HELP!! So do i do SAXON math or MATH U SEE??? Anyfeedback would be wonderful!!

Carol Jane - posted on 10/04/2011

I like Math U See, and there’s one other manipulative program I loved, but can’t think of its name. We used Math U See books and dics with the other program's manipulatives. Unfortunately, my daughter decided she "didn't need blocks" once she was in high school. I guess she felt that at age 14 blocks were toys and were "below” her? But then she didn’t like Saxon either. It’s great because with Math U See, they actually learn to SEE math, which is really enriching, especially when they get into cubes and other three dimensional forms. The downside is that you’ll vacuum up a block or two each week.



Saxon is an excellent, traditional method of teaching math and is very comprehensive. A child who uses Saxon will do VERY well on the SATS, that is if it peaks their interest enough to keep them learning. It reminded me of the books we used in my private school in in Junior High in the ‘60s. Pages and pages of dry teaching and drills. . . but this comes from someone who didn’t really like math (me). For kids with mathematical minds, it’s probably very entertaining but it has a lot of repetition and drill. I might have gone further myself if I'd been taught on manipulatives.



One program that worked well for us was The “Key To”Series and is comprised of several individual and incremental books and not terribly expensive. It teaches and then gives you the chance to do a few problems and move on. The reinforcement is there immediately when the problems are done correctly, and if not, it’s easy to go back and re-read the directions which are comprehensive but simply put. Books are bought separately, just like a unit study program, so you can buy a book or two on fractions, for example (get answer and test books) and when you're ready to move on, buy the next book or couple of books.



Someone somewhere along the homeschooling path told me it’s not considered a “complete” math program for some technical reason, however I believe that if your child is learning what he/she must to go into life and/or get into college, it doesn’t really matter. As far as I understand, colleges don’t care WHAT curriculum you use, they care about what KNOWLEDGE you’ve accrued.



You may want to use manipulatives at one stage and move on to Saxon, Abeka or to the "Key To” Series later in their education.



Following is a recommendation I wrote for Shekinah Curriculum Cellar several years ago about The Key To Series:



"I want to share with you what a blessing the "Key To" series in math has been to us. My daughter has resisted doing math through the years. We began using the series with Key To Fractions, and she started to show vast improvement in her ability AND INTEREST in doing math, and in doing it well. She has a firm understanding of fractions and decimals, and how they work, and I even catch her working ahead in the books, beyond the pages I had assigned. Her ability, interest, understanding, and eagerness to work ahead of what has been assigned have to be the TRUEST test of a program's assets." CG - Anaheim, CA



Carol Gibbs

"CG - Anaheim, CA"

Len - posted on 09/01/2011

I know how you feel with the budget, not sure where you can get used material in Canada, sorry, but we are using Math U See this year (our first year) and loving it. I was really skeptical at first and it was more then I was planning on spending but I feel it has been worth it. I have a 5 yr old and an 8 yr old using it, my 5 yr old is using primer and she is doing amazing, it's enough of a challenge she has to think but not too hard. My 8 yr old has ADHD, he had a very hard time with the last math curriculum we where using, he just didn't seem to understand the concepts but so far this year he has done really well (we started him at Alpha, in case we missed something). I would definitely recommend it, but we have never used Saxon so I'm not sure how it compares. Math U See is very hands on and my kids seem to do well with that. It requires mastery before moving on, which I really like, I felt like we where jumping all over the place with the last curriculum without actually learning it. Hope that helps.