Question posted by Nan OK people. I am a fairly long time homeschooler who has run out of patience with Saxon Math. I am not the only one who has seen/is having this problem, and I want to know how others dealt with it. I personally know of several parents whose kids are dealing with this at this moment, including my youngest- and I have HAD ENOUGH!! So HELP! LOL The problem: TOO LONG!!!! It takes about 4 hrs a day to do one Saxon math lesson. And I am not talking about Algebra either, but 3rd - 6th grades. Almost everyone I know has this happening. Some moms have resorted to doing 1/2 lesson per day, finishing the rest the next day, so the child can actually do something other than math for the entire school day. BUT then it takes twice as long to get through school. They would be 20 before they graduate! Ridiculous!!
Curiously, some of the govt schools use Saxon where we live and those kids also take home the book every night to do lessons that could not be finished in the one hour class time each day, and that leaves no time for other subjects at home, either, because Saxon takes up the whole evening. SO ... Many of us are considering ditching our Saxon math for another math curriculum. Anyone have any good ones to suggest? Since I have been homeschooling a long time, I have already used quite a few. I have used MCP and it was horrid. A big joke of a 'math' program. Abeka is fairly advanced, and gives unnecessary review (more than needed) due to classroom busy work time design for private schools. But I guess I could mark many review problems out; I used to do that. Key To books are not enough, either in my opinion. I won't use Bob Jones, so that leaves us what? What else is there? HELP!
Anyone have some ideas for us? I have several people wanting immediate
help on this, not just me. We all homeschool through summer, so this is
going on right now! LOL! PLEASE help!!
Answers: Nan received a number of replies from board members. Replies included these math curricula options:
Math-U-See
My answer: I have been hesitant to mention this possibility, but I'll mention it on the off chance that it may help someone. I'm not sure that switching to a new curriculum is always the answer to every trouble. Saxon is a solid system. It's a known quantity. And your students are used to it if they've been using it for a few years. Switching can cause unnecessary upheaval, especially if you switch to something else that ends up not working because then you're back to square one and have possibly wasted a couple of months. I know it's easy to look at the curriculum and blame it for the problems we're experiencing, but it can be good to rule out all other possible causes for the troubles before jumping ship. Tweaking the current program, since it's a solid one, might be an answer. I am definitely *not* trying to insult anyone, but some will be insulted. Sorry. It's just our experience, but I have a student (gender of child is being hidden) who can dawdle. This student can look like they're working when if fact they're dawdling. It's not intentional dawdling, though. But it would be better for the student to develop a habit of getting work--of any sort--finished quickly and efficiently, etc. This was a problem a while back and was cleared up in a way I can't remember. It was by some method of no __________ until the math is finished. You have 2 hours (or however long is a reasonable amount plus a few more minutes -- w/o disclosing that to the student) and that's it. My student was suddenly getting the work done within the allotted time and with time to spare. However, this student can still dawdle. If I sit down and do the lesson along with the student, they speed up to try to finish before me. Racing seemed to help and didn't result in lower grades. So this is another possible way to speed things along--or at least figure out if the work *could* be finished in less that 4 hours. Of course, the goal is to encourage the student, so if you're a math whiz, you wouldn't go full speed during the race because that could discourage the student. Also necessary for speed in math is a really good foundation in the basics of +, -, x, /. A student really does need to have their tables memorized so that they can have instant recall of the basic math facts. Flash cards, speed drills (Calculadders Set 1, Calculadders Set 2, etc.) or even free software downloadable online can be used to get recall up to speed. Just 15 minutes a day for a few months can make a huge difference. FYI, we use A Beka for math. Oh, and I did have a homeschooling (public teacher) friend who only had had her sons do every other problem in Saxon. I know that Saxon says in the introduction (or note to teacher) that you're not supposed to skip even one problem, but she recommended this to all of us mentees (what do you call someone who is being mentored?) and it worked for her. Do all the evens and then start the next lesson on the next day. I'm not recommending this, just mentioning what she did. article continues below Online math games:
Reply by Nan: Thanks for all the advice, everyone.Our other kids did not have this problem at all so it is like running into a brick wall. One
of my children cannot memorize things well. It is almost overwhelming
for them to try to memorize things. This is the one that is struggling
so hard. This child has struggled their whole life to learn. We have tried what you did (can't do ___ until math is done)- and it did not help. Sulking, crying, etc ensued and still no hurrying. SO we have been at a loss for what to do about it. The only thing we have found that works, is if we sit right there and actually do the writing- they do the work, we lead with writing it all- can we get done in a reasonable time frame. But we can't do that day in and day out forever! As for my friends' kids, I don't know if they have tried your idea. I'll have to ask them. And meanwhile we'll look into skipping every other one while we look into other curriculums.
My reply: One tiny comment. This may not even be a part of the issue, but ...You said: When one of my kids was learning long division, they saw the problem as a totally unsurmountable thing. So, I would baby step the child through it. Day after day, day after day, day after day--the whole time thinking to myself, they will never be able to do this alone? (The student did do the writing, in this case.) I despaired, but persevered (with a smile and joy) and never let the student know I feared that they would **never** be able to do a problem alone. The student ***knew*** how to do the problem alone and could do it alone, but it took forever. I could have just left the student alone and said, "Do it." But then math would have taken all day. After a few weeks of hand holding, the student started to do a few of the steps on their own--slowly getting to the point where my help with the baby steps was annoying because they knew the problem was doable. I have no idea if that even applies to the situation you're experiencing. I hope a method or a curriculum product that finally clicks. It's can be a frustrating process. I know some folks get done with their math really quickly each day, but with A Beka, it started taking at least an hour around grade 5 and by grade 7 was taking around 2 hours. I don't think that's really out of the ordinary, especially when you consider that many school kids have homework. But then that's *only* our experience. So much depends
on the student, their temperment, and how they interact with the curriculum
product.
Reply by Nan: You know what? I think I will try that daily for a week or two and see if that helps build confidence that they can do it, and know the material. That is a wise suggestion, to use patience, and sit and help them! ;-) Thank you. I just get frustrated thinking that this is nearly insurmountable. When it probably isn't but I am so close in that situation, I can't see out of it. Homeschooling Math Programs
Saxon Math
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