Can we skip beginning lessons in Saxon Math?

[susie]

I'm thinking to have my 10 yr. old DS skip the first 30 to 35 lessons in Saxon 7/6 once he starts it this fall and wanted some thoughts from the hive if this is fine or do harm in the long run...

 

some background:  We are on a summer break right now (he does 20+ minutes on Khan Academy math to keep mind sharp) but when we officially start the new school year he will be picking up at Lesson 91 in 6/5 and completing the book.  Once he finishes 6/5 (approx. 38 days) The plan is to move on to 7/6.  I'd like him to be able to finish 7/6 by the end of the 2016/2017 year (May or June) so I was thinking to have him just take the first 5 or 6 tests in 7/6 and do the first 3 Investigations and skip the lessons entirely.  Then if he scored 80% or higher on the tests we would just start at lesson 36.  It seems as though the first few lessons are basic review.

 

Another option I'm considering: have him just continue taking tests and doing investigations in 7/6 until he gets below and 80% then go back and start lessons where that test material is covered.

 

Any thoughts?

 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I think it's fine since its review and will be fresh in his mind. Maybe one thing I'd do is to give him the tests or at least the last test before the lesson you start to make sure he knows that material.

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

Oops...duplicate post.

Edited August 1, 2016 by AdventuresinHomeschooling

[HilJoy14]

That's exactly what we did when we went from 5/4 to 6/5 (or something like that) mid-year.  Worked just fine.  I did look through all the skipped lessons to make sure I didn't think there was anything we needed to discuss, but otherwise, I just let my daughter test out of the early lessons.

[rutheart]

You probably already know this, but just make sure you read through the actual lessons and not just skip based on the lesson title. When I was trying to figure out how many initial lessons to skip in 7/6 last year, I realized the lessons cover more than just what the title indicates.

Ruth

[Ellie]

Some people recommend letting the dc do the tests (one test a day) until they reach one which they cannot pass with at least an 80%.

[EKS]

If you decide to skip, keep in mind that even though the initial lessons seem like review, they actually do take things a little further than previous lessons did.  This can range from simply having slightly more difficult problems to actually presenting new information in a lesson that seems like it should be all review.

[dollhouse]

We skipped something like the first 30 lessons when we went from 6/5 to 7/6. That was midyear though, with no break to need review from. My dd did fine.

Edited August 1, 2016 by dollhouse

[susie]

Thanks everyone for the replies.  I think I just needed some confirmation that it's okay to deviate.  I definitely will be looking through each skipped lesson that he tests out of to make sure everything is covered and he has a solid foundation.  Appreciate all the input  :001_smile: