Someone recently asked my opinion on Saxon for teaching Geometry.
Lee,
We recently watched your Preparing to Homeschool High School videos in our homeschool group. They were great! I have a question about Saxon Math. My 10th grader is taking Advanced Math and has already completed Algebra 1 and 2. Do you have an opinion about Saxon and the way geometry is included? Would you suggest another route? My eighth grader has completed Algebra 1 and now in 2. I have 4 others coming along after these two so I’m wondering if this is the best route.
Dear Sandy,
Great question!
I think Saxon does a fine job with math, as long as the student tolerates it. My nephew is a high school calculus instructor, and he is a HUGE fan of Saxon math. I do have a blog post on choosing math which may help you.
The problem with teenagers is that you have to match their learning style AND their preferences. We may know their learning style, but only the teen really knows their preferences. So take a look at the blog post, and consider having them look at another curriculum if they get stuck or frustrated or say they “hate” math. Beware, though, that all of your children *may* end up liking a different curriculum.
Our favorite supplement toward the end of Saxon Math was the Teaching Company Course called “Calculus Made Clear.” It really prepared my children to handle calculus with understanding.
Saxon incorporates geometry throughout the course, but it isn’t until Advanced Math that they get the bulk of geometry that is in the SAT test. Advanced Math has so much geometry in it, the book actually says it may take 1-1/2 years to complete. Since you are already in Advanced Math, it looks like he’ll be ready to go for the SAT in the spring next year. We used Jacobs for Geometry, and it’s also a wonderful program. Because we had done a separate geometry course, we were able to follow it with Advanced Math as a pre-calculus course that only took one year. It wasn’t until I let my son choose the math curriculum that we switched to Saxon.
It sounds like all of your children are VERY far ahead in math – good job following their lead! Make sure to include Algebra courses on the high school transcript, even if they are completed in middle school. If you are looking for a supplement for geometry, because you’re a family that loves math, then take a look at Patty Paper Geometry. I loved having hands-on experiences for the geometry proofs. It’s NOT necessary at all, it’s just a fun activity book for high school geometry that math nerds sometimes really enjoy.
So I guess the answer to your question is that I like Saxon geometry as long as the student likes Saxon geometry.
Do you enjoy our monthly newsletter, The HomeScholar Record? If so, we would love it if you would write a brief homeschool newsletter review here, so others could find it! Thanks.
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Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
Art Reed says:
About 107 years ago, four math and science professors at the University of Chicago bemoaned the fact that educators were mistakenly placing a geometry course in between basic and advanced algebra (what is now algebra 1 and algebra 2).
John never saw this book or I would have heard him speak about it, but he did know that problem still existed when he created his upper level math series.
The Saxon algebra one book contains an introduction to high school geometry. The algebra 2 book contains the equivalent of the first semester of a regular high school geometry course and the first 60 lessons of the advanced math book contains the equivalent of the second semester of a regular high school geometry course while both continue with the algebra concept as well.
For more information on this go to http://www.usingsaxon.com.
Art reed
August 19th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Noelle Mador says:
My daughter hates Saxon. Right now I am making my own curriculum using Khan Academy for pre-algebra and using Pro-one’s pre-algebra software. We have used MUS< teaching Textbooks. The problem is she is a right-brained learner that has APD. None of them are a perfect fit, so creating my own curriculum is what has worked so far. My son will be doing Thinkwell Math. I am not a Saxon fan at all.
December 17th, 2011 at 5:18 pm