New Posts  All Forums:
 

Saxon Math

post #1 of 20
12/2/01 at 3:30pm
Thread Starter 
Has anyone used Saxon for teaching math?
I read some good things about it, but when I looked at their website, the script for the study at home stuff seemed written for the classroom. For example, it says "use your pointer to point to the number 80" or "give an apple to two children the class" or "how many children brought their lunch today?" :

I'd like to hear from hsers who have used the program. I gave dd the placement test and she's supposedly ready for Level 1.
Sponsored Links
post #2 of 20
12/3/01 at 1:02pm
I just began using Saxon Math for kindergarten this year, so I don't have a lot of experience, but I like it so far. My book states on the cover that is the home study teacher's edition. I haven't been to the Saxon website, but I know Saxon math is taught in schools as well. I bought my home study version of Saxon Math from The Sycamore Tree 949-650-4466.
post #3 of 20
12/4/01 at 11:53pm

Singapore Math....

PCJEN, if you haven't bought your math curriculum yet, I think you should take a look at Singapore Math. I saw an article about this math program last year stating that an independent company did a test on kids using a variety of math programs. They tested like, in 1992 and 1995. The kids doing the Singapore Math won both times. You can look it up at singaporemath.com. There is only one company in America who sells it right now, I think, though it is recommended by several programs, including Son Light. I like it because it states that their goal is to stimulate your child "pictorially, abstractly, and concretely". There are word problems, picture problems, and straight math problems. The lessons are varied and my son really likes it. It is also relatively inexpensive. There is even an on-line test to see what level your child fits in. It is a more aggressive program than seen in the US, so most kids are at least 6 months behind in Singapore Math (you know how most Asians are ahead of us academically....) This is ok, because your child can catch up pretty quickly. I highly recommend it so check it out!
Leslie in MD, board moderator
post #4 of 20
12/5/01 at 3:54am

Singapore Math

Leslie,

I totally agree with you about suggesting Singapore Math.
Singapore Math gets a thumb up compared to Saxon math.

Vicky mommy to Madison
post #5 of 20
12/5/01 at 10:28am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the suggestions

Thanks Leslie and SCV. The price of Singapore is sure right compared to Saxon! In looking at the reviews for both products on a curriculum review website, folks were saying that Singapore was hard to use (at the higher levels anyway) because it didn't explain concepts, just gave you an example and the teacher had to figure it out. Can you address this?

SCV: did you use Saxon before, and can you address my concern about the script being written for the classroom as opposed to the home?
I'm comfortable having a script to fall back on.

Leslie: also wanted to thank you for talking up 100 Easy Lessons for reading. My four year old can read just about anything she wants to now. I am so proud!!
post #6 of 20
12/12/01 at 10:08am

miquon math?

I've been reading a lot about miquon math and wondered if anyone had an opinion about that one. I'm still deciding what I want to use for math with my dd next year (she'll be 6). She just does games and worksheets right now and we are fine with that for the time being but she is really interested in math and I'd like to have a good program for next year if she wants to pursue it. I know miquon uses manipulatives, which I like, but I wondered how it compared to singapore math. Anyone have any ideas? Thank you.
post #7 of 20
12/13/01 at 3:05am
Since we are talking about math, we are trying to decide. Saxon math is out of the question. It is way too expensive and a little to schooly for us. I was looking a program called Developmental Math. Has anyone used this?
post #8 of 20
12/13/01 at 12:18pm
Miquon is awesome. It is set up to let the kids discover math concepts, rather than memorizing facts. Most pages have room for the kids to make up their own equations. Very cool, great for unschooling / relaxed homeschooling. Some parents don't care for the program because it approaches math in a totally different way than they ever have before (to me, that is a plus!)

I think that Miquon and Singapore are the best 2 programs out there. Miquon does not follow grade levels, so I think it would work well for letting a child move at their own pace.Singapore is in color and has pictures, which could be more fun to a child. Either way the parent will have to do some work and some thinking. Since I see homeschooling as an adventure and a learning opportunity for me too, I like that idea.

With either or these programs, your child will get a great math education. We are thinking of using a combination of the two programs. They are both very inexpensive.
post #9 of 20
12/13/01 at 1:15pm
Thanks Linda in Arizona. Maybe we will look into using both too. We are eclectic homeschoolers and we lean towards unschooling so a relaxed program sounds good. I like that Miquon is so hands on. Math never really made sense to me so I like the way they approach it.
post #10 of 20
12/17/01 at 4:08pm
I am so excited about Miquan Math. I saw a few of the pages on a web site and it looks perfect. I will be ordering it soon. It looked like it only went through 4th grade though. Where would you go from there?
post #11 of 20
12/21/01 at 2:21am

homeschooling math

Hi pcjen,

I have been homeschooling each of my children at some point or another for the past 11 years. I was initiallly plased with the Saxon Math program which I started with my first born in 5th grade. I have continuied to use it as a supplement to other materials.

At the momemt, however, I have been very pleased with the Everyday Math program for my 3rd grader.

It has been my experience that most "unschoolers" (whom I gravitate toward) tend to shy away from programs which are embraced by the public schools. I believe this is a great mistake. I began investigating the Everyday Math program because I was critical of its implementation in the local public school which my middle child attended. However, they have improved their program to the point where I have decided to try it with my third grader. She really enjoys doing math for the first time in her life and even reads the Student Reference Book - a.k.a. text book, for pleasure. The materials are relatively inexpensive - $7 each for 2 - 160 page student journals and $16 for the textbook. And, if you purchase all three of these items you get a discount of about 30%.

I highly recommend that you visit www.everydaylearning.com to check out these materials. They are also known as "Chicago Math". I believe that they provide an excellent background in problem solving skills. The drawback, however, is that they do not place enough emphasis on the basics - i.e. times tables. However, they are a great supplement to traditional learning.

Good luck
post #12 of 20
1/2/02 at 5:16pm

more questions....

Currently, my oldest is in Kindergarten and we've been using Alpha-Omega's "Horizons" math program. She has learned a lot this year but it's been fun so we're very pleased with it. However, I've read others say that the higher you go there are "holes" in the program. Can anyone fill me in on that? I've looked at other Math programs including Singapore and Miquon. However, I've read from others that one should be fairly knowledgable about math before teaching these. I majored in Literature for a reason, I have very few Math skills. So, I've looked at Saxon which seems easy to teach because of its scripts. OTOH, I've heard it just teaches by "memorization" it doesn't teach *how* math works. I've also looked at Math-U-See but I've read concerns that there is not enough drill among other things. All these different people switching math programs on a dime is hurting my brain!
post #13 of 20
1/2/02 at 7:29pm
hello- I've used Miquon and saxon w/ my now 8 yr old- At first,he loved Miquon, it seemed like fun,using cuisinare rods,but after a year, I could not make him do it any more, we were both miserable! Too much jumping around,and in my opinion, too many repetetive questions, it was making him crazy! ***On the other hand, it teaches very advanced concepts to very young kids, so he had no problem jumping from 1/2 way thru the 2nd grade Miquon to 4th grade Saxon math.***I like the Saxon better, it gives me what I want, a solid basis in learning math skills, at a steady pace, in a straightforward way that didn't require a lot of "why must I do this stuff again?" questions.So now we do 1/2 lesson of saxon math per day,(15 questions),he does it in about 1/2 hr,and we're all happy!(most of the time)Anyway,I got the used textbook at HS book sale, for $20- check out used hs websites for books- it's the best way to go!
post #14 of 20
1/10/02 at 11:31pm

Singapore math

Singapore math is so much less expensive than Saxon. They sell it in my community at a christian homeschooling store that has a website but they offer things that are not christian if you aren't
as far as the basics are concerned they carry all the major stuff for homeschooling Like explode the code, Singapore math etc... wE are ordering htis for our math for 2nd grade next year.

http://www.bywayofthefamily.com
post #15 of 20
1/13/02 at 5:25am
We are currently using Singapore Math for our almost 6 year old. I studied for 4 months about the different math programs, and we felt this one would work best for our child. We both love it!!! It has helps at the bottom of each page for the parents. The night before I go over those pages and get the things ready that we need for that day. It is very inexpensive, and our son loves the bright colors. I did invest in some manipulatives, but for the most part it asks for things around the house, rubber bands, toothpick etc... He is just flying through it, and we are having a great time. I give it 5 stars!
post #16 of 20
1/13/02 at 5:55am

Singapore math

I jsut bought it today at http://www.bywayofthefamily.com
I live near there and I got to page through it nad bought it ont he spot. I decided to ditch my old curric ans start this. It is so much better than what I was using.

Elizabeth
$29 for the whole 1st grad curric what a steal
post #17 of 20
1/15/02 at 7:52pm

what we use for math....

All of this is such great information! Thanks to everyone for sharing. Just wanted to tell everyone how we do math in my house. My oldest son is in 2nd grade and we use Singapore Math as his "math curriculum". Since it is such a low level, I haven't come across any problems with explaining it or figuring it out myself. I am not very mathy, but my husband is, and I will be handing over the Math Reigns to him when things get tough with Singapore! I definitely think it is worth it. But Singapore isn't all we use. We also use Picture Puzzles with Cuisenaire Rods, Hidden Rods/Hidden numbers, Yahtzee, dominoes, card games, Pattern Blocks books, PLUS Kumon Math! We are also known to recite times tables in the car at times and are always weighing food at the grocery store and talking about prices of things. I think math is so multifaceted that you should mix up the way that you present it. It touches our lives in so many different ways. Computer programs like Treasure Math Storm are good too.
By the way, I have several friends who like Miquon. I thought the concept was good so I looked at my friend's.....it looked like it was written by a Rocket Scientist! So, just a friendly warning to others who, like me, aren't really mathy It might not be for you.

Anyway, hope there is some helpful information here for someone!
Leslie in MD
post #18 of 20
1/16/02 at 12:31am
What exactly do you maen rocket scientist? I just bought this. The sample pages from the work book looked simple enough but I didn't see the teachers manual. I have already ordered it but still isn't here so it doesn't sound like it got shipped ( reads - not to late to jump ship) We are really struggleing with math right now. Almost 6 and can't count to 20. She just doesn't see the pattern. I thought the non-traditionalness (I know that is not a real word) wouold be a good approach for us. What is Kumon math?
post #19 of 20
1/16/02 at 12:48am

MAth curric

getting a program that worked for your child is half of the battle. I know I was using Abeka and it was ok but I found some of the teachers manual stuff to work on w/ it was lenghthy and busy body work. My daughter sat down and did 6 exercises in one sitting w/ Singapore math. she loves it. I still think flash cards are great for memorinzing. My 7yr old ahs memorized all her subtracion and addition to the 9 family. She also adds thre digit no.s and carries now. So I sue a variety of stuff that works well but I don't keep pluggin away if I see somthings is not worling I change or supplement it. I think math is easy to teah my child even thpough I had a really hard time w/ it growing up but I am determined to make sure my child suceeds in it.
post #20 of 20
1/16/02 at 9:41am

miquon teacher's manual

lilyka

The Miquon teacher's manual is the annotations lab book. I'm pretty sure. Just ordered it myself and it's not here yet but I had been told the annotations was the lab manual for grades 1-6, I think. We're going to start with miquon and supplement with Singapore after a little while. I figure it costs about the same to use both as it would if I bought the complete Saxon 1.