# This year's homeschooling woes...



## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

My oldest is wanting to go back to public school so after much discussion we decided to let him try it out again, with the understanding that if he messes up with grades or behavior he is right back home again. I'm not looking forward to it at all! If it were totally up to me he would be home until he graduates, but I'm sure he'll do fine as he is comfortable with who is. Does that make sense?

The 6 yr old will be staying home because I don't think they can encourage his love of math. I'm concentrating on what math curriculum to use with him because I know he is ahead of his grade level. We tried to use Saxon Kindergarten this past year, but he honestly knew everything in the book. I kept trying to skip ahead to stuff I didn't think he knew, but I couldn't find anything so we started working 1st and some 2nd grade workbooks. This is a kid that will be playing quietly in his room and all of a sudden come running into the living room and rattle off a math problem like 45,000 + 20,000 is 65,000. We started working on borrowing and carrying at the end of the year. Any help or ideas would be great. 

I'm trying to research curriculum for all his other subjects now, but with all the canning going on around here I'm way behind. I'm actually thinking of using Time4Learning for some of it, but I haven't looked close enough at it to make a decision. I need a good reading program for him, because he doesn't have the patience to sit with me and take his time reading. 

I didn't realize how late in the year it was until I saw the "time for the annual what are you doing next year thread". I need to get on the ball and start getting things ordered, it might be time to start panicking a little. 

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, now time to breath and get started.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

http://www.amazon.com/Developing-Math-Talent-Educating-Advanced/dp/1593631596


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## 349141 (Oct 16, 2012)

I went through Saxon math every year that I was home schooled (2nd-12th grade). It really is a fine math program. Best of luck to you as you develop your curriculum for the fall. We are hoping to begin homeschooling our daughter in the fall.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

saxon is a great curriculum, but for math interested people it is more repetition than they need. I'd check out Ed Zaccarro books, like elementary challenge math to supplement your curriculum, whatever you use. And check out that book about developing math talent that I linked. We have gotten a lot of mileage out of math competitions. I have a rising 7th grader going into Algebra 2 with trig next year using a college algebra text. I have two teens that coach math competition teams, and my rising senior will be taking Calc 2 next year. So this is something that I know a little about. 

The hard part with math talented kids is when the math gets over your head as the teaching parent, it is hard to find appropriate classes for them. Both of my math talented teens could be more advanced in math than they are, but back in JH when they had more time than a college bound high school student, nobody would let them into a class above what was commonly considered "age appropriate". With my rising 7th grader, it doesn't matter yet b/c I have the two teens to teach him. Once he turns 14, he can take classes at the local CC. That is really good, b/c he will need Calc 2 when he turns 14! So having my older kids to bridge the gap with him for a year, when he needs Calc 1 and there is no class for him will help. Even so, the Compass test only tests into calc 1, so he will have to take a departmental test to get calc 2 in 9th grade. There are some online "gifted" programs that I have toyed with for him. some are free. Some are not. I can't afford the not free ones. He has to take the SAT for that. I'm mulling it over.

Good luck with it all! 
Cindyc.


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## Whisperwindkat (May 28, 2009)

Singapore Math is much more of a mastery program vs. a spiraling (repetition) program. He might like that much better. That will be what we are using for our 6 year old. We used Saxon and Abeka with the oldest because it was what she was used to and she hated the spiraling of both. We adapted as needed but it was aggravating to have to do so.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

this is my problem with math. Once I got into the math competition world with my kids (because the asked to do it), I found that math is taught fundamentally differently when the kid is considered "gifted" than a typical math program provides. You need a typical math program to be sure there are no gaps. that is something we did wrong with the oldest one and he had to back up and fill some gaps even though he was capable of learning at a higher level. (This was back in JH). But it needs to be something that allows them to move at their own pace, or at least done very quickly. Singapore is as good as any I guess. So is saxon, though we move on to foresters and Jacobs and UCMP by the jh years. But in everything we do, we supplement with mathematical reasoning, and critical problem solving from other sources b/c that is a huge gap in how maths are taught. They teach it to some kids and not to others, which I find maddening. But that is another post. So as not to hijack the thread, I will post a short video about that on another thread. Anyway, whatever curriculum you use, supplement with something from prufrock press or the ed zaccarro books or... something that teaches math beyond the formulaic. Anyway, good luck with it all.


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks y'all. I think we might try Singapore as his base curriculum because will be easier for him to move along at his own pace. The repetition of Saxon probably wouldn't work for him, I'm afraid he'll get frustrated doing the same ideas over and over. My boys are the complete opposite so I had forgotten about Singapore, my oldest needed the repetition of Saxon.

cindy-e: Thank you for the giving me an idea on publishers to check out. My main concern is that he's able to move forward and be challenged, not just do what has to be done per grade level. Luckily, I enjoy math and had some advanced classes way back in high school. The one math subject I'm not good at, Geometry, my husband has no problem with so I hope will be able to keep up for a while.


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