For those of you who HS middle schoolers and High Schoolers. So everyone knows this is our 4th year but in September DS will be in the 6th grade. He wants to continue all the way to 12th and I have no problem with that, but what do you do if there is something that you just don't get. Right now it's fine, but the math is getting to be a bit beyond me and DH is starting to have to think really hard to explain things to DS. Do your kids belong to groups or co-ops, do they have tutors for problem subjects? I'm just wondering where they get outside help if needed. What do you do if they just don't get it and you don't either? We haven't run into that yet but as he gets up in grade level, I'm sure we will. What do you do about that?
Rachael will be a Senior next year, Faythe will be a Sophmore, and Phillip will be 6th. My main concern with Rachael was the math. I taught her pre-Algebra and Algebra 1 using old public school textbooks. But the highest math I took was Geometry. We switched to Teaching Textbooks starting with Geometry through Pre-Cal. She did it totally on her own. TT doesn't have Calculus, so we switched to Math-U-See this year for that. Not sure what she'll be doing next year! We also took co-op classes for science lab. How is your son at working independently? With Rachael, I pretty much give her the books, and she's on her own. She needs checked on occasionally, but for the most part she keeps up by herself. Faythe...well, that's another story...sigh.... I need to be more involved with her. And Phillip...? Well, we'll see!
You find a curriculum, and you learn it with your child. I use Life of Fred for the higher level maths. I sat down and struggled through Beginning Algebra with my 15 year old, and I'll do the same with Advanced Algebra and Geometry. We were more like study partners than teacher/student, and it worked out very well. I wasn't spoon feeding her the information, so she had to take an active part in the learning process.
I you have Cobwebitious (common in moms), you can always do a dvd program for that particular subject. Abeka Academy.
Hmm, learning with him is what I have been doing all along. I have never just let him figure it out on his own but I've never done any spoon feeding either! I don't do that, We've always been study partners but we still have school in this house. He has to do the work. The problem is, I have a math block. Always have. It doesn't matter how much I look at it, if I don't understand it then I just don't understand it and that's that. Imagine being in school and getting straight A's and then getting a D in math. Well, that's my life all through high school. DH is the one who does the math because he is very good at it, but he's not here with me right now and when he does do it with DS, he really has to think. He said it's getting to be beyond him because it's not the same math that he did in school. Same answers but done differently & they want to see the new way. We use Calvert & we like it, but in math they don't give a lot of breaking down and sometimes the explanations are hard to follow. Jackie, DS works independently most of the time. If he gets stumped he ask for help. But I am noticing that where math used to be a fairly easy but hated subject for him, it's now become a challenging and hated subject for all of us. I was thinking about switching math programs. One of my HS friends mentioned something about TT, so I will be looking into that today. If I had the extra money, I would send him to a learning center for math or have someone come in to teach that part of the curriculum, but here both options are a bit pricy. I though about some DVD too, I'll have to check the library and see what they have.
My ds 13 did Alg1 basically by himself this year with MUS. Mr D speaks my ds' language and I actually enjoyed Algebra for the first time ever! I followed along with the lessons for almost all of them one or two I was absent and his sister the brain helped him. He got A on his practice worksheets those weeks so I told dd she should be at eacher! They need people who can work with kids. She helps kids from our church's school with thier home work too. Okay for help in the past for MAth, if you do not use TT or MUS they have a site called Purple Math and you can enter any question and find the answer there, explaining how to do it etc. We really used it a lot with DD as her Alg1 was Life Paks, I struggled with teacher portions and I needed Purple math so much plus my sister is an accountant payroll specialist so she helped me a lot if I had a stall brain day. I would totally recommend either MUS or TT, My kids did not like the looks of TT or I would have put them on that. They think Mr D looks like their gram-pa so he appealed to them and it works for us. Most people are one or the other though. For 6th grade math I would choose Horizon Math if I Were you though> It is very good and has short sections of each type of lesson so it makes it seem easy even if its more work over all. Ds did this then tested to 8th grade level so I actually jumped him in math. Felt good to be abel to do this because of the 2 years we did for Alg1 with dd we could take our time with ds... but he has just to complete his Final Exam in MUS alg1 now and we are done!
The thing about TT is that they assume no one is there that knows anything about math. Before, if Rachael missed number 7 of lesson 22, I would look at it. If I could figure it out, good. If I couldn't, we were stuck (at least until her dad got home, lol!). Now, with TT, she puts in the CD and it explains EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM step by step. Which is good, because she's WAY beyond me (and even her dad hasn't done it in ages, so he would have to sit down and really work at it). Even with Phillip, who is doing TT6, I've found him fussing less and less about doing it. His attitude was similar to your son's. Also, with TT, you can listen to the lectures or read the booki, or both together. Rachael would read the book. But sometimes she would be having trouble and would actually go through the whole chapter a second time, listening to the lectures, before taking a test.
I can not say enough good things about Ten Marks Math. It is an online program that is customizable. We used Teaching Textbooks before, but my daughter was not progressing well enough. She had gotten behind because she had to do Algebra 1 twice. We ended up letting Ten Marks test her and develop a program for her to finish Algebra II and Geometry in one year. She has an learning disability in math. She did really well with Ten Marks. It is something like Teaching Textbooks with videos. The people there are excellent. They always got back to me immediately, if she or I had a question. The program was only $10 a month. We expected her to need to take developmental math in college, but she did well enough that she will not have to take a developmental course. Ten Marks is web based. They do all the scoring, assign the tests, and score them. I just printed out every test that she took for my records. They even have summer programs. Just one hint, when they take the test, tell them not to guess. They can mess up the results. They place them by those results. A friend's daughter guessed on some that she had no idea. She ended up being started on a higher level than she was ready for. That has all been worked out, but it is better for them to leave one blank, if they are unsure. http://www.tenmarks.com/ Bountiful blessings, Susan
Find a Math curriculum that looks good to you and to your son. I use Saxon but I know that is not for everyone. Sd really liked the way Saxon explained the material, she got it. I know some folks like teaching textbooks, she would have hated it. I would also suggest looking at video text ( http://www.videotext.com/homeschool.htm ). We saw them at convention this year and this guy is really good at teaching math. There is also a line you can call for help if you or your student just does not get something. Not sure on the price of it though. We did belong to a co-op which had some classes sd could take. There is also something in our area called the Training Ground which offers classes for middle and high school homeschoolers. I know there are alot of folks who also use tutors when their kids need a little extra help.
That is a big yes! We use classes for math and science now that we have high schoolers. Our area has several styles from parent participation co-ops to college prep classes and tutoring so we have multiple options for outsourcing those upper level classes. Now for my son who prefers to do math on his own, we use VideoText math. It is dvd based and taught for understanding so we are able to make sure he understands what he's doing before moving on.
We had looked at VT but it was too expensive for us, MUS we got for half what they were at back then.
LOL! No math looks good to DS! He's one of those lazy smart kids who refuse to apply themselves. I WISH I could just hire someone to teach the math. So I can be like ok your math teacher is here, I'm going to watch lifetime movies & eat bon bons. (just Kidding) but I do wish I could get a tutor for him for when we get stumped. He excels in everything else but math. When we started he was about 2 grades above his level for math and now I think he's probably right on his grade level but more like mid year instead of end of year where he should be. He forgets how to do stuff! but only with math. I'll just have to look around. I have all the suggestions written down. Thanks everyone.
Then maybe you need to sit down with him and tell him that: 1) Math is NOT an option. He must have math somewhere, somehow. 2) Let's try to make it as painless as possible, for BOTH of you. 3) Here are some different options. Which of these do YOU think might be less painful? (and if he says NONE, refer back to #1, lol!) Also, does he have any future plans? Phillip wants to be an pilot in the air force. He's figured out that, as much as he doesn't like math, it's necessary to reach that goal. So he's been more willing to put up with it because of that.
He knows, he's just not happy about it. He has plans, They change every 6 months but he definitely has plans. he's the ambitious one out of my two boys. He's only lazy when it comes to math because he has to think.
I know many kids like this:lol:. You might have him check out the videotext stuff. I have a freind who's child does not like math. When the child saw the videotext program they said they wanted to try that program. She was amazed that her child expressed interest in a math program so they will be trying it. Another thought is taking courses at a local community college. That might be a little pricey too but then again you do not have to worry about teaching it.
You can check out books from the local library. Every single book on the subject!We did that with Algebra in Freshman year. I had a huge stack. It was the Humungous ook of Algebra that worded it just so that my dd finally caught on. I know own that book and the humungous book of geometry. I know some folks who sent their kids to a local Christian School for a subject or two. I also know some who are sending theirs to the Public School for HS MAth.
No you don't. You just, as you said, have to understand it to get it. I'm the same way. The Key to series and Singapore math are both heavy on getting concepts and great for folks like us. ETA: That said, TT is a good choice. I honestly don't think it's a really rigorous program, I'm sticking with Singapore right through to grade 12 and a bit of a snob (I owe my newfound love of much to Singapore), but frankly it's probably better then what most kids in school get nad I've heard from lots of parents who found it did the job well.
Solutions to Math Difficulties Hi there, I have read all the posts regarding the difficulty your son is having in math as the level of difficulty increases. I have seen several hundred cases where the difficulties students experience in math stems from gaps in the material they didn't fully grasp in the earlier levels. For instance, I have found gaps in the academic foundation of students struggling to learn fractions because their understanding of multiplication and division is weak. Solution: Of course, there are great suggestions from others on this thread and many solutions may exist to solve your problem. Based on my experience, if your son is in 6th grade, it's important to identify specifically where those weak math skills are located. When you identify and fill those in, learning tougher concepts will be more fluid. In addition, his confidence and motivation in math will also improve. If you can, locate a math skill assessment that will test skills from the beginning of 3rd -> 6th grade in one fellow swoop. The right kind of evaluation shouldn't take him more than 1 hour and should ask 1-5 math questions per academic skill level. Score it and see where he is having the greatest difficulties. I hope this helps!
If the day comes when I am no longer able to help Ems with math, my friend's daughter will help us. She is a tutor and her fees are reasonable. I also have the option to enroll her in a math class through the private school but this would be a last resort.
