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BB711
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I have been reading over previous threads for hours.  I am not finding the answers I need.  If this has been asked, I am so sorry!

So I have a fifth grade gifted son, I was a public school teacher previously (4th) and husband is an engineer.  Now my little "angel" is really struggling in school.  His questions are annoying (his teachers), he is bored beyond words, he is sick of silent reading all day (in a noisy classroom, his words).  The list goes on and on...

I have decided to pull him and homeschool.  And although I am looking forward to this adventure I feel lost when it comes to choosing a curriculum for him.  Initially I chose Saxon 7/6 and to allow him to progress through as fast as he needs an then purchase the next level as needed.  But now after reading through your threads I see maybe there might be a better place to start.  

So my question is;  I am interested in AoPS however he has only been schooled through 5th grade math.  What would you have him do?  I'm reluctant to throw him into AoPS because I fear for gaps in his learning/understanding.  What would you do before AoPS?

His personality: Eager to learn, persistent, vocal, easily frustrated.  

Can you guys help me OR point me in the right direction?

Thanks!!

 

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Contact AOPS about Beast Academy on line.  We don't have much info but it supposed to be soon and we are all hoping you get access to everything.  If so he could work through the early levels quickly while he gets used to being at home.  Alternatively you could go through SM or MM 6.  But a lot of people do go from 5th grade maths to AOPS Pre Algebra.  There is a placement test on their site and you could take it slow at first.  The free videos are really good too.

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I suggest you have him take the placement tests for the Beast Academy books, which are AOPS’s elementary level. They’re labeled 2, 3, 4, and 5, but that doesn’t necessarily need to match up with grade level. They expect kids to be able to move directly from BA to AOPS Pre-Algebra.

Unfortunately, they just announced that the BA Online’s release is being delayed until summer. But the hard copy books are my preference, anyway.

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Thank you so much for your input!  I would like to homeschool all the way through high school but I'm not 100% that is what he wants.  Do you think AoPS transfers nicely to a traditional high school/public school curriculum?  

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It will not transfer well beyond pre-algebra if your district uses an integrated math curricula versus a a traditional higher math sequence. 

AOPS is not everyone's cup of tea either even within gifted circles. It's discovery based and meant to make the student think, puzzle, struggle and be challenged. The pre-algebra text is pretty dense meaning it is pretty wordy. It's also nearly 600 pages long as well. See if you can borrow a copy through your library or inter-library loan and take a look at it first. Depending on what your son is used to, it could be really great or not.
 

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Our sons have found AoPS’s classes and AoPS’s online community (I.e., classes, message boards, study groups in the online classrooms) to be one of their best educational experiences thus far.  As pointed out earlier, it may not be for every student, but for ours it’s been a blessing. 

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You might consider doing a placement test with something a little easier, like Singapore Math, or Beast Academy if you want to start in AoPS, just to make sure that there aren't gaps from whatever he was using at school.  If you decide that AoPS is daunting as you start homeschooling but you want something different, you might check out the Jousting Armadillos series.  My older kid started AoPS at an early age and wasn't ready for it, maturity-wise - their frustration tolerance wasn't there, so after a while we took a break and did some Life of Fred and Jousting Armidillos for a while.  We went back to AoPS and worked slowly and, with a little more maturity, it went much better.  We keep Life of Fred around for any time that we get frustrated or need a break - its a pleasant change, we can move quickly, and it makes school  more fun,  and after that mental break the kids are usually ready to jump back to something harder.  

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