Saxon Courses 1-3 or...?

[lamolina]

My son is about to finish Saxon Intermediate 5 in 4th grade in a outside class. Math seems to come so easily to him and I can't imagine he has 3 more years of Saxon before starting algebra!!? He really doesn't need the constant review and I should have moved him sooner and now I am regretting it. 

 

Any ideas on a different plan or curriculum that we could look at switching to?

 

thanks!

[JohannaM]

My DD did Saxon Intermediate 5 in school last year, and when we pulled her to homeschool this year, I decided to work through Dolciani's Pre-algebra book.  This has been working pretty well.  When we come across something that she hasn't had enough practice with, we pause and so some extra outside work i.e. Khan Academy.  We have had to do some extra work on decimal and fraction multiplication and division, but otherwise she has been able to work through this book without a problem.  It's been a challenge for her, but she is learning a lot!  The plan is to do AOPS Pre-algebra next year to solidify everything before moving on to algebra.

 

Johanna

[lamolina]

Thanks Johanna. I just gave him the AOPS pre-algebra placement test and he did great. I know that doesn't mean the class is a perfect fit for him but it did help me confirm my thoughts that he does not need 3 more years of math before starting algebra. 

Now I just don't know if we should jump to a pre-algebra program, and if so, which one. The other option is to let him skip Saxon Course 1 and then he would have Course 2 and 3 before Algebra which would end up being in 7th grade. My gut still says that Saxon is maybe never going to be the right program for this kid.