I had to study the book a bit at first to get how to teach it, but once I caught on it wasn’t hard. If you have money to afford the computer disks it does all the teaching for you too. (I only saw the sample lessons for the computer based lessons)Verbally oriented math, eh? I’ll have to look into that for my mathophobe.
Thanks!
no problem.Thanks!
I guess it’s got something to do with someone who LOVES math explaining it better than someone like me who just wants to get through it. My kids fought me on the CDs at first but then realized that they’d have to do a whole lot less corrections if they understood it the first time!I use the Saxon textbooks. They are good, but I never would have learned algebra so well if I hadn’t used the D.I.V.E. CD’s.
Yes, thats them! I bought mine used, and if I recall they were partof the program to use them. I remember using them with the lessons.Cuisinaire rods… we had fun playing with them when I was taking Math for Elementary School Teachers in college!
I grew up with Abeka not only in math, but in other subjects as well. My biggest problem with this publisher is that it is radically and vehemently anti-Catholic. You don’t see this in the math material, but you certainly do in the language arts, the history, and the science.
I wouldn’t touch ABeka anything with a pair of tongs. Bleh. Their anti-Catholic bias comes into play as early as 2nd grade “social studies.”
We just do math.
I really love Abeka Math. It works for us. It has nice scripture passages and proverbs in the margins. It’s wholesome in its presentation in the younger grades–using families as examples. It’s priced very reasonably. The teaching is orderly and clear.
As the Language Arts continues into the older grades – watch out! You’ll find wonderful quotes from Bob Jones! Literature is even more fun!!!
) That style makes it a bit hard to know exactly where to place a child who goes from Singapore homeschool math to a formal high school math program. I’m trying to decide if I’ll use it for my eighth grader next fall, or if I should find another Algebra program for him.Have you looked at Teaching Textbooks?We use Singapore Math. Great program! My children grasp math concepts easily. We tried Saxon and MCP too, but I prefer Singapore by far. Singapore presents math in ways my children find easy to understand, yet the program advances at a steady pace. It was developed in the country of Singapore, (which I believe typically outperforms the US in math.) We use the U.S. edition, but there is still an international flavor to the program, which I consider that another positive aspect of Singapore Math. Colorful pictures too–or perhaps I should use the British spelling: “colourful.”
bywayofthefamily.com/seriesresults2.cfm?strSeriesCode=Singapore#
All that said about how much I like Singapore math, in the upper grades it continues in a spriral method, combining algebra and geometry and trigonometry into the same texts, advancing more each year rather than dedicating a full year to exclusively one area. That is how it is taught elsewhere in the world, but that isn’t the typical way math is taught in U.S. high schools. (The seventh grade book contained simple trigonometry, which meant I needed to dust out some cobwebs from my brain.
We tried Saxon for Algebra, but didn’t like it at all. Some people really like all the drills in Saxon, but that style didn’t serve us well. My children learn better if they drill exclusively with what the lesson just covered (which typically builds on previous knowledge too) instead of going back to drill on previous lessons. My child (who loves math) absolutely hated Saxon math and found it confusing. He always grasped math easily and performed well on standardized tests, but when we tried Saxon he struggled with math like I have never seen before or since. So, while many homeschoolers say wonderful things about Saxon, that wasn’t our experience. That’s one thing I love so much about homeschooling–finding the books and styles that best fit the particular family’s learning style!
Thanks for the link! I saw your recommendations for their Algebra I earlier in this thread and wanted to check it out further.
It’s designed exclusively for homeschoolers, which is always a big plus in my book. I believe the authors are Harvard grads, too. It includes real-life scenarios which answer the “When am I ever going to use this junk?” questions that high schoolers like to throw at you when they just don’t want to do their math.
We love Miquon and Singapore. Never used Saxon.
My ds, who previously wouldn’t touch a workbook unless it had colorful pictures, started working ON HIS OWN in a Singapore workbook (all b/w - NO colors!
) and then just the other day he decided to pull out Miquon Red. I have had these books for several years and just never got around to actually using them on a regular basis. I think it’ll make a great “Summer Math” program.