I really struggled with what Math curriculum to use when I began homeschooling. I have heard of families switching from one math curriculum to another trying to find the right fit for them and their children. While I know that this is sometimes necessary, I wanted to find something that I would be able to stick with for long term.
I was familiar enough with Saxon math through my years as a public school teacher. I often used it with my students with learning disabilities because of the extensive amount of review.
I also had heard a lot of good things about some other math curriculums out there that were “the best”. I wanted “the best” for my children but I also wanted something that would work for them.
I ended up choosing Saxon because of it’s familiarity, it’s proven results, it’s spiral method of teaching and for the amount of review that it includes.
For some, the amount of review and math work that Saxon has is a drawback, but for me it was what I thought we needed.
One of my daughters struggles a little more than the other. It seemed that this would be the case with her in math as it already was in reading. I wanted a curriculum that would give her the amount of practice that she would need to really learn skills.
Saxon does that.
I have been happy with my decision to use Saxon for our math curriculum.
I feel like my children are very competent with their math skills and the reasoning behind them as well, which is very important especially as students advance in math through the years.
I like that I was able to order a manipulatives kit with Saxon that will take us through the third grade (next year…yikes!) and that any other extra math materials that we needed were easily accessible.
One thing that often turns people away from Saxon is that it is a bit time consuming and teacher intensive. This has been the case with us and I did look at some other math curriculum options for next year.
Teaching Textbooks is one option that I looked at and that many homeschoolers turn to because it is not at all teacher (parent) intensive as the lessons are taught through the computer. After a lot of research and prayer, I have decided to stay with Saxon. It would be easy to turn math over to a computer program, or teacher on CD-rom, but I am just not ready for that yet and I don’t think my children are either.
I chose to homeschool so that I could have a finger on the pulse of my children’s learning. I want to know exactly where they may be struggling and be able to work them through the struggles they may be having. If math struggles are not caught and addressed early on, they’re much harder to remedy later.
I like being involved and while it is a lot of work, I do like being my children’s teacher. I enjoy seeing their faces light up as they grasp new math concepts and I like being there to see and experience that moment with them!
Saxon is working for us and my philosophy is that I’m not going to fix something that is not broken.
I have had to learn with Saxon that I control my curriculum, it does not control me.
You’re the mom.
You’re the teacher.
You know best what your child needs!
If I believe that my children have fully mastered a concept, I don’t have to assign them two entire workbook pages. I call the shots of how much work they need to complete.
If I think that an entire page of one hundred math facts would be too overwhelming for my child, then I don’t assign it, or I modify it to fit their needs.
If we’re running behind on time then we may skip the meeting part of the lesson.
At the beginning of the school year I decided to scale things back with Will and only focused on reading, handwriting and math with my kindergartener this year. I am amazed at the progress he made, especially in math! Because we counted every. single. day. He counts to well over one hundred, counts by 5 and 10, knows his months and days of the week, and so much more! Saxon’s kindergarten math was perfect for him!
I have seen my girls and Will make a lot of progress with their math skills thanks to Saxon and their approach to teaching math and I look forward to seeing them grow in those skills as we continue through our homeschool years.
Tracy says
I love Saxon 🙂 I used it when I was an elementary school teacher. I love how it supports all children, those who are working ahead and those who are at their level. When homeschooling the Mom does need to tweak as needed, some of the activities are the classroom ones which are unnecessary and/or not practical at home.
I also really believe it doesn’t do you much good to just know how to solve something, you need to be able to solve it quickly and accurately. All that practice helps their math skills become automatic. Saxon also does a good job teaching why things happen not just how to solve them.
Oh, and math facts are so important! When you are doing long division and other more complicated math you need to know your facts. 🙂
I wanted to encourage you, my son just finished third and I was getting a little worn out. He is in the 5/4 book now which is far more suited to independent study. Now I am just available for help if he needs me and check his work each day. What he doesn’t understand I help with. I think they just came out with a third grade book that is similar. Worth checking out. We may use that when my next child is in third grade.
Sorry for the long comment, Saxon and I are old friends and I couldn’t resist!
Blessings,
Tracy
Monica says
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!! I will check out that new 3rd grade book and will also definitely keep it in mind for future use.
It’s great to hear from another homeschool mom who uses and loves Saxon!