Geometry for my son (TT vs Math U See or other)

[sbgrace]

One of mine has major issues with attention among other things, and math has always been the subject where lack of focus causes the most trouble. He has little tolerance for long lessons--tires easily. 

Ideally I need to be able to break up lessons into more than one day. I need to have flexibility to move at his pace. Algebra I took us a long time, so it's highly possible Algebra II will take a long time.

I'm trying to decide what to use for geometry.

The hard part is I don't know what his career path might be, so I don't want to use a geometry that wouldn't prepare him should he decide to go into any field. However, I don't expect geometry to be natural to him, and math has never been a strong or favorite subject. I can't use a time consuming or frustrating program with this child. 

I had thought I might use Math U See--kind of get it done in the least painful way and move to Algebra II in case it takes a long time. 

But I was concerned that might close doors for him? Maybe I need to use something a little more in depth like Teaching Textbooks? But I saw notes about kids spending up to an hour a day on math. For this child that would probably be more like 2 hours--everything math takes him longer. 

Edited September 30, 2018 by sbgrace

[hollyhock2]

I cannot speak to whether MUS would close doors for your son - that is dependent on so many factors - but I also know there are plenty of homeschoolers who have used MUS all the way through and their kids have done fine, so for me personally, I don't think I would worry about that part if it's the right fit for the child. That said, I think MUS Geometry would fit all the criteria you mentioned. The lessons are pretty short and easily tailored to a slower or faster pace. You can skip worksheets to go faster, or do all the worksheets in a lesson if needed. My son is no math whiz, but he did it largely on his own last year and I don't think any of it took more than 45 minutes per day, often less. There is one worksheet per day (aside from the day you watch the video and read the lesson) so it really doesn't take long at all. The videos are also fairly short - some 10 minutes long, some a bit longer.

One of the major differences between MUS and TT Geometry is that TT is proof-heavy and MUS is proof-light and doesn't introduce them until the end of the course, if that matters to you.

I hope you find something that works for your son.

[...................]

The only thing with TT is, that is' very easy for the kid to go quite far doing half or all of it in their head, and not learn to properly set things down, line by line.  Then, when it's time for longer and more difficult work, they don't know how or have gotten into bad habits.

This is not as possible with MUS because you have to check over their work and are forced to notice it sooner/right away.

My point is with TT you really have to be on top of them to make sure you check their notebooks every day and that they are truly showing hteir work, line by line.

Other than that both programs are good, and both are on the gentler side.  It really just depends what you would rather do and which format your son is more amenable to.

[sbgrace]

4 hours ago, texasmom33 said:

Wait-- Is your sig up to date? If he's only in the 8th grade, yeah, I totally would go with MUS. You have so much time and maturity for him ahead. Why flog him into hating math. He still has four years of high school to get higher level math on his transcript if he's doing geometry in  8th grade and if you find holes from MUS Geo later, there's plenty of time (and ways) to remedy that. 

No, he's in 9th. I'm going to update that sig--hadn't noticed it! 

Thank all of you for replying. I was leaning toward MUS, and this thread has helped me feel more secure in that choice. 

Edited September 30, 2018 by sbgrace

[aaplank]

Mr. D Math Geometry has been working with my focused challenged son this year. He does the asynchronous version. The videos are usually 30 minutes or less and each lesson is broken down into parts: watch video, do coursework, and take a mini quiz. I like how each part is separated and accounted for with a grade. It would be easy to spread out a lesson over 2 days.