Saxon Singapore DM or NEm..which has more depth

[grantmeawish]

Here is my dilemma. We used Singapore through 5a and loved it and the explanations. I felt like We really understood the reasons behind the problem. Ds now does math at a co op and is using Saxon 7/6. He is doing great, but he doesn't like Saxon.I don't teach anything because it is so easy for him; however when he has a question, I don't feel like Saxon gives enough in depth information to explain the why. It seems like it just provides the short cuts. So now we are at a crossroads between Saxon 1/2 or maybe Singapore DM or nem. Saxon 1/2 would be taught at co op and will probably be less work on my part but I feel like he is just blowing through Saxon without understanding the why. Would Singapore prepare him well for Geometry and algebra 2 if he went to public school or maybe we just stick out Saxon.

Any advice?

[DebbS]

NEM is considered more advanced that DM. Singapore NEM integrates Algebra, Geometry and some Statistics. If you just did the Algebra chapters in NEM 1 and NEM 2, skipping the Geometry and Stats, your student would be prepared for high school Geometry and Algebra II.  I don't know how long you plan to homeschool, but if you did all of 1 and 2, you'd have Algebra I and Geometry covered and could go straight into Algebra II.  NEM is set up much like the earlier level programs - it's integrated, switching between Algebra, Geometry and Stats with reviews after every 2 or 3 chapters.

 

I'm not answering because of this, but I have NEM 1 & 2 up for sale in the classifieds if your interested.

[Julie of KY]

I don't find the explanations in NEM to be as good as in the primary series. I also don't like that so many of the problems are set up where they expect calculator usage (calculate to so many decimals) when it would be just as easy to set up a problem without crazy numbers. I like the geometry chapters better than the algebra chapters.

[Julie in MN]

I also consider Singapore more advanced, but had some problems using high school level.  We ended up only using a couple of topics in NEM at the end of 7th because I couldn't figure out how to schedule it and didn't have a son who would work hard without an assigned goal.

 

The Discovery series was supposed to have much more homeschool hand-holding from I believe the same gal who did the Home Instructor Guides for the Primary series, but now I see that has morphed into the Dimensions series to incorporate common core, so I don't know how far from the original Singapore methods it has strayed.

 

if you did all of 1 and 2, you'd have Algebra I and Geometry covered and could go straight into Algebra II. 

 

I would probably count NEM 1 & 2 as Prealgebra & Algebra.  It doesn't cover proof-based geometry, which to me is where you get a separate high school level geometry credit.  However, folks do it both ways with Saxon as well, so of course it's up to you.

 

One problem with switching over to American Algebra 2 would be the exposure to the quadratic formula, which is such a staple in American Algebra 1 but not included in NEM 2.  It looks like it's been added to the Dimensions series, see #3:  http://www.singaporemath.com/FAQ_Secondary_Math_s/16.htm The quadratic will be in Algebra 2 and college Algebra 3, but goes faster and further each time, so I might find a quadratic unit online to prep for Algebra 2, if you choose something that hasn't covered it.

 

HTH,

Julie
 

[DebbS]

I have to say that our mileage differs from some of the other commenters.  My daughter is not mathy and all, but self taught using SIngapore NEM. She used Singapore in the earlier levels also and found them to be easy to understand. After NEM 1 & 2, we moved on to AOPS levels that required Algebra I and she was very prepared. Now she's taking a dual credit math class at the local college to get math out of the way prior to college.  She's getting an A in that so far.

 

I minored in math in college yet I personally don't value proof style Geometry simply because nobody ever uses it. I find that learning geometry more intuitively makes it stick for later real world applications.

 

I agree that you could count it as pre-algebra and algebra.  I taught my kids math in the more Singapore-like integrated style all through highschool, so their transcripts showed Integrated Math with the subjects that they covered in the course descriptions.

Edited February 26, 2016 by DebbS