Saxon??

[BTC]

What are the opinions on Saxon on this board?   I have used it in the past and stopped (other children), but I'm wondering if it is a good fit for my third child.  I know no one can speak to that aspect, but I'm wondering what the general view is.    This is for my son who is great with numbers, but needs practice to retain.  Very bright, not a genius, LOVES science and will need higher math when he gets older.   He is currently in 6th.   LOF is not cutting it, and I will use it as a supplement, but not the main curricula. 

 

Thank you

 

Edited November 1, 2017 by BTC

[bethben]

I have used Saxon with three children. They have all done well with retaining concepts because of the spiral nature of it. My ds who is now 17 went through advanced mathematics. He took college algebra the year after that and got an easy “Aâ€. My children have all scored well on standardized testing. The only weakness is that the word problems aren’t as complex.

 

 

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[JudoMom]

I've used it with all my boys. We made it through Algebra 2 before the oldest 2 tested into College Algebra at the CC and I handed math over to someone else.

 

I think it's a solid program. My boys all have different natural math ability and they all do well with Saxon.

[LinRTX]

I have done Saxon with all 4 of my children. It is a good program. Two of mine work as engineers and graduated at the top of their college class. The youngest is a senior and is planning on majoring in math.

[BTC]

happysmileylady    I've heard people say that, can you tell me why spiral wouldn't work for someone so I can see what I think in relation to my son?

 

Thanks

 

[BTC]

Thank you!

 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

We prefer spiral with lots of review, but the elementary versions of Saxon were not a good fit here. Too much timed drill practice and not enough color were big issues, and the order in which they presented the math facts were not sequential. My younger son would have probably done fine with it, but he picked up on the older son's attitude. I did like the manipulatives and teacher's manual layout.

 

The older levels are completely different, and written by a different author. I used Saxon from algebra myself, and I believe I have a good math foundation and understanding, but I don't necessarily have a love for it. He will copy out 25 problems a day. I personally liked the predictability of 25 and done for myself. I may use it in the upper grades at some point (going to try AOPS first), as it is a solid, methodical curriculum. The Saxon student will have a solid foundation in the mechanics of math. It is a procedural math program, which means that it's drawback is that it isn't as strong in problem solving. Some people pick that up intuitively, and some people need help thinking outside the box. If you are supplementing with LOF, this should alleviate any issues with the deeper, more abstract, problem solving aspect.

 

Keep in mind that some people's dislike of the program may come from the lower levels, which are completely different from the upper levels. The most important thing is if it works for you and your son. If so, it's a solid approach.

[mschickie]

I love Saxon from the 54 program up.  Dd is currently finishing up Advanced Math and then will be starting their Calculus book.

[PentecostalMom]

I have an older ds that used it and did great with it. My child using it now has a multitude of vision problems that have caused delays in all educational aspects. We have tried several programs with her and they were all a struggle until the magic of Saxon. Not only is she doing math, she is enjoying it and gaining confidence. She will stick with it all the way through.

 

 

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[YodaGirl]

I dislike k-3. Saxon 5/4 was good, but spiral doesn't work for us.

[jaredluvsjoanie]

Echoing some others. K-3 is iffy; 5/4 and up is fantastic! We supplement with Life of Fred--it fills in the conceptual gaps and provides a lighthearted "leaven in the lump." My children all have expressed a preference for Saxon over others we have tried. Plus, (yay!) it continues through high school. It's a keeper!

Edited November 2, 2017 by JNDodge

[Vida Winter]

I love Saxon, especially at the high school level using early editions of the texts. I am on my third time through teaching from the Alg. 2 with Integrated Geometry book and looking forward to teaching Advanced Math in a few months.

[....]

Yeah, we are almost to the Advanced Math book, ourselves.  Yay!  I think we are going to stop there.  I don't think we're going to do calculus unless she really wants to.

 

As far as how good is Saxon...yeah, it's fine!  There's no doubt in my mind dd15 will score very high on the math section of the ACT.  Her math skills are so much better than mine were at that age.

 

I do think it's for a certain learning style, though.  It does skip around with topics and there are a LOT of problems.  A LOT of problems.   :svengo:   I have to teach it.  If I just gave her the book, she wouldn't be ok.  I usually work the lesson on the dry erase board, do the practice problems with her and then she does the problems on her own.  I check them and then we work problems she missed on the dry erase board.  So, it's time-consuming.

 

It took us so long to get through the Algebra 1 book - we were taking 2 days to do 1 lesson.  But, she's flying through this book. 

[UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama]

My DD is in 4th. She just started 65 this year after doing Abeka through Abeka 3. Simce this puts her a little "ahead" we do it 3 times per week and do Beast Academy 3 2 days per week. Seems to be a great syatem for us. Strong fundamental math with 2 days of stretching her conceptual thinking.