I’ll admit it. Sometimes parents ask BIG questions on Facebook, and it’s hard to answer in a short paragraph. If you only had a few sentences, how would you answer this new homeschool mom?
Posted on The HomeScholar Fan Page: My daughter has been in a Classical Christian school since Kindergarten. She is now going into 7th grade and we want to home school her. She is so sick and tired of filling in work sheets, and Saxon math. But I am so new to all of this, I don’t know where to go from here for curriculum. Can you recommend a good math program for a kid coming out of 6 years of Saxon? How do I figure out what type of a learner she is? Yikes!
~Deb on Facebook
Hi Deb!
I love Sonlight Curriculum for beginners because it is so easy to use.
I have an article listing different math curriculum here: For the Love of Math.
If you have some time, this website will help with learning styles HomeEdExpert.
If you don’t like the feel of that website, then her book is 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach for Your Child’s Learning Style by Cathy Duffy.
Lisa Baughn wrote a review of myTotal Transcript Solution. She wrote, “With Lee’s help, any home educating family can create a marvelous, intriguing, scholarship-inspiring transcript.” Read Lisa’s Review.
At her age she really shouldn’t be doing worksheets. Saxon provides textbooks for students after grade 4; anything else is simply an option. I am a hard core Saxon lover just because it teaches so well. If it over-teaches a bit that just means you can do it even in your sleep, have a deep understanding of it and not forget it. Other good series are Math U See, but it is a bit workbooky and a few others.
Best of luck.
Suzanne
A couple of suggestions for math, find out if they did the ENTIRE set of problems (in Saxon), maybe it’s just a matter of less volume. We used to do every other problem (15 instead of 30). If you have a nearby homeschool community, try contacting some of them to see if you can try some samples of different math programs, and/or you may find someone willing to teach her math, maybe someone not using Saxon, or who makes it fun.
We’ve been homeschooling for 14 years. My oldest is a math whiz (and now a finance major in college). Saxon didn’t work for him, it was just not challenging enough. We’ve discovered Life of Fred Math books. Our youngest son, now 13, is quickly becoming a math whiz like his brother. He is thriving with this math series. At your daughters age this is a good time to take a look at something like Life of Fred Math books. They will be refreshingly different for her from Saxon. If needed you can always go back to Saxon and not miss a beat. The LOF books are not expessive (very reasonably priced) There are some wonderful reviews as well, including one from Cathy Duffy. Good Luck, We have really enjoyed homeschooling and I think you will too!
Toni
You don’t have to do every single problem in the workbook.