momto2blessings Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Hello Ladies! I've been offline here for a while but have a math qu and you guys are always so wise and helpful:) Ds just started 7th grade and has seemed serious about a potential engineering degree. We switched to Saxon math(8/7) from Math-U-See. I like it, but ds is already complaining about doing all the review of stuff he knows. Is it really necessary to do ALL the problems. We just started, but so far I've cut the warm-up math facts in 1/2, and I've scanned review qu and nixed 5-6 if they're problems I know he's strong in. Just wondering what others have done and still come out with a successful math student:) Thx for any input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 My oldest used the lesson plans from my father's world for Saxon for 87, alg 1, alg 2, advanced. (and jacob's geometry too). They don't schedule every problem for advanced students, but instead they schedule specific problems in each lesson. (it's not just even's or odds in other words. They had them hand picked from a career math teacher). My oldest is doing very well in college as engineering major. mileage may vary, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 My opinion is that Saxon's strength is all that review. Otherwise it is just another mediocre math program. If your son doesn't need the review, I'd move to a different program for algebra. I'd recommend looking at Jacobs, Foerster, or Art of Problem Solving for Algebra I. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 IMO Saxon is excellent preparation for an engineering student. Personally I wouldn't cut out anything. The whole purpose of the math facts is to become really quick at them and could take less than 2 minutes. The mental math can be done very quickly if you read the questions to him. Again it's about figuring out fast ways to come up with the answer and is great mental training. Saxon lessons take time to complete, but that's good training for someone interested in engineering. As he advances, the lessons will become more involved and skipping questions isn't a good habit to start IMO. Another thing to keep in mind is that the first 20 or 30 lessons are likely review. The lessons will be introducing new material and will be challenging for the final 20 or 30 lessons. Speed in calculations is a benefit for standardized testing as well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I've had friends use it and their kids are college engineer grads. Others were premed, and now excelling in medical schools. We use it, and do every problem. My dd is in 9th and advanced math, so we do half a lesson a day now. (About half way through algebra 1 we stopped skipping any problems.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Hello Ladies! I've been offline here for a while but have a math qu and you guys are always so wise and helpful:) Ds just started 7th grade and has seemed serious about a potential engineering degree. We switched to Saxon math(8/7) from Math-U-See. I like it, but ds is already complaining about doing all the review of stuff he knows. Is it really necessary to do ALL the problems. We just started, but so far I've cut the warm-up math facts in 1/2, and I've scanned review qu and nixed 5-6 if they're problems I know he's strong in. Just wondering what others have done and still come out with a successful math student:) Thx for any input! You can cut the warm-up math facts, but absolutely, every problem in every problem set is important. Did you have your ds take the placement test before starting 87? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Saxon is solid. Whether you love the format and repetition or not, it is downright solid. My kids have excelled in mathematics with it. Two love it, the other two hate it but do it anyway :nopity: DD completed Advanced mathematics and had to take a very difficult placement test in order to take a competitive school's AP Calc class and she had no problems passing their placement with flying colors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 You can cut the warm-up math facts, but absolutely, every problem in every problem set is important. Did you have your ds take the placement test before starting 87? This is what we did. At first, since oldest dd is math strong, I tried skipping problems but that eventually caused some issues. DD is meticulous so math was taking her forever. I started setting a timer in Algebra 1 (for 1.5 hours). What she didn't finish the first day moved to the next (even if it meant math through the summer). It motivated her to move a little faster rather than dawdling ;) She ended up being able to finish her lesson (all problems) in the 1.5 hours most days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 Oh my! I just realized I never replied to this. Thanks SO much to you all. I shared some with my son and we are now doing all problems. It's a lot of work, but comforting to hear of all the kids doing so well after using it. Thanks so much for sharing your insight and giving me some peace:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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