MUS or Saxon for middle to upper grades?

[Chloe]

My dd has used Rod & Staff 1-4, but started whining about doing R&S 5 this year. She does not like math but has never complained about the curriculum itself until now. I figured maybe it's time for a break, so we've been working through Singapore PM 4A. She completed PM 1-3 while doing R & S the last few years. We would supplement with it off and on. I like Singapore, but I don't feel comfortable using it alone. I'm not a mathy person (nor is my daughter), and I'd like something she can do with less guidance from me. Singapore seems to confuse her a lot unless I go through it with her step-by-step. Also, it doesn't have enough review for her. I'm thinking about trying Saxon or MUS, but I want to be able to use them at least until we get to algebra, if not all the way through high school. Which would be better for a non-math kid and non-math mom. Which allows for more independence?

 

I worry that MUS might not have enough review, but I also worry that Saxon might break concepts up too much for real understanding. I will continue to use PM 4 on the side, but we probably won't use PM 5 & 6. I find it hard to juggle more than one math curriculum.

 

Appreciate your thoughts!

[Sunshine State Sue]

I would suggest that you get a copy of one of Cathy Duffy's curriculum books and determine your dd's learning style. She also says which curriculums are better/worse for each learning style.

 

I, personally, find Saxon has a lot of tedious busywork. Although I would have loved it as a child, it would be torture for my ds.

 

We have used MUS from K and are now in Algebra. It has been a good fit. I find it clear and concise. I don't find it teacher intensive at all. I teach the lesson on the first day of the week and my son is fairly independent after that. I just check his work and go over mistakes. The DVDs are helpful for the non-math teachers.

 

I don't think I'll be using MUS past Algebra. I have a degree in math and MUS is not as rigorous as other programs in the high school years. I have heard that it is fine for those who are not going to be going into the math/science/engineering fields.

 

You can read my lengthy review in this thread.

 

 

Good luck!

[Chloe]

I forgot to add that for the past two years dd has said she'd like to become a doctor, but now she has decided that all the math she would need for that is not worth it. Really, she just wants to be a mom and homeschool her own dc. :-)

[fractalgal]

I forgot to add that for the past two years dd has said she'd like to become a doctor, but now she has decided that all the math she would need for that is not worth it. Really, she just wants to be a mom and homeschool her own dc. :-)

 

There is not a lot of pure math, but there is math involved in the sciences that lead to becoming a doctor. Being strong in the sciences would be more important.

 

I recommend Saxon. I'd have her take the placement test first, though. Here is some research that supports Saxon from Texas:

http://www.textbookreviews.org/index.html?content=rev_math.htm'>http://www.textbookreviews.org/index.html?content=rev_math.htm'>http://www.textbookreviews.org/index.html?content=rev_math.htm'>http://www.textbookreviews.org/index.html?content=rev_math.htm

 

http://www.textbookreviews.org/index.html?content=rev_math.htm

[Cheryl in NM]

Saxon, hands down. My friend is a highschool Algebra and Geometry teacher. Right now she's teaching classes for a homeschool co-op. She says the kids that have had Saxon are leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of kids. She's spent time pouring over my various Saxon levels and she loves the way they lay out math. So every time I get frustrated with something about Saxon I remember that it helps kids excel in math beyond any of the other homeschool programs.

[Vanna]

I would suggest that you get a copy of one of Cathy Duffy's curriculum books and determine your dd's learning style. She also says which curriculums are better/worse for each learning style.

 

I, personally, find Saxon has a lot of tedious busywork. Although I would have loved it as a child, it would be torture for my ds.

 

We have used MUS from K and are now in Algebra. It has been a good fit. I find it clear and concise. I don't find it teacher intensive at all. I teach the lesson on the first day of the week and my son is fairly independent after that. I just check his work and go over mistakes. The DVDs are helpful for the non-math teachers.

 

I don't think I'll be using MUS past Algebra. I have a degree in math and MUS is not as rigorous as other programs in the high school years. I have heard that it is fine for those who are not going to be going into the math/science/engineering fields.

 

You can read my lengthy review in this thread.

 

 

Good luck!

:iagree:

 

Sue, I simply can't add to your words so I conveniently "quoted" them.

 

Yes, I would encourage you as well to first target dd learning style so that you can "weed through" the plethora of Math curricula choices.

 

My dc are so different. I used Saxon 3 and 5/4 for my oldest and I knew right away this would never work for dd coming up behind her brother.

 

Saxon is quite rigorous even if you have your child skip some of the problems. If I had to pick btw the two choices you gave for switching curriculum, I'd go with MUS.

 

Best wishes!

[5Youngs]

Saxon is the only math curriculum that we'll be/are using from 54 up.

It doesn't jump around in the older grades.

K-3 is jumpy........

I haven't found a single person that is involved with teaching hs and college math that doesn't appreciate the thoroughness of the saxon courses.

It is a lot to do, but doing evens works for us.

We do the odds if they miss more than 1 problem, so we get the most out of the texts.

And I can't explain in words how great the DIVE cds are!

You either learn math well, or you don't.

I'd rather err on the side of too much math than not enough.......

HTH~

[Lori D.]

Another agreement with Sue.

 

And if you are satisfied that MUS is working for your child, but you are worried it "isn't enough", consider supplementing with Singapore, which is excellent for teaching math thinking and word problem solving. We used a combo of MUS (spine) and Singapore (supplement) up through 8th grade with our younger son (MUS pre-algebra/Singapore 5B and Singapore 6A/B). It worked very well for us.

 

And one personal observation about Saxon: while it works for many people (and that's great!), I felt that the higher we got in the Saxon levels (we used it as supplement for older son) -- levels 76 and Algebra 1/2 -- the more it was about memorizing formulas and the wording of the story problems to figure out which formula to plug in, rather than real math understanding and problem solving.

 

In addition, there are quite a few upper level math programs besides Saxon to choose from: Jacobs (algebra and geometry), Foerster (algebra 1 and 2), Lial's (pre-algebra, algebra). Plus, there are many upper level math programs with video and/or computer CD options, and which cover middle school and high school math levels: Chalkdust, Videotext, Teaching Textbooks

Just my 2 cents worth! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Lori D.
added info

[Chloe]

Two for Saxon and two for MUS. Now I'm really stumped.

 

I forgot about Cathy Duffy's book. I have it around here somewhere, so I'll have to take a look.

 

Dd says she would like to do MUS, but can't give me reasons why.

[fractalgal]

Two for Saxon and two for MUS. Now I'm really stumped.

 

I forgot about Cathy Duffy's book. I have it around here somewhere, so I'll have to take a look.

 

Dd says she would like to do MUS, but can't give me reasons why.

 

Cathy Duffy is one place to look for reviews on curriculums, but I'd look beyond her opinion and consider other sources that have done research as well.

http://www.illinoisloop.org/mathprograms.html#saxon

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/05/03/ED201892.DTL&type=printable

[pjssully]

I am using saxon algebra with my advanced 6th grader and it is going really good. we are going pretty slow but i am fine with that since she seems to understand it andit's pretty early for her to be doing algebra. just the other day, she said "we should tell other people to do saxon" with a big smile. She has used several curriculums-horizons, singapore, teaching textbooks. By far, saxon is the best but it does take some time on my part. My daughter wants to be a missionary or author or geologist so she won't need really advanced math--however, i am doing saxon because of the good results with SAT/ACT scores that it seems to produce.