Why We Are Using Saxon Math This Year...(Also A Brief CTC Math Review)

 We have tried a few different math curriculums in our homeschool over the years.

 Our children are all very different. They are all over the board with learning types, styles and concepts. It can be a lot to keep up with. I have went back an forth with different curriculums over the years.

 Many factors come into play when picking a curriculum.

- Budget
- Learning styles
- Is it a consumable, do I want a consumable
- Spiral vs Mastery
- Will it fit with our personal schooling style
- How much will everyone hate this. Yes, that is a huge factor. lol

This list goes on and on and is different for each family. We have tried workbooks, online, etc.

Each one has worked and not worked for us for varying reasons.

Our most recent math curriculum was CTC Math and Life of Fred(More on LOF in a later post). It is an online curriculum and fairly cheap if you have more than one child. I actually really like this curriculum. The best part of this course is that it is mostly hands free for the parent. I would step in to assist with learning a difficult concept, but the majority is taught on the site itself. They even send you a weekly progress report! It is pretty darn cool.

 The children's reviews on CTC Math were mixed...

-Alex did ok with it. (He could probably use any curriculum. He hates them all. Math is not his favorite subject. Want to know his favorite subject? Minecraft. Yes, I know that isn't a subject. Hence the reason I do not base all of our Math choices on Alex's opinions.) 

-Emma tried her hardest to like it. She does with everything. However, we have to make a few concessions with Emma's learning style. She struggles with Auditory processing, (something we found out last year.) and the online math..that is visual and described by a man with an Australian accent...was not working for her. 

- Addison prefers workbook page style math..so she barely used CTC. She said it was fun and called it a game when she used it.

So, while CTC is actually a great product...I would be sticking with it if it wasn't causing so much of an issues for Emma...we had to go back to square one for Math this year. 
I asked around. Friends and family have made many suggestions. However, our budget is tighter than normal this year. So I did some praying and decided to go old school with the math. 
Saxon Math has been around a LONG time. I even did it when I homeschooled, many years ago!

 


Reasons why we are using Saxon Math this year include...

-It works. As I said above, Saxon has been around for a long time. It's methodology is sound. I can still remember some of the lessons I learned from my own Saxon Math days.

- It is spiral, but not overly so. It moves forward with each concept, building with each lesson. It has a section for review built into every lesson. While some children may not need the review and repetition...my children actually benefit from it.

-There is lot of memory work built right into the curriculum. The home study packet comes with printable sheets to practice speed drills of addition, subtraction, multiplications and division..

-It is cheap and you can find it EVERYWHERE! Because this curriculum has been around for so long, you can find it all over Ebay, and other resale sites. There is enough of it that the prices are not terribly high. We were even blessed to receive a few pieces for free!

- It is working for the older two.(Addison is using something else this year.) Emma has been slowly working through one of the books this summer(For fun. Yes, I have one of those kids.) and she is really and truly learning! It is so fun to see her curled up with her math and enjoying it. That makes this Mama's heart happy :)


Do I think that Saxon Math is going to solve all of our problems and end with us happily skipping to the table to do math all year long?

Um..no.

I have taught my children long enough to know that every curriculum has it's positives and negatives. It is life. It is education. It is parenting. You do what works, search for something new if it doesn't. Or, take a bit from everything.
Also, there is no perfect math or Perfect *Insert subject here* curriculum for any two people on the planet. It is trial and error. 

Do I hope that Saxon works well enough for everyone, that we will just continue forward with it?

Yes. Math has been the only subject*So far) that I have not quite found what really works for our family. I love our Grammar, Spelling, Reading and most other subjects. They work for the kids' learning styles and with how our homeschool functions. 

However, Since I have been at this for a while, and know better than to not be prepared. I do have a couple other curriculums, that were recommended by friends,..that I have researched...tucked into the back of my mind. (They are also bookmarked in my computer.) 

One last thought...

 I am a person who prays. I do pray over my children and their education. That being said, I was recently speaking to one of my mentors and she gave me a bit of advice..which lit a fire under me with praying for my children and their education. 

 She told me that before she handed them every subject, she prayed over it. Obviously not in some grand way... but that she was continually in prayer their entire school day. That has stuck with me and reminded me. What our children learn and their up bringing and education isn't solely up to me. It is up to God. 

 We as parents just have to do our best, rely on Him to guide us and teach to the best of our ability. 

 But we also need to remember to leave gaps for God to fill in the spaces. 

Why? Because God can do such amazing things with those spaces! 


All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 
Isaiah 54:13

What is the best way to know we are doing our best? 

It is to pray over our children, our school, our walk and our words. He will show us the way and He will also fill in those little gaps that we lay awake worrying about. 
 
 Blessings,

~Lyndsay