speedmom4 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hello all! I seriously hope I can find a resolution to how to help my boys finish math in a reasonable amount of time daily. We are currently on lesson 94 of Saxon 8/7. They are doing well with it and like it but take FOREVER to get done. There have been days that it has taken them up to four hours. We are all miserable by then. We have tried working for 90 minutes straight, moving on to other subjects, and then returning at the end of the day to finish math. That has worked ok. The problem is that my younger son is a competitive gymnast and most days leaves the house at 4 for practice. There would be no way to finish math after a four hour gymnastics practice. He is hungry and exhausted by then. My current idea is to work on math for 2 hours a day and then call it quits. We will pick up the next day where they finished the previous day and move forward. I sort of like this idea. It gives us a definite ending time for math daily. It seems like we will be able to accomplish other subjects as well. I'm not super concerned if they finish a level of math in one school year. My goal is that they have a high level of understanding and retention for the concepts they are learning in math. Has anyone tried this or something else and was successful? I am not willing to skip problems in the book. My daughter did this and it has not been a good outcome for her. I am also not willing to try another program, been there, done that. I want them to complete each Saxon lesson from beginning to end, each and every problem. My boys actually like math and do not complain. I think one of the issues is that at a certain time their focus and motivation suffers. Having a timer has been a good way to combat those issues in other areas so I'm hoping this could help with math as well. Thank you! Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 It's likely that their efficiency in working the problems is declining substantially over your 90 minute work period. Have you watched to see when their focus fades? 5 minutes before that might be a good time for a break - bathroom, water, go outside for a couple minutes. If you can't see when the break is needed, just set a timer for 25 minutes and then take 5. Repeat as needed. Adjust as needed. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidusername Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Elise, the last 20-30 chapters of Saxon 8/7 are a real bear. I think your plan -- 2 hours a day, then calling it quits -- is a good one. The other way to do it is to assign half a chapter per day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidusername Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 sitting with your kids while they do their math may also help. It's a simple thing but it really helps my son focus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Some people do Saxon by doing odds one day, evens the next. I think throwing in a sanity/exercise break in the middle may also help. It needn't be long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 sitting with your kids while they do their math may also help. It's a simple thing but it really helps my son focus. This. 100%. I do math alongside my kids every day starting around 7th grade. This was WE do math, not THEY do math. I cannot imagine a 2 hour math day as a norm. I'd sit with them and see what that does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Some people set a time for 30-45 minutes; whatever is not completed in that 30-45 minutes is completed the next day. Yes, some lessons might take two days to complete, but many people have found that when they have that set amount of time, the children miraculously are able to complete the whole lesson, even though it used to take two hours to do the same amount of work. Go figure. :-) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I have found with my 2nd grader that when I sit next to her the work goes on for.ev.er. When I go over the concept with her, make sure she understands the instructions, do a few examples with her, and then tell her to let me know when she's done with X set of problems so we can go on to the next section, and then WALK AWAY - then she's done in 10 minutes. It's like if I sit next to her, she thinks she can't do it on her own or something. With my olders, it's a rare day when math takes longer than an hour. I usually tell them if it takes longer than an hour then they've lost their "good focus" time and it's time to move on and pick it up again the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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