stressing over math... vent

[theelfqueen]

When we pulled Muppet Boy our of school in October we decided to restart him at the beginning of Algebra instead of trying to sync disparate curricula. We knew this meant we didn't have a lot of wiggle room but it took me a while to settle down and count lessons and tests and figure out how litle. Now we are officially six lessons behind from being able to finish by the end of the year. We've already cut back on the # of tests and are doubling up tests and lessons some days. I'm going to assign some of these over Spring Break but I don't have faith that anything is going to get done while he is at his dad's and we've got state testing during the part of Spring Break he will be at home. Going into summer really is not an option and I am starting to seriously stress. Ughhhhh

Edited March 14, 2016 by theelfqueen

[theelfqueen]

I guess we're going to have to add some weekend assignments this quarter (which he will Hate)

[JanetC]

You don't say what book you're doing or what topics you have left, but you can either finish the book in the fall or just leave some topics undone, and fill in any holes when you do algebra 2.

 

There are always a few holes when you get to algebra 2 because almost nobody has 100% retention. Most algebra 2 books include review lessons as needed.

[regentrude]

You have many choices:

1. he could double up and do two lessons in one day. If it's only six missing lessons, I don't see an issue.

2. you can streamline the lessons and consolidate

3. you can relegate certain topics to algebra 2 and not cover them in algebra 1. There are always some fringe topics beyond the absolutely necessary material.

4. you can finish over the summer. I cannot imagine that it is impossible to find six individual hours at various points during a three month period. Why would that not be an option?

5. you can ditch scripted "lessons" and "schedules" and just work on covering the concepts.

Edited March 14, 2016 by regentrude

[theelfqueen]

Thanks for the reassurances. It's a good thing we aren't doing everything with purchased curriclum. I feel so hemmed in by it! If he's behind in some other class I feel freedom to adjust. Somehow I don't feel as much of that with math. Deciding to test every ten lessons instead of every 5 seemed like A HUGE leap when i decided on it.

 

Plus algebra lessons take forever. He's happier with Saxon than he was with anything he's done before... And happier still since we started using the MFW lessons. But...

 

I kind of freaked out this AM because I didn't review Thursday's work before Friday. I graded both problem sets this morning and he bombed both. That's what I get for skipping a day lol Went back over each lesson and did corrections together step by step ... Figured out what the missing pieces were and now he's got it. I was panicking over not getting to where we need to be this week and heading into Spring Break even further behind. And also that maybe mfw wasn't working and we would have to go back to all 30 problems every day ( in reality the MFW plan just took out a lot of the padding of review problems that would have brought his grade up and maybe made me overlook the key concept he was missing, kwim?)

 

Summer work would be very difficult because he doesn't really live here in the Summer. He spends half of his (2 month) summer at his dads. Then during our half he's going to Philmont and to visit his grandparents. So really he has approximately one week of summer break at home.

 

Edited because typing on my ipad is atrocius.

Edited March 14, 2016 by theelfqueen

[regentrude]

Why can't he do math while he is at his dad's? We have taken math on trips with us and worked in a tent.

 

Do not rush algebra. If you must, finish next school year. Take whatever time is needed to make things rock solid.

 

Btw, I consider testing every five lessons completely ridiculous. Even testing every ten lessons is unnecessary if you follow his daily work and know what he has mastered and what not. You can dump all the tests and give him a comprehensive final. The thing that matters is whether he retains math in the long term - not whether he can hold two weeks in short term memory.

Edited March 14, 2016 by regentrude

[Arcadia]

If doing well at state testing is required for whatever reason, then budget two days for test prep and squeeze in the six lessons after state testing and before he leave for summer break.

 

If he hates doing school work on weekends, add in 30 more minutes of math time per day on weekdays if possible. Or streamline and consolidate the lessons as suggested up thread.

[theelfqueen]

Ummm i wasnt planning on any test prep. He has been in public school all the way to this year, so he's done testing every year. He's doing ITBS at the district homeschool office. This will be his only state testing year as a homeschooler ( we're required to do odd numbered grades so... 9 and 11 but ACT, SAT or PSAT can count for 11th).

[almondbutterandjelly]

We won't be finishing our Algebra book any time soon either, so I have decided to call this year Algebra 1A on our transcript and next year Algebra 1B.  My dd will also start taking Geometry next year simultaneously.  Algebra can take as long as it takes, but we will go ahead and continue with Geometry so she doesn't feel behind her friends.  Maybe you could do something like that, and not have to rush through things?

[Julie of KY]

I agree with the others on the suggestions of how to combine or prolong your schoolyear to get it done.

 

I would add, that if he is "bombing" assignments, then it is in his interest to go back and take the time needed to learn those topics. If you are rushing just to finish then his understanding won't be as good. Algebra is the foundational math for everything to come - geometry, precalc, sciences, etc. If he is weak in algebra, he will struggle with all future math as well as chemistry and physics. I would take the time needed to teach the algebra without worrying about a schedule. If this means going into the summer or doing it next fall, that's okay. Also, it is okay to start geometry while finishing the last of algebra 1.

 

 

[Tiramisu]

Why can't he do math while he is at his dad's? We have taken math on trips with us and worked in a tent.

 

Do not rush algebra. If you must, finish next school year. Take whatever time is needed to make things rock solid.

 

Btw, I consider testing every five lessons completely ridiculous. Even testing every ten lessons is unnecessary if you follow his daily work and know what he has mastered and what not. You can dump all the tests and give him a comprehensive final. The thing that matters is whether he retains math in the long term - not whether he can hold two weeks in short term memory.

 

I agree with this. I think testing with Saxon is redundant.

 

What I have done with Saxon is check work everyday, go over with them where they went wrong, and have them correct it. I personally think this is more efficient and effective than testing.

[theelfqueen]

Tiramisu -- that's our primary method.

 

He does the problems. I check them. Any he has missed he redoes for corrections - most often it's a minor error in figuring not a conceptual misunderstanding. If either he a) misses any problem again - on corrections, or b) he had an overall score for the lesson under 75; I go over each correction with him and we work through it side by side while I re-explain the topic, sometimes we watch a lesson video but he isn't a huge fan of those, so we don't do it too often.

 

We're not rushing through -- that's why I'm stressing over falling behind because I don't want to double-up or speed through, I don't think would be productive.  I think doing one lesson per schoolday and corrections to that lesson the next day is generally going well.

 

His first three days last week he did so well he didn't need to do corrections (93% or better), which was what made me lazy about grading Thursday's work LOL So he had two lessons worth of corrections -- and he had not gotten the key step in the Thursday lesson.. so his Friday lesson suffered. Once he got that idea sorted, all of his corrections were easier.

 

We didn't test at all for a while but I felt/feel like we should do SOME testing so I decided to do half the tests as a compromise (with myself). It's really hard to come at a homeschool mindset with on-the-go assessment through daily personal observation when you come from a public school teaching background.  

[Tiramisu]

I understand how you feel. I have a friend with a masters degree in education from an Ivy League school, and she was using a program that asked for testing every few days. She felt she needed to follow those guidelines but her ds got really burned out. I think it's better to put time and energy into learning than testing. At the same time, the experience of testing can be helpful and provides documentation, so I think it's okay to limit to whatever level you feel comfortable with. 

 

When my 2nd dd did Saxon algebra one we didn't finish the book. She was doing vision therapy that year and I gave her a lot of slack. Anyway, missing those last lessons never hurt her.

[regentrude]

 

We didn't test at all for a while but I felt/feel like we should do SOME testing so I decided to do half the tests as a compromise (with myself). It's really hard to come at a homeschool mindset with on-the-go assessment through daily personal observation when you come from a public school teaching background.  

 

Ask yourself: what is the purpose of testing?

To make sure he understands the material currently taught? With a single home schooled student you can verify this simply by daily work.

To make sure he does work? With a single homeschooled student you can make sure he does the daily work.

To create number grades for averaging? With a single homeschooled student, you can assign a grade based on your evaluation of mastery, however you choose and do not need umpteen grades.

To verify long term retention and mastery? Give a final at the end of the semester. Retaining material for two weeks is worthless.

[Tsuga]

Why can't he do math while he is at his dad's? We have taken math on trips with us and worked in a tent.

 

Do not rush algebra. If you must, finish next school year. Take whatever time is needed to make things rock solid.

 

Btw, I consider testing every five lessons completely ridiculous. Even testing every ten lessons is unnecessary if you follow his daily work and know what he has mastered and what not. You can dump all the tests and give him a comprehensive final. The thing that matters is whether he retains math in the long term - not whether he can hold two weeks in short term memory.

 

Yes, to all of this.

 

In our parenting plan--this is a bit off topic--but residence for EITHER parent is contingent upon getting the child to and from their regular routine school at regular, routine times. And they call the other parent regularly. So that's my suggestion for that. He needs to do math daily IF his schedule is year-round.

 

That said, in PS our kids have short quizzes--like, for 10 minutes--once a week or twice a month, and test every couple of months (that works out to four per year) and a final. That's already a lot. Regentrude is correct that every five lessons is a ton.

 

I wouldn't dump ALL the tests myself because he could use familiarity with how the tests are structured. I'd do four per year, 25% each of the testing grade.

[theelfqueen]

We do not live in the same city /area, parenting time for his father is somewhat limited by the distance and we try to limit demands on that time for this reason.

[Lolly]

Six lessons? Just stop when you reach the end of the year. (Provided he puts in good effort during the remaining time.) It will be covered next year; I absolutely guarantee it. Honestly, it is not worth the stress. No laws will be broken. No harm will be done.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Given that this is Saxon AND that you are intending to continue using Saxon next year ...

 

Continue going through the lessons.  There is a natural cycle in Saxon that has a lot of review at the beginning of the year, meaty new material in the middle and then 5-10 lessons that sort of look ahead to what students will see next year.

 

If you cannot get to 6 lessons at the end, that isn't going to be much of a problem.  That material will be introduced again in the next book.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Sebastian (a lady)