Saxon and Singapore math adopted by public school for special ed

Saxon sounds like the best program. I like that it combines algebra and geometry; I just wish I’d started him on it earlier.

I should mention that he’ll turn 13 this year, so if he takes the Saxon route beginning with Algebra 1/2, he won’t finish Advanced Mathematics until the year he turns 17. He really should be on a faster track because he’s strong in science and math. (And his father expects much more; he himself completed two years of calculus in high school and won a scholarship in math. So, we’re under some pressure here...) ;-)

Did you find that Saxon enables independent study? I’ll need to focus more on my younger two sons while the older one studies.

Thanks again, btw, for all your advice!

It’d be possible to start with Algebra I if need be, especially with the kind of help your husband could give him. I normally would have the kids breeze through the practice sets for the first 30-40 lessons that it’s review from the year before, but if you wanted to start in Algebra I, then you would have to see how it goes but you could just have him to the lessons instead of just reviewing it.

Try and get a hold of the textbooks somehow (borrow them?) and take a good look at them. That’s about the only way to answer your question of where to start.

I think that you’d run into the same problem with any curriculum that you want to use for high school as far as getting through enough material in that amount of time.

Saxon is good for self-teaching. I learned as I went and by the time my kids got to Algebra II and on, they were pretty much self-teaching anyway. My daughter did the calc on her own with only a little help from me.

One conclusion I came to when getting through this, especially with my last one, was that I’d rather have her not cover the material as fast as her siblings but have her have it down. I saw no sense in pushing her through just to say we finished it.

My problems with math when I was in school, were that I never understood what we covered before we went on to the next material. Everything we were covering was built on the previous material that I didn’t understand. I figured that it would be better for her to have a real solid grasp of math through 9th grade than to have a weak grasp up to say, 11th. She could always work on more later and slower but not understanding everything because she raced through it was going to do her more harm than good, just like it did for me.

BTW, I never took trig in high school. I was so hopelessly confused about math that I quit after geometry. When I decided to go back and finish up my degree, I found out I needed calc. I almost quit but decided to give it a shot. I found a prof who was a BIG help and taught me what I needed to know to handle calc. I got a B in calc I and a C in calc II. I never would have believed it.

In spite of that, I learned a LOT teaching my kids Saxon. It filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge. All the stuff I didn’t get before now made sense and I learned the how’s and why’s of math.

I’m not a mathematician at all. I took the easiest math courses required... lol. I only took algebra and geometry in high school, and then college math in college. I never took trig or calculus. My trouble is that my math education was based mostly on memorization in place of real understanding. I scored A’s by memorizing formulas, but as soon as the class was over, I would forget them.

My eldest understands and picks up on the concepts more easily, but he makes careless mistakes sometimes in calculations. When I was in school, I was very careful and always double-checked my work because I was unsure of myself. But he is over-confident in comparison. I agree with you that a slower and more careful pace is better. Our second son always struggled with math, so he is working at a slower pace, and I think he’s better off. My husband expects much more from our firstborn, and he has no time to help out.

Your advice has been a big help. There are great prices for Saxon on the link Esther Ruth posted above. If I try it, I think I’ll buy it there.

Here is another source that we used because we found it to have the best prices that we knew of (that was several years ago, mind you).

http://www.rocksolidinc.com/

Wintertime is right. Be sure to get the answer keys and the solution manuals. I couldn’t have managed without them. Make sure that everything is the same edition for each set if you buy it used. That doesn’t mean that all the years have to be the same edition, but the text, tests, solution manual and answer keys for each year.

I got burned once at a used curriculum sale when the lady sold me a set of chemistry books with the wrong workbook for the text book. I recall something about her mannerisms didn’t seem right and when I got home and found out about the books, it made sense. I doubt it’s common practice, but it does happen.

I have really old editions of Saxon, they’re hardcover. I don’t know what the newer ones look like or if they’re better or not. Aside from the fact that you can get them used easily, they are very easy to sell if you change your mind. Unless you run into someone like me who will NEVER get rid of them. Math doesn’t change. Those books are good for about forever. I still refer to them occasionally when we get stumped on something at home.

As curriculum goes, they are pretty reasonably priced. They never get outdated and by the time you put three kids through them, you’ve gotten your money’s worth.

Good prices at that site, too. Well, I just took the plunge and ordered...

...a free catalog from Saxon (lol). You’ve helped me decide to go with Saxon, but I should look at the sample pages in the catalog first. I’ll probably order both Algebra 1 and 1/2, just in case he missed something covered in 1/2, and then hand it down to his younger brother. Thanks again.

P.S. Good advice to check the editions if buying them used. I’ve been ripped off buying stuff, too. :-(

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