CF6 Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 We are currently working through Saxon 1/2 and our DS finds it really boring. He grasps the concepts easily and can proficiently demonstrate what he has learned when asked. But, when he has to sit and work quietly on the practice questions his boredom causes him to make an abundance of computational errors (e.g., ignoring a decimal, 1+2=12, copying a problem incorrectly, etc...). He's a bright child, so I mark any wrong answers and allow him one opportunity to fix any errors on a separate sheet of paper. Depending on his attitude he either makes all of the necessary corrections or gets lost in thought and "forgets" which answers needed to be corrected. I've cut out most of the practice questions, but he still seems pretty unmotivated by Saxon's approach. Can someone recommend a more visual 6th grade math curriculum? And, can anyone offer some tips to strengthen his computation skills? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Not visual, but my eleven year old who was bored with lots of computations was really happy when we switched to Jousting Armadillos; it is a gentle discovery approach and more about thinking and playing with and understanding math than just learning to do the computations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 My visual-spatial learners loved AoPS Prealgebra for its concept-heavy, big-picture instruction. It was written for bright math students. The AoPS approach to learning (by doing hard problems), is nothing like Saxon's approach (learning through repetition). There are also free online videos and a free online problem-solving practice program. If you'd like to give him a taste of the joy of math, definitely take a look at AoPS. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netwelladm Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 My 12-year old ds has a similar problem (hates algebra - he says too many rules and it’s boring). He even has a song to that tune. Sigh! So this week, I gave a challenge. If you get this section (half page) done correctly, we will skip a day or two. I even gave him the decision on how many days. He excelled and of course chose the two day option. When we got back to it, the fight was less. I have also had to fall back from the idea that math has to be done every single day. I have also made peace with worksheets. I rather he work as many problems as he can correctly than get bored and stressed and make careless mistakes.Also a Saxon user. I may take a look at AoPS for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Some choices other than Saxon; I'm just focusing on pre-algebra but several of these go into algebra and beyond: - AoPS and Arbor School (Jousting Armadillos, etc.) are two discovery-based approaches to pre-algebra, which I think would appeal to a visual learner. - Dolciani and Lial are more traditional - Math Mammoth is another option - Key to... series is fairly visual but mostly good for procedural practice - Online options like Tablet Class or live classes. You can start Tablet Class anytime; it's recorded lectures/videos accessed online. - Khan Academy is great for review or reinforcement We honestly use a combination of just about everything I listed. Saxon would have caused my DD to despise math. My DD is the type of kid who, when she gets something, she gets it immediately. She doesn't need repeated practice. But, if she gets stuck on something, she needs tiny little shots of different perspectives appealing to all styles of learning (she's fairly evenly distributed as a visual/auditory/kinetic learner). If she just got the same type of thing over and over, she would just shut down. So, I need to have a mix of materials always available, and just when I think she'll never get it, she gets it and jumps ahead 5 concepts. So, I have always had a very bizarre approach to math. We also use a lot of manipulatives still. I find games for us to play; she loves algebra tiles; etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CF6 Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Y'all are awesome! Thanks so much for the recommendations, I'm going to look into all of them tonight. I really appreciate it! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LydiaG Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 This is a tough age for kids liking math. We are taking some time off until my son shows interest in math again. Right now, we are reading (and only reading) living math books and Life of Fred. You could look for math games to help math be fun. I wish I had some suggestions for math games, but everything I have is for elementary ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netwelladm Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Yet another change in our Saxon math class lol. This week we are trying out six practice problems a day. Kiddos seem excited about our change. Tomorrow will be day three of this trial. The challenge is for problems to be free of errors. Now to see how long the happiest last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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