Handmaiden Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 (I'm cross-posting this from the high school board and adding a .) I have been obsessing about the progression of math for my soon to be 6th grader. He is on an engineering track (dh is an engineer) and I don't want to mess up his college prep plans. We've used MUS until Gamma, but he would have occasional meltdowns and sloppy work. I switched to Teaching Textbooks and we've finished TT5 and are about to finish TT6 soon. He LOVES TT and has been doing well but I would like to gently transition him to a more rigorous program. We are also supplementing with Life of Fred. Amazingly, though he complains a LOT about math he placed in the 96th percentile in math with standardized testing last year and also qualified for EPGY math (which we decided against for now due to cost). I'm leaning toward Chalkdust for upper levels. Here are the options I'm considering: 1. Finish TT6 (1-2 months) and start CD Basic Math, the CD pre-alg, etc. 2. Finish TT7 and start CD Basic Math, then CD pre-alg, etc. 3. Do one of the two progressions above and move on to EPGY (my parents offered to pay 1/2 the cost) 4. ?? Track 1 would take longer obviously, so I'm leaning toward track 2. Not sure about track 3. I'm wondering if he would skip important info in TT7. My goal is to get him to algebra by 8th grade at the latest. ETA: I had not considered going straight to pre-algebra because I am concerened that he is not ready. Although he tested "gifted" in math, he doesn't breeze through it like my younger ds. He has some bad days when he gets frustrated and says he hates math and it's too hard. I'm thinking he probably needs more foundational work. He is a visual spatial learner, and I think sequential processes often trip him up because he thinks globally. I've read that visual spatial learners typically struggle with algebra because they need to go through minute steps and their focus breaks down. They thrive on complexity but can't handle the simple. I've heard that CD pre-algebra is rigorous to comparable pre-alg programs, thus my thought of doing CD Basic Math and/or TT7 first. I could have him take the CD evaluation...is it worth the $16? I'd really appreciate the wisdom from you moms who've btdt with engineer types. TIA!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 If you plan to go with CD I would go ahead and make the switch sooner rather than later. I think going to their Basic Math program would be ideal, but it would be worth it (IMO) to have your ds take the evaluation. We LOVE Chalkdust and are completing our third year with the program. My ds did start with their Pre-Algebra, and it was a tough year (though he did just fine). Part of it, I think, was switching from the incremental/spiral approach of Saxon to the mastery approach of CD. I can't say enough good things about CD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm leaning that way. It's a big chunk of change to buy the Basic Math so what's another $16, right? LOL. Any other opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 so, it is like the assessment is only $6 if you buy a program. Hey, ten bucks, is ten bucks. Plus, he might test into Pre-Algebra (mine did after being about 3/4 of the way through Saxon 7/6), and you would wind up buying one less program if he could go straight into Pre-Algebra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 (edited) so, it is like the assessment is only $6 if you buy a program. Hey, ten bucks, is ten bucks. Plus, he might test into Pre-Algebra (mine did after being about 3/4 of the way through Saxon 7/6), and you would wind up buying one less program if he could go straight into Pre-Algebra. Possible, but for him, not probable. He is doing TT 6 which is not even close to the level of difficulty of Saxon 7/6. But I could be wrong! :) I might do the assessment after all. Edited March 20, 2009 by Handmaiden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm sort of in the same situation as I have ds going into 6th next year and we are switching from R&S. Here is what I have done: I bought a copy of the Chalk Dust pre-algebra text on amazon for $8 including shipping. Just looking at this text is better than taking a pre-test. I know what my ds is capable of. Once I see what is expected, then I can plan how to get there. After posting on the HS board, Jan in TX gave me a great pm about math. After reading her advice, I bought a copy of Lial's Basic College math on amazon for $8 (also including shipping). Now I can compare the two. With this info, I have looked at R&S and am planning our schedule accordingly. If you want the ISBN numbers for these texts to search on amazon, let me know. Also, on a post sometime back, all the ISBN numbers for the Chalk Dust texts were given, and info on how to get the video's (which are not exclusive to Chalk Dust) for a fraction of the cost. Folks were getting their algebra curriculum for around $80 with the videos instead of $300. If you search around, you will find that post (about 3 weeks old??) Sorry for the typo's - no time to proof! Blessings, Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlovebaker Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm married to an engineer and my dad and dad in law are both engineers ... my son is way into building, inventing and blowing things up. He tested advanced in math in the public school last year (5th grade). The PS had him slated to do pre-algebra this year for 6th grade and that's what we did in our first year of homeschooling (about 10% of the class was going to do that too). Sounds like your son is very similar and should be doing pre-algebra next year. My son just taught himself out of a regular textbook and had no problems. We've now started on Videotext Algebra which is pre-algebra, alg 1 and alg 2 combined. Again, no problems. Don't waste your son's time with a rerun of math basics IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 I bought a copy of the Chalk Dust pre-algebra text on amazon for $8 including shipping. Just looking at this text is better than taking a pre-test. I know what my ds is capable of. Once I see what is expected, then I can plan how to get there. After posting on the HS board, Jan in TX gave me a great pm about math. After reading her advice, I bought a copy of Lial's Basic College math on amazon for $8 (also including shipping). Now I can compare the two. With this info, I have looked at R&S and am planning our schedule accordingly. Penny, when you compared Lial's with CD's pre-alg, what did you find? Was one harder than the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Sounds like your son is very similar and should be doing pre-algebra next year. I am continuing to pray about the direction I should take...the suggestion of going to pre-alg is something that keeps coming up. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Penny, when you compared Lial's with CD's pre-alg, what did you find? Was one harder than the other? Well, I can't give you a detailed answer yet since I received these recently and haven't compared topic to topic yet. My initial reaction is that they are of the same complexity as far as the student problems, and cover the same topics. The Lial's seems to have clearer explanations. Jan in TX assures me that they do cover the same topics and are written to the same high standards. I am also surprised that R&S covers most if not all of the topics in these books, but does so in a much easier to understand format. However, once again, I am still going to go through all the topics more thoroughly and compare. I can keep you posted if you wish. Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 If you plan to go with CD I would go ahead and make the switch sooner rather than later. I think going to their Basic Math program would be ideal, but it would be worth it (IMO) to have your ds take the evaluation. We LOVE Chalkdust and are completing our third year with the program. My ds did start with their Pre-Algebra, and it was a tough year (though he did just fine). Part of it, I think, was switching from the incremental/spiral approach of Saxon to the mastery approach of CD. I can't say enough good things about CD! :iagree: with everythign she said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Plus, he might test into Pre-Algebra (mine did after being about 3/4 of the way through Saxon 7/6), and you would wind up buying one less program if he could go straight into Pre-Algebra. I had him take the assessment and BIG SURPRISE: he tested into pre-algebra! I am thrilled as it will save us time and money! Thanks, again, to everyone who responded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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