K12 Math Alternative

[Lineymom]

I really want to make our virtual k12 school work for us. We have been in for 2.5 years.  My son is in 4th grade, and math is just not working out.  He is at it for hours and hours a day.  He hates it, we are both at our wits end.  I want to stick with k12 for the literature, science and history.  I am thinking of just clicking off the math lessons and finding a different curriculum for math.  Anybody done this?  Does it work?  I know if I asked to do it, they would not allow it and probably give us extra work instead.  That is the last thing we need!  Any suggestions?

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Our K12 program has a part-time option. Can you switch to part-time K12, and homeschool the math using an approach that works better for him?

[Lineymom]

No, we can't do part time.  I asked the "teacher" anyway, in a kmail and got a call from the "math coach"  who basically told me, we are stuck with the bad curriculum but if it was too hard to let him use a calculator for the multi-digit multiplication and long division.  "You mean for each small multiplication fact within the problems until his facts are memorized faster or the whole problem?"  I say.  And she says, "The whole problem."  Can you believe that????  What is he gonna learn?  I mean the main problem (which I explained) is that K12 gives 2 lessons on long division.  The computer teaching didn't help.  I taught, but there are a few problems and then boom, you are supposed to have mastered it, but he should have just done those with a calculator??? 

I am trying to find another math curriculum and plan to just check off the OLS with it!  Any reccomendations?

[kchara]

Could you have him supplement with Khan Academy?  That's what I'm doing with my kids.  We're going through Saxon, not K12, for math, but it seems to be helping. 

[zebra15]

I've heard good things about "math - u -see".  I've never used it but many of our homeschoolers around here use the program.

My own kiddo used several different workbooks.  KUMON makes workbooks which seem to help many kids who need extra help.  I've found Kumon books at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and teachers stores.