Monday, March 20, 2006 - Saxon Math 3
In a word: rigorous. We started using Saxon Math after using BJU Math for 1st and 2nd grade with my 1st born DS (aka: guinea pig)
. We began using BJU Math 3, but I started to notice that DS could not recall the simplest addition facts. I had made flashcards, I bought holey-cards, I made him do online practice sheets -- it seemed I had tried "everything." A fellow homeschooling friend liked Saxon 3 so since she was willing to loan me her teacher's guide I figured I had nothing to loose. I'm happy to report that things went well and Saxon Math 3 provided the drill and repetition with the facts that DS needed. I also liked how we had word problems that were on the same "theme" of the lesson (do you know how in some workbooks and curriculum word problems can be so random?) so they were easier to teach and solve because the word problem from the meeting time was similar to the two given on the worksheet. We did not complete Saxon Math 3 (we got up to about Lesson 130+) because some of the topic were much too challenging and I knew they would be covered in Saxon Math 5/4. Overall, I was grateful for the rigor of the program because we felt well-prepared to jump right into the next level with ease.
What Worked for Me
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As the fact cards were introduced in each lesson, I put them on a ring (purchased a pack of them from Staples office supply store) and had my son do them during his drill time (the first order of business each morning for him is to do Math and Latin drill cards). The rings open like a binder ring so it was easy to add them on till the ring got too heavy with cards and then I'd start another one.
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Doing some of the drill in the meeting got tedious so I'd only do them on some days. In this case, it's good to know our children and know how much *practice* they really need -- some need a lot and some not.
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Lessons were LONG, long, long and did I say long (one hour +)? Sometimes we'd do the meeting section one day and the practice sheet on another day. My advice: break it up if you need to.
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Always used a separate workbook for Math practice on days when we didn't have time for Saxon. I used DK's Math Made Easy. This was a good "measuring stick" to see if he was really *learning* the material.
