Math Mammoth with him for 3rd grade, and we just did MM addition/subtraction workbook (the one that covers regrouping). I figured MM would be like MEP, but not so teacher intensive. Well, ds does not do well with this style at all, and just bombed the MM placement test (end of year 2nd grade test). He did especially bad with regrouping, which we JUST DID using the Math Mammoth worksheets!!! So...now what? I really like conceptual and mental math (I myself am not at all mathy. I did fine in school with math, but only because I memorized stuff for the test, did great on the test, and prompl;y forgot it). DH is an engineer and very worried about ds getting behind and developing an early dislike of math. Now I'm kicking around doing McRuffy (fun, short and sweet, spiral) and maybe Miquon once a week (hands on, conceptual), but, I'm not sure. What would you do if you were me? I want to find something that is a good fit and stick with it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I have really been drooling over Saxon Intermediate 3 -- the textbook is available to view online for free, if you can find the links. ;) That said, we just switched to CLE and I think we're going to stick it out through 6th grade, then switch to Saxon. DD is doing CLE 3 and really likes it. I am finding it easy to teach and pretty "rigorous." Plus, it supposedly steers the child toward more and more independence through the years... Before this, we used BJU math and we liked it too, but the price is one reason we switched... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 McRuffy is straightforward and has games that go with it that lightened the tone of it considerably. My son gets pretty stressed over math, but McRuffy keeps it a bit more on the "fun" side. The tangrams, symmetry work, and geo-board reinforce mathematical thinking skills. We have enjoyed it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 McRuffy sounds like a good fit for now. Have you looked over Teaching Textbooks? It moves slower but covers all any other program does in the end. Have you considered that ds might be more like you/dh than like dh in this area? If he is, pick something you would like and makes sense to you. I hear you on R&S. It does get better, though, if you can stick it out. The 3rd grade book can be written in. It does have mental math worked in. You can skip half the drill problems. We ended up skipping the 2nd grade books and started the 3rd grade book after some deviations to other diasters/things {McRuffy, BJU, CLE [grammar guys are not spiral guys], SIngapore}. The downside is the copying starting in 4th and it seems "behind" because it is strictly arithmetic in the younger years. This is NOT a disadvantage because that foundation will pay off well later on. CLE is excellent! But it moves fast and ramps up fast! Think of it as a grade ahead what they say it is {So 100 = 2nd, 200 = 3rd, etc.}. Everyday there is something new to learn PLUS the child has to remember everything else they have learned previously. It can be dificult to find concepts if he has forgotten how to do something because, unlike Saxon, there are no little ( ) with the LightUnit/Lesson Number to say when it was taught. Why they don't do that is beyond me. By the 300 level, it is compeletly self-taught. I had my olders self-correct at that point, too. Be sure to have him take the free placement test and start where he places even if it is 200. This is NOT a program to rush through! It is advanced and very, very good. Do not skip problems even if they seem easy. Those easy problems give the kid a break and confidence. IF your child does well with spiral methods, this might fit. Lastly, some things we just have to do even if we don't like them. I have one child that has cried with every math we have tried. I finally told him too bad, suck it up. At some point, you just have to be mean and cringe inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkl Posted August 15, 2014 Author Share Posted August 15, 2014 McRuffy is straightforward and has games that go with it that lightened the tone of it considerably. My son gets pretty stressed over math, but McRuffy keeps it a bit more on the "fun" side. The tangrams, symmetry work, and geo-board reinforce mathematical thinking skills. We have enjoyed it so far. Are you using (or have you seen) McRuffy 3rd grade math I'm wondering how it is on word problems and how much fact practice it has... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkl Posted August 15, 2014 Author Share Posted August 15, 2014 Thanks everyone! I have looked at CLE, but I think McRuffy would be a better fit for that style of math. I'll check out TT and Saxon too. We have done Miquon Orange and red, and ds didn't really enjoy it, but dd is starting some this year, so he might like to play along... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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