New Here, Homeschool & HS Geometry - Any tips?

[JenJ]

Hey everyone! I'm new here, new to homeschool (although I was homeschooled in the 90s). My DD is switching from a private Christian school to homeschool for her final two years of HS. She's a little behind on math, especially considering that she's interested in pursuing a Biology degree. She's a sophomore and just completing Algebra I. 

After doing quite a bit of research, I've decided on Jacob's Geometry 2nd ed. for her junior year and she is eager to get started, but one of my reasons for deciding to homeschool her is to slow things down, help her to truly learn (she's barely surviving at her private school) and develop study skills so she can thrive in college.

Before she starts Jacob's Geometry, I have advised her to go through Kahn Academy's "basic geometry" and "preparing for geometry" courses. I told her she can just start by taking the quizzes and tests to see how she does, how much she knows-just to establish a baseline. For the areas she struggles with, she can go through those lessons. Once she shows mastery of the Kahn academy geometry courses, I will feel better about her diving into our curriculum. 

Another reason I want her to do this is that I've read that some students struggle with switching from Algebra to Geometry, as it's two diferent ways of thinking. Algebra being more symbolic, and Geometry being more spacial. DD has been in some form of Algebra for 3 years now. Obviously, Math isn't a strength of hers, so I am trying to help her ease into it as much as possible. 

Let me know if this seems to make sense to you. 

Also, if you have gone through Jacob's Geometry 2nd ed., any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated . 

[ScoutTN]

Math U see can be a good pre-Geomtetry too. 

[Zoo Keeper]

I haven't used Khan Academy for any high school math, so I can't speak to that, but Jacobs' 2nd edition is one of my favorite geometry courses.  The 2nd edition is better written than the 3rd, in my opinion.  Better explanations and better problem sets. 

Please know that with Jacobs, some of the teaching comes through *doing* the problem sets.  So a student who does not like a little bit of "discover through doing" may be frustrated at times.  I love Jacobs, but my kid who could not extrapolate anything with math did not do well using Jacobs' Algebra or Geometry. Even with me explaining/teaching, he needed a more straightforward course.  He used MUS Geometry and did well.  (MUS is a very basic, no frills, geometry course). We chose a lighter geometry so he had more time to get as solid as possible on Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. 

[EKS]

3 hours ago, JenJ said:

Also, if you have gone through Jacob's Geometry 2nd ed., any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated .

The way you've worded your post makes me think that you are expecting her to teach herself geometry from the Jacobs text.  Is this the case?  If so, I strongly recommend that you reconsider that approach.  If she is behind in math because she has trouble with it, she is going to have a very hard time learning from Jacobs on her own.

Also, what is your own math level?  Are you comfortable grading proofs?  You can't grade proofs using an answer key.  I mean, Jacobs has an answer key, but there can be multiple correct ways to write a proof of the same thing.  And I'm not just talking about cosmetic variation either.  You can have different proofs of the same thing that take completely different approaches (so different structures, different theorems, etc.)  But only one way will be given in the solution manual.  So you have to know the material extremely well yourself to be able to grade proofs properly. 

Anyway, perhaps none of this applies to your situation, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.

[JenJ]

2 hours ago, Zoo Keeper said:

I haven't used Khan Academy for any high school math, so I can't speak to that, but Jacobs' 2nd edition is one of my favorite geometry courses.  The 2nd edition is better written than the 3rd, in my opinion.  Better explanations and better problem sets. 

Please know that with Jacobs, some of the teaching comes through *doing* the problem sets.  So a student who does not like a little bit of "discover through doing" may be frustrated at times.  I love Jacobs, but my kid who could not extrapolate anything with math did not do well using Jacobs' Algebra or Geometry. Even with me explaining/teaching, he needed a more straightforward course.  He used MUS Geometry and did well.  (MUS is a very basic, no frills, geometry course). We chose a lighter geometry so he had more time to get as solid as possible on Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. 

Thanks for your feedback. After doing research, that is why I've settled on this version as well. DD is a tactical learner, so I think that she will enjoy the doing part. I think if I can have a variety of resources for her, she can figure out which ones work best for her. She's currently in Honors Algebra 1, using the Bob Jones Curriculum and doing fine, but she also has a great teacher, and that really does make all the difference. Her main issue is that she struggles to identify which steps to take / concepts to apply, but if she's told which ones to use, she knows how to do it. Her teacher is fully aware of this, and is working with her this year on that hurdle. 

 

38 minutes ago, EKS said:

The way you've worded your post makes me think that you are expecting her to teach herself geometry from the Jacobs text.  Is this the case?  If so, I strongly recommend that you reconsider that approach.  If she is behind in math because she has trouble with it, she is going to have a very hard time learning from Jacobs on her own.

Also, what is your own math level?  Are you comfortable grading proofs?  You can't grade proofs using an answer key.  I mean, Jacobs has an answer key, but there can be multiple correct ways to write a proof of the same thing.  And I'm not just talking about cosmetic variation either.  You can have different proofs of the same thing that take completely different approaches (so different structures, different theorems, etc.)  But only one way will be given in the solution manual.  So you have to know the material extremely well yourself to be able to grade proofs properly. 

Anyway, perhaps none of this applies to your situation, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.

Yes and no. I am planning on doing it with her. I have the teacher's guide, and while it's been quite a while since I've been in school, I did very well as a student. I'm an avid learner and am excited to take this journey with her. My husband is actually much more math minded than I am, so if I get stuck, I'll be asking for his help. If we are still stuck, we will hire a tutor for tougher subjects. I am currently refamiliarizing myself (in advance so I can be a few steps ahead of her) with Algebra and Geometry, and proofs. I appreciate your concern, and am not at all afraid to ask for help if we get stuck. So far, from what I've read in the textbook and the teacher's guide, it seems to be described very well. My biggest struggle is going to be that I have a very independent DD who will likely not ask for help, but I also am not going to allow her to move on to the next chapter until she displays understanding of the current one. This is one of the reasons why we have decided to homeschool her.