| Overview of Math Curriculum by Beverly Hernandez |
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| Suggestions to help your children enjoy math and be better thinkers. |
My preferences for math curriculum is not very complicated. Here are my thoughts:
Saxon Math Books: Overall, I like Saxon Math books. I have never personally used the younger Saxon Math books, but I liked the ones I did use.
ABeka Math Books: I like Abeka Math books for grades 1-3, maybe grade 4. I haven't seen their kindergarten book. I'm not crazy about the upper grade books. They are strong in review and have more than enough problems for each concept - I don't think the extra speed drills books are necessary. (ABeka is a Christian publisher)
MCP Math Books: I love the MCP Kindergarten math book. It is a good beginning book. I like MCP books because they are workbooks and work well for those who struggle with copying down the problems. MCP seems to lack in daily review of previously taught concepts in the workbooks - that's why I switched to ABeka and Saxon math.
Discovering Geometry: I do not like this book. It was popular for a while, but I tried it with my oldest daughter and didn't like it at all. It is very time consuming. Rather than traditional geometry, they have the students "discover" the concepts, write their own definitions and formulate their own geometric conjectures. I don't really recommend it.
This is the math curriculum course I followed with my children:
- Kindergarten: MCP
- Grades 1-3: ABeka Math (The third grade book is very good and lays a good foundation for upper math skills - it covers a lot of ground, take 2 years to cover this book if you need to.)
- Beginning at grades 4 or 5: Saxon Books are very good. Take the online placement tests to place your student. Many can go on to Saxon 54 or 65 following the Abeka books.
- Upper level math: Saxon books are good. ABeka's Algebra and Geometry are more of a traditional curriculum. I've used it and although they are fine books, I like Saxon better.
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