What People Like :)
- Can use from Kindergarten to Calculus
- Scripted for parents (teaches parents how to teach.)
- A lot of review, repetition, and practice
- Assessments, practice pages, and teacher volumes available
- Compatible with Traditional school so kids can go between public and homeschool more easily.
- Used for decades by homeschoolers. Proven results.
What People Don't Like :(
- Too repetitive
- Dry and boring
Try Instead:
Need less structure and more application?
Try Life of Fred.
Need more visual?
Try Math U See
Need less parental involvement?
Try Teaching Textbooks
Need something free?
Try Khan Academy (older) or EasyPeasy (younger)
User Tips:
Since this curriculum has been around so long, you can often purchase USED and get it cheaper online, on craigslist, or at book buy back stores. Rainbow Resource has competitive prices for purchasing this curriculum new.
What Friends say about Saxon Math:
"I think Saxon is a great program, if your kids can put up with the repetition. I feel it is very comprehensive." -Amy
" I love Saxon for elementary math - have used it on all five of my children. I think it prepares them well for upper level math, but I switch curriculums once my kids hit prealgebra." - Carol
"It feels like it took soooo long to me to complete a lesson. It was definitely not nearly as challenging in the lower grades than other math. But supposedly it catches up in later grades." -Audrey
"I love Saxon. And it definitely prepares you for upper level math. My kids have done Saxon through pre-cal/trig and it has done a great job at preparing my daughter for college. She easily passed her college entrance exams. Saxon also prepares you for the math that you will encounter in upper level sciences. Most other curriculum does not do that. I have also taught many kids that come out of the public school and they have found that Saxon is much more comprehensive than their textbooks. So basically I totally disagree with what you were told. I have been doing Saxon with my kids since math 3." -Melissa
"I loathed it as a teen. That said my boys are using it. My brother who also did Saxon as a teen and likely more than me went on and got a mechanical engineering degree and would correct his physics teachers. So yeah it does work." -Jennifer
"Saxon did not work for my child. It was very frustrating to the point that my child hated math. We switched to Life of Fred and he is now enjoying math again." -Melissa
"I did not like the younger grades that required so much mom-time. The script in the lessons was too much for my kids. They just wanted to "get it over with" which is not the approach I wanted them to have for learning. " - Tami
"We love it! Sometimes I don't follow the lesson word for word, and skip ahead, depending on what I think my daughter needs, so we have moved through the lessons a bit quicker. Sometimes a lesson seems really easy, but then I remind myself how important repetition is. We will definitely continue using Saxon." -Meagan
Author/Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Dr. Frank Wang, Pat Wrigley, Stephen Hake, Nancy Larson
Website: http://www.hmhco.com/shop/education-curriculum/math/homeschool/saxon-math-homeschool
Summary From Company: "No matter how well students initially learn a concept, if they are not able to retain their learning, connect it to other concepts, and apply it in problem-solving situations, they have not reached mastery. Saxon Math™ is designed to support the long-term mastery and applications that will make a difference during testing and in students’ future education and careers. Incremental Concepts are taught in small, approachable progressions. Distributed Increments are spread throughout the year, building in complexity, so that by the end of the year students have reached deep understanding and fluency. Cumulative Practice and assessments include concepts from the most recent lessons as well as from earlier in the year, ensuring students retain all concepts and can make connections between them."
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