BTC Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Hello. I am a new forum member. I have been reading many posts here and I'm looking for help figuring out a high school math program for my son. I have homeschooled for 10 years, have a daughter that graduated college, have a 9th grader, a 4th grader, and a kindergartener. My son that is in 9th grade will most likely go into a science career and because of this, I'm struggling with which math program to use. I used Saxon with my daughter, through Algebra II, but I don't think that will work for him for the following reasons: 1. Too difficult to teach past Alg. II (I am very good at math, but no whiz, and I'm not sure I could get him through the higher levels 2. He is NOT a math whiz either, but he is very smart and picks up new concepts easily, but Saxon makes him crazy because they don't explain some concepts well 3. I have heard it is not a great prep program for college A good friend swears by Math U See because her son (who I'm sure is a genius) used it and tested well on a college entrance exam and was given a scholarship based on his test scores...at the age of 16. I'm not sure this will be rigorous enough for my "non-genius" child. So, unless I want to spend $400 to $500 on a math program, I am completely stuck on what to use that has lessons on DVD for him to learn the higher math concepts, and that will not break the bank. I also would prefer something I can hand down to my other children, as we used a BJU science program last year that I just learned I cannot use again and I'm not in a position to spend that much if I cannot use it again. I have read about Jacobs algebra, but I think that the threads I read here were mostly from moms that had the time to teach the higher levels, as well as the brains. Of which, I have neither...lol. I did very well in high school math, through trig, but with a very challenging kindergartener, and a 4th grader, I'm sure I won't be able to be his main source of math knowledge. Thanks for any insight. Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 We used MUS from K-Algebra. I would not recommend the high school levels for a student going in to the STEM field. It is one of the weaker programs, imo. Although Saxon would not have worked for ds's learning style, I disagree that it is not college prep. It is used in many public schools. I personally know several hs families that use it very successfully for high school. I would suggest that you look in to Foerster with the Math Without Borders DVD or Chalkdust. I have no experience with Chalkdust, but have used Foerster (without the DVD). You can read my review here. Good luck! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 IMO, Saxon is perfectly fine for college prep. Have you seen that they do have accompanying teaching DVDs for Saxon now? They are actually pretty inexpensive, especially used. There is always Teaching Textbooks, but obviously not rigorous but reasonably priced. Do you have a dual enrollment option that is feasible (family time and cost) in your state? You mention $400-$500 per level. The only one I can think of that is that expensive (without there being a teacher) is Chalk Dust. Do a search on Larson. This just came on my radar this past week. The other option is doing an online class like Derek Owens or our own Jann from TX instead of teaching it yourself. ;) More can weigh in. My oldest daughter was NOT math-y and wasn't going into a math field. We did Life of Fred and Teaching Textbooks for her. My second is math-y, is going into a STEM field. We did Foerester (with the Math without Borders DVD) for Algebra I, the TT for Algebra II, but we are now doing Larson Intermediate Algebra for a more rigorous experience, followed by College Algebra (Larson) and then he is going to take the rest of his math at community college as anything into Pre-Calc area is past my ability level. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 We have found Thinkwell to be a good, solid math program which does all the teaching and grading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 start with this pinned thread which has a lot of info: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/542418-homeschool-high-school-math/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTC Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 I think my major hurdle with Saxon was that I read in numerous places that it does not teach the concepts well at all, and that although a child may be able to test well, they will not be able to transfer that knowledge to "applying" it to science, etc. THat is was just rote memorization of rules for specific problems, and didn't teach a true understanding of math. I will investigate those other programs that were mentioned. I wonder if using math u see JUST for Algebra 1 would leave him behind for next year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I wonder if using math u see JUST for Algebra 1 would leave him behind for next year.... MUS Algebra 1 does not teach quadratic equations which is a standard Algebra 1 topic, so yes, it would leave him behind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 MUS Algebra 1 does not teach quadratic equations which is a standard Algebra 1 topic, so yes, it would leave him behind. I would not use MUS starting at Algebra for any student, particularly one that was heading off to college. I did use MUS for 5 years (through Geometry) with my oldest and for 4 years (through pre algebra, then came back for geometry) with my dd. I really disliked the way it taught algebra and it does not complete a standard scope and sequence. I applaud your friend's son, but you are right, if he got those scores after MUS, it is because he is a natural, not because MUS prepared him well. We switched to the Lial's series for algebra 1 & 2. Their DVDs are mostly useless though, so if DVD is really important to you, it isn't a good choice. I hat Saxon but it is considered solid college prep. Certainly far more advanced than MUS. From what you have said, I would consider just adding DVDs to Saxon. There are multiple options for that. Teaching Textbooks, Thinkwell, and Math Without Borders are all decent options too. I listed them from easiest to most challenging, but it is my understanding that the 2.0 version of Teaching Textbooks does at least keep up with standard scope and sequence. For higher maths I would hope that he could use a Community College or online math classes. Many kids can't teach themselves math. Ever. And particularly not for higher levels. DVDs don't answer questions like a live teacher, and for some that isn't enough help. Be sure to look through the pinned math thread to see the options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristie in Florida Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 When we used Saxon there was a cd rom with video lessons on it, but the name excess me now. Something Drive? Edit: DIVE CDs, like the next poster said. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 There are DIVE cd's for Saxon. Also, there is Saxon Teacher. (I bought the Algebra 2 Saxon Teacher cd's but I haven't used them yet. We are still easing into all of our subjects...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 We LOVE the Art Reed dvds with Saxon. Super approachable and concise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTC Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thank you all SO much. I'm so glad I joined this forum, as I was searching the web for reviews, and sometimes it was confusing to hear the anecdotal evidence for one system or another. Here, I feel like you guys are super knowledgeable and experienced. I am going to stick with Saxon (at least for now), as that is what my gut instinct was telling me from the beginning, and what I now believe is best for us. My reservations about MUS were apparently correct, in spite of my friend's son doing so well with it. I agree that her son is way beyond the average math student (while my son is NOT, but highly motivated in order to be able to pursue a science career) and that he did well in spite of using MUS. Thank you all so much, and I'm sure I'll be back here. Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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