Homeschool moms - I need help w/ math curriculum

[gumpsgirl]

Hello all! I am down to the wire here with time (of course

) and am running around like mad trying to find a math program for my son who is going into the 7th grade. We've been using Saxon but he absolutely hates it and I really don't want to go through another year fighting him. I thought I had things lined up with a friend who was a previous public school teacher, but that has fallen through and now I'm stuck. Can anyone recommend a good math program that is easy to understand? We've also looked at the Math U See and he's not real crazy about that either. Any other suggestions would be wonderful! Thank you!

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

I have my kids on Time4Learning for the summer. I don't homeschool during the school year, but I do over the summers. (Aren't my kids lucky?!?!)

I found another good math one, but I can't think of it right now, my cousin home schools her brood, when I get ahold of her I'll post it.

 

[mommy9994]

I use Saxon. Have you looked at Singapore? it doesn't have as much repetition.

 

[wyliefarms]

We use math u see

We stumbled across it last year and I absolutley love it. It has a DVD that instructs the student...free's me up a lot.

On Monday we do the DVD and 2 pages, 1st one together, then 2 pages a day for 2 days then test on the 4th day.

Singapore is ok..hard for my older ones to catch on to their way of doing math. My Kindergartener liked it.

It took my older 2 awhile to "like" this way of math. Their math skills have improved termendously and there is no fighting over math any more! Yeah

 

[PotterWatch]

We have Right Start Math though we don't use the workbook part of it since we are very loose eclectics and my kids don't do well with workbooks. I don't know what the later grade programs come with, but the Level B that we got came with tons of games and hands-on stuff that makes math so much more fun.

http://www.alabacus.com/

 

[gumpsgirl]

Thank you all so very much for your responses and help. I've sat here all morning looking over these suggested programs and pondering about what to do. I've finally given Rainbow Resource a call and talked to a curriculum specialist, which I did not know that they even had available. I explained to her my dilemma and situation with my son and she recommended a brand new program called Life of Fred . It is the coolest thing ever!!! It is actually a story that the child reads and then applies math in it. I was so impressed that I was even wanting to switch from what I already had lined up for my 5th grade son, but the Life of Fred curriculum doesn't start until the middle school grades.

Anyways, I am so impressed with this series and my son is so excited to start after looking at the sample pages, that I had to share it with everyone. Thanks again for your responses and suggestions.

http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/__LOF F sample.pdf

 

[HorseFeathers]

My mom should find this thread. She homeschooled me for two years and is preparing to give it another go if we sail around the world. I'll tell her about this thread!

I DO know that Teaching Textbooks books and CD-roms are supposed to be very good and kid-friendly, apparantly easy to understand.

I myself am going into 7th grade. I am in Gifted & Talented reading and math and last year the school just booted me into the grade above for math every morning. We don't have a very good school system- before we decided we would move so I could go to a better school, my mom offered to homeschool me. I would have accepted- but Greely (the awesome new school we're moving around) is such an awesome place I'm just going there instead.

Congrats on deciding to homeschool. I can say from experience it is an enriching and even fun experience for pupil and teacher alike.

 

[HorseFeathers]

Just wanted to add (sorry about the seperate posts) that I do not reccoment Calvert. I know some kids who did it and it apparantly is very stressful for kid and parent alike. Not fun. At all.

My mom made my curricculum (sp?) herself, from a mix of books and technique. I think this was a lot more fun and educational than a structured program, becuse you mold it to your kid and their qualities.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Thank you Olivia for your input.

This will actually be my 4th year homeschooling, but I know that something needs to change with my sons math. I am not going to spend another year with trying to deal with his frustration level. I also put together my children's curriculum, like your mom did for you. I have looked at Calvert and haven't been all that impressed there either. I think the beauty of homeschooling is that you can put together a curriculum that is tailored to your child's needs. That way they can learn at their pace and stay on their own level. I love it! I'm happy to hear that you are liking your school so well that you attend. That's wonderful that you are able to have good schools in your area. Ours are not so wonderful. That's why I've resorted to homeschooling.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[PoultryPedia]

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) at http://nlvm.usu.edu and related teacher-constructed lessons at the eNLVM at http://enlvm.usu.edu are free online resources (also can be purchased to use offline) that MANY people have found valuable for learning math. Covers concepts for K-12.