Not so fun to scrape off, but still nice to look at, all sparkly in the early morning sunlight!
Now, can I cry on your shoulder for a moment?
I was on that darned homeschooling message board again, and people were posting their middle-high school math sequences. And talking about SAT's, and National Merit scholarships, and so forth, and I freaked out. I realized that at the rate we're going, I may be doing The Boy a disservice with our current approach to math, since at this rate, we wouldn't hit geometry until 11th grade, and he needs it before then IF he's to take the SAT's. Now understand, if he goes to the local community/junior college, that may not be necessary at all, but it is good if he wants scholarships. And really, I'd rather have him take a test and be able to get scholarships than to get into debt going to college/trade school/whatever he chooses. I'd like him to have the option of getting scholarships.
So I sat down with The Boy, and M, and asked "Do you think what we're doing is enough?" The Boy's answer? "Not really. I could do more." Sometimes honesty hurts.
I looked back to our early school favorite, which I know is a contentious choice among many homeschoolers, but is a solid program: Saxon Math. I browsed the samples on Christianbook dot com (they really do have the best look inside features out there!), and chose Saxon 6/5 for him. I then found a used copy of the latest homeschool edition on Amazon, and yes, I ordered it. It should be here today, thanks to my Prime two-day shipping. And then we'll see what The Boy thinks of it. And yes, I ordered some Saxon Math for The Girl as well, specifically Intermediate 4.
Now don't get me wrong. I love Life of Fred, and am hoping that in "high school" we may be able to return to it, OR we may transition back into Teaching Textbooks in the fall. Looking at the placement tests, after using Saxon 6/5, The Boy should easily place into Math 7, or even Prealgebra. I am thinking though, that until we get "caught up" to where I think the kids should be, maybe a more traditional approach will be better than the odds and ends approach we have now? And if they hate Saxon, I have Math Mammoth's entire Blue Series as well. That just takes a lot of printing!
We'll just have to wait and see. Wish me luck in getting math back on track! And thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder.
I totally understand and get it now that I have a kid who will be considered 9th grade this fall. I am not sure how this happened. I still feel like she should be in 3rd grade or something. LOL
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I remember when your kids were all in 3rd grade! I can't imagine the pressure you must be under trying to do what's best yet still enjoy the relaxed freedom of homeschooling. Both Cyrus & Cassia are great kids -- honest and both interested in their own educations.
ReplyDeleteYou'll figure it out. :)
I definitely understand. We use TT, but we supplemented this year with Essentials in Math II and Geometry, from mathessentials.net just to make sure our bases are covered.
ReplyDelete