A Practical Post - Saxon Math
We have had a good experience with Saxon Math books and teaching mathmatics at home. It has been a good experience because the books are written well enough, that for the most part they kids have been able to got through the lessons, one lesson building upon another and we as parents (in our home this means Cyndy really) have only occasional involvement.
The next reason it has been a good experience, is that all of our children have scored higher than average on the math portions of ACT and SAT tests. In the end, getting to higher education depends a LOT on these test scores.
Another reason it has been a good experience is because it has been a method of exposing our children to the rigors of self direction. Do a lesson each day, stay caught up and have a great summer. Fall behind, and well, summer is math filled and various privileges are lost through out the year. Great lessons of life.
There is also a hidden gem of a blessing in using Saxon Math books. Many of the math questions get dressed in the clothes of chemistry and/or physics. This plays huge when taking SAT/ACT tests. Most kids in the public system take physics their junior year and chemistry their senior year or vice versa. So since these college entrance exams happen early in the senior year, many kids have not completely been exposed to one or the other and hence are at a distinct disadvantage on questions that reference the terms and concepts involved in either chemistry or physics.
Our daughter says, what most of our kids say, "The lessons really drive home the basics, over and over again, expecially at the beginning of a book. There are only 30 test questions to a lesson, which really isn't that much to do."
So it is nice to have at least one topic, ie Math, that you can say, "Hey this takes care of that. Let's move to another topic."
The next reason it has been a good experience, is that all of our children have scored higher than average on the math portions of ACT and SAT tests. In the end, getting to higher education depends a LOT on these test scores.
Another reason it has been a good experience is because it has been a method of exposing our children to the rigors of self direction. Do a lesson each day, stay caught up and have a great summer. Fall behind, and well, summer is math filled and various privileges are lost through out the year. Great lessons of life.
There is also a hidden gem of a blessing in using Saxon Math books. Many of the math questions get dressed in the clothes of chemistry and/or physics. This plays huge when taking SAT/ACT tests. Most kids in the public system take physics their junior year and chemistry their senior year or vice versa. So since these college entrance exams happen early in the senior year, many kids have not completely been exposed to one or the other and hence are at a distinct disadvantage on questions that reference the terms and concepts involved in either chemistry or physics.
Our daughter says, what most of our kids say, "The lessons really drive home the basics, over and over again, expecially at the beginning of a book. There are only 30 test questions to a lesson, which really isn't that much to do."
So it is nice to have at least one topic, ie Math, that you can say, "Hey this takes care of that. Let's move to another topic."
posted by Mark and Cyndy Weiss at
8:49 PM
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