Of all the subjects we’ve covered over the years, none have caused more frustration than math.
Thinking back, I remember my young 6 year old son sitting at the kitchen table in tears because he didn’t want to do school work anymore. It was because he didn’t understand math. Fast forward 12 years and now I’m the one in tears because I don’t understand the concepts he’s learning. It doesn’t do him any good to come to me for help.
I’m also a tad bit ashamed to admit that since math has been our least favorite subjects, we’ve allowed that one subject to slide a bit over the years and we could use a bit of help in the catching up department. I know we’re supposed to cover all the basics; somehow this one has slipped through the cracks… repeatedly.
Which is why I’m asking for your help, what one math resource or program would you suggest for a basic high school math remedial course for a child that is not college oriented?
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you so much for posting this!
This will be our first year with High School Math and my stomach roils at the thought! I’m glad I’m not alone in my Math-o-phobia!
I’ll be looking forward to seeing the input others have to offer!
Leslie´s last [type] ..Swim- Swam- Swum
I have 2 math curriculums to suggest to you. The first one is Saxon. It comes with DVD’s to help explain the lessons. My oldest son did well with this and it has helped him in college. The second one is teaching Textbooks. It also comes with DVD’s. My oldest could not handle Saxon (It just was overwhelming to her, because it takes her some time to figure math out), so her tutor suggested Teaching Textbooks. She has blossomed so much with TT and actually enjoys math now. Of course I also give credit to her tutor as well. However, my daughter did say she liked TT a whole lot better than Saxon. Anyhow, those are my suggestions! :)
Joy´s last [type] ..LENS Photo Challenge
I highly recommend Teaching Textbooks. It has CDs that will walk through every single problem step by step if that’s what you need. If there is just one area where you’re struggling you can spend extra time with the CDs going over the concept. It’s a great program! We used it for all of our high school math.
Donetta´s last [type] ..Extra curricular activities and homeschooling
I have used Saxon, but it has not been my kid’s favorite. And I have not liked some things — not enough repetition of the same problem types in one lesson. My kids needed more practice problems that were the same. But we used it, with three kids (one graduated college, one still in, and one still in high school) I would like to try Teaching Textbooks, they have a new one, interactive now, see it on their website. I love the Khan Academy. I reviewed it on my blog. It is great and has remedial material. The teacher, Sal Khan explains things clearly and now they have practice problems too. and it is free. My son, aged 15 is doing that now, taking a break from the Saxon Algebra.
Deila´s last [type] ..Summer Vacation – How Long for Homeschool
I’m with the other posters: 1) Saxon with DIVE and 2) Teaching Textbooks. My kids aren’t excited about either, but Saxon seems it have prepared them best. Teaching Textbook, however is good for a visual learner and the CDs explain on the problems step-by-step.
I was homeschooled all my life (when I was school age) and am now 30. My oldest is just 5 1/2 and so I’ve been going through which curriculum to go with for her future and for my other two, and I finally decided on Sonlight (I’m pretty sure!) anyway, I was looking through their math program suggestions and the Singapore math http://www.sonlight.com/singapore.html really impressed me! I don’t know if it would work for what you want, but it just seemed like it would be much more USEFUL than many math programs. I did Saxon in Highschool and was actually quite good at math. I went up through a bit over half of the Algebra 2 book (at which point I could no longer teach myself with it and my parents didn’t have a clue.. but.. I didn’t need that high of math anyway, so we stopped) The thing is though that Saxon really did me NO good at all in my adult years. With all of the repetition and hour (at least) a day that I spent on the dumb thing you’d think that I’d at least be able to remember the formulas (not that it taught me how to USE them in reality though anyway.) They do talk about Saxon on the Sonlight website as well and give pros and cons. I thought it was quite helpful with both Singapore and Saxon to be able to read that info. Singapore sounded better because it seemed like the math that the kids would learn would be more practical. BUT if you aren’t wanting a whole course perhaps you’d like to look into something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Math-Magic-Everyday-Problems-Revised/dp/0060726350/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308145192&sr=8-1 And really just go the practical route. I wish I’d had THAT book instead of wasting all my time on Saxon. It hasn’t been till recent years that I started to get (slightly) better at figuring out change at the store and percents in every day life… hmm.. maybe I should get the “Math Magic” book for me! :} If I did get it, it would probably help me get better at those things more quickly than just figuring stuff out on my own as I have been doing. :}
Lynne’ Sleiman´s last [type] ..Butterfly project
http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Math-Life-Handbook-Doesnt/dp/0446677264/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308146037&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Math-Youll-Ever-Need-Self-Teaching/dp/0471317519/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308146037&sr=1-4
Okay, these two actually look a LOT better then the “math magic”.. but.. you get the idea.. perhaps what you need is not another curriculum since your child isn’t planning on going to college .. you just need something that will teach the basic stuff of every day life that we all need, right. :} I’m sure there are many other books similar to these that would work too.
Lynne’ Sleiman´s last [type] ..Butterfly project
I haven’t homeschooled a high school student, but I was homeschooled through high school with a very similar outlook on math. My mom found a curriculum that had video with explanation of each lesson and worked you through numerous problems. I did go on to college and I had to take two remedial college maths and then I barely squeaked by with a D in College Algebra. If any of my children turn out to be like me in math I will be doing a very basic geometry and then focusing on math with money and everyday concepts that they will be using (balancing a check book, paying bills, learning to buy a car . . .) I did not like math or any curriculum, but I loved real life math. Still to this day I love finding a new budget worksheet online or reading about the houseing market and interest rates. Buy something like quickbooks or quicken and have them go to town. I hope this is just a different perspective :) God Bless
Videotext Algebra starts at pre-algebra topics such as fractions (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing) and the like. What I like most about this program over all others is that it tells you WHY the math manipulations work the way they do and not just that you “do this and then that.” My kids could never memorize the various steps and so could not advance past a certain point, but once they were explained WHY the steps are there, they never forgot them and were able to move on from there.
Phyllis at All Things Beautiful´s last [type] ..The Peasant Wedding- 1567- Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Oh, and I forgot something else about Videotext Algebra is that they only suggest a few problems a day. You can tell by how he feels about whether he understands the concepts and about 5 or so problems usually if the student has it down and is ready to go on. If he doesn’t, we go back and see what went wrong and assign 5 more. It is a program developed with the idea of understanding, not drill, drill, drill to memorize. We are usually done our math for the day in 15-20 minutes. There are quizzes and tests that confirm what we already know -that they have the concept down.
I can recommend Saxon Math as that is what worked well for me when I was in High School. Although I really think it depends on what type of a learner the student is for how effective a certain type of program will work. I also used Bob Jones Consumer Math which I loved because of the basic everyday math it taught/reinforced that I need for life today.
Suanna´s last [type] ..40 weeks
Our 9th grader uses Saxon. It takes her awhile to get thru the work, but she tends to be a fairly slow, plodding worker in most subjects. Saxon is the industry standard, hands down.
Our 7th grader uses Math U See. She went from hating math and doing poorly, to being able to “almost” like it and do very well.
I considered Teaching Textbooks for a time; they seem to be a great option, as well.
Laurel H.´s last [type] ..Parenting For Teenagers- What Kitchen Time Will Not Accomplish
Teaching Textbooks!
Samantha´s last [type] ..Movies Watched in April and May
you’ve been awarded the versatile blogger award
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Jennifer Altman´s last [type] ..The Versatile Blogger Award
Teaching Textbooks HANDS DOWN! We started with ALEKS math and completed Algebra 1 with it. Then moved to Teaching Textbooks for Geometry. We are so glad we switched! My 2nd grader is now doing 3rd grade Teaching Textbooks and loves it! He completed 1st and 2nd grade math on Dreambox.
Mechelle´s last [type] ..What I Wore Wednesday
Teaching Textbooks gets my vote, too! I cannot say enough about Teaching Textbooks for highschoolers. I have been homeschooling for 12 years and I would have to agree that math has caused us the most frustration of any subject as well. However, finding two curricula I love have changed that. (I love JUMP math grades 1-8, a Canadian curriculum.) TT has been a lifesaver for us for the high school years. I never have to answer a single question about my oldest’s math. It is such a relief. Not only that, but she is doing very well and understanding the concepts well. I highly recommend it!
I agree that Teaching Textbooks would work best for you. My daughter is a math person (gets it from her dad) and loves Saxon. She was in agony when I decided to have her try Teaching Textbooks for Algebra. She hated it because it moved so slowly and had so much review of elementary type math. I am not a math person and I really liked Teaching Textbooks for the same reasons she hated it. Anyone who struggles with math would probably love Teaching Textbooks!