I'm looking into ordering Saxon Math 5/4 for my son next year. Right now we are doing Saxon Math 3 and he loves it, so I want to continue the program, but according to the ordering catalog I have from their Friday school, it doesn't come with any workbooks. So is this a computer course, with cds? Neither Google, Amazon or the lady in charge of the catalog have been very helpful. If this is computer based, what are your thoughts on it? Right now I like the interactive instruction led daily lessons. If we switch to computer only, my son is so attracted to the computer, that he would be too excited sitting in front of it to really pay attention to anyhtng I'm saying. Thanks!
As far as I know, Saxon 54 has always been textbook based, although now the textbooks have paper covers instead of hardbacks, but I could be wrong about that. I saw a 65 with a paper cover like that. The Houghton-Mifflin website says this about Saxon Homeschool (which now appears to be totally different from the "Saxon" program for schools): The homeschool kits for Math 5/4, Math 6/5, Math 7/6, and Math 8/7 consist of a student textbook with 120 lessons and 12 investigations, a Tests and Worksheets Booklet, which includes tests and fact practice worksheets, and a Solutions Manual, which offers step-by-step solutions to all lessons, investigations, and test questions. Algebra ½ includes a textbook and Homeschool Packet (31 test forms in addition to answers for all textbook problems and test questions), and a Solutions Manual is also available. Saxon Teacher, a CD-ROM supplement that offers lesson instruction videos and video problem solutions in a convenient player, is also available for all middle grades math books. I still have/use the older hardback editions, from when John Saxon was alive. There's WAY too much copying of problems before you can work them for my preference. The paper-backed 65 that I have (it came in a box of giveaways someone gifted me with), its previous owner worked a lot of the problems IN the book where there's room for that on the page. One suggestion: Check out Christian Light Math. www.clp.org Workbooks (10 per year) with an incremental spiral like Saxon but the examples and explanations are much better (IMO) than Saxon.
If you do decide to order the Saxon, I just got an email from christianbook.com that Saxon Math is on sale right now.
I also used the older hard-backed books. And really, I liked them. One thing about Saxon is that they're designed originally for CLASSROOM use. That means they do LOTS of review at first, so that all the kids are at the same place. With hs'ing, you don't need all that review. So I would give the first test. If they do very well on it, I give the second test. When the test scores suddenly drop twenty points, this is where I start the book. My kids appreciate the fact that they don't have to re-learn what they already know, and it also means they finish the book earlier, lol!
Yes, Saxon 5/4 is text-book based. It has a worksheet/test booklet containing all the tests ad some extra practice "drills". The worksheets are mainly....100 addition/subtraction facts, various multiplication facts, and division facts. There are also fraction manipulatives you can cut out, etc. I wanted to explain this so it wouldn't be confused with the worksheets you are used to in saxon 3...it is a world of difference. There work will all be copied from the text book onto papaer...this usually requires a little adjustment time in the beginning, but it's a great time to establish the way you want their work to look (I prefer a work sheet with work 'boxed in' and a separate answer sheet) Hope this helps!
Thank you ladies!! I have to buy my own textbooks this year, I guess, but thats ok. usually the Friday school provides consumables at a discount. Featherhead, thanks for the heads up, I will check out that sale.
