Quiver0f10 Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I can't decide what is the best route to go with my 8 yo. He is using Abeka and has been since K and is in he 3rd grade book. He can do the work with my help and knows stuff like 1 day = 24 hours, 60 min = an hour, measurements and time, but he doesn't know his math facts and still has to use his fingers or manipulatives for basic addition and subtraction problems. He is finally getting the steps in addition with carrying even though we have been working on it for months it seems. I feel like he is doing the work OK, but I am worried that he is getting to the point where Abeka might be too hard for him and unless he masters the basic concepts it makes no sense moving on. I have looked at Right Start and MUS briefly and was thinking of one of those, but then got frustrated with descisions and ended up staying with what I know. Now I am back to worying that I made a mistake again. Part of my problem is I don't know what to expect from my son and how much to push him or not. He is having a neuropsych eval in a few weeks and I am hoping that gives me some kind of answer, but I still am confused and worried that I can do this. So what math wold be best for him? He has issues with memmory and recall, dyslexia and dysgraphia. Edited to add: If we do go with MUS, what level would you recommend starting with? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 You can give him the placement test to see where to start. My son placed into Beta when he was halfway through Saxon 7/6. So I put him in Beta because he *still* didn't really understand about place value and regrouping. We went quickly through Beta but it was time well spent. I've also used RightStart and it is very good too, though it sometimes seemed to throw some really difficult things in without (it seemed to me) much in the way of a gentle lead in. MUS was always very gentle and gradual in its approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 We switched DD9, the one in VT, to MUS this year from Saxon. Granted, we've only been doing it for a few weeks now, but we're really happy we switched. She was really struggling with math facts as well, and the Saxon pages were too busy for her to see through her visual processing problems. MUS seems at this point to be just right for her. We watch the video teacher together, the pages are not too cluttered up, the way the concepts are presented allows for her to master something easily before moving on, we can spend as much or as little time on a subject as I deem necessary. So far, we've also had enough time to drill math facts every day and still get the MUS pages finished. MUS has an online worksheet generator (available to all, not just MUS users) that is great for drill. The only thing I'd add is that I moved her back a grade level to go back over things I felt she missed last year due to her vision issues. I did do a placement test on her and found that she could have moved onto the "appropriate" grade level in MUS, but I really felt she needed more review and drill after her disasterous year dealing with an undiagnosed vision problem! We are planning to move as fast as she is able through last year's review stuff while doing drill, then try to get back up to grade level sometime during the summer (with math going yr round this year!). HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Thank you , both. I have been loaned the Alpha materials to look over and I hope once I actually see what the program looks like that will help me finally make a desicsion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 You can also get a free demo DVD which shows things from all of the levels. It is very informative. What sold me was when Mr Demme started factoring polynomials using the blocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Yeah, if you've not ordered a sample DVD of the MUS program, definitely do it. Watching Steve Demme made the decision easy for me! I think I learned more from him than I did from my own gradeschool math teachers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 You can also get a free demo DVD which shows things from all of the levels. It is very informative. What sold me was when Mr Demme started factoring polynomials using the blocks! Good to know, I will go order the demo! Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessAriel Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Have you taken a look at Math on the Level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 Have you taken a look at Math on the Level? It is a newer program but really stresses the child's maturation level when deciding the pace at which they can progress. They have a very informative website and yahoo group and it was developed by homeschool parents, one of who was a special education teacher for several years. I just bought (a bit expensive but when you can use it through pre-algebra it is not too bad) it after having used MUS and Saxon with my two kids with various special needs.www.mathonthelevel.com Thanks, I will check it out. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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