Fun With Saxon Math

When we began our original homeschooling journey, back when Alayna and Afton were starting their 6th & 4th grades, I had spent 7 months researching homeschooling. I drove our librarian crazy chasing down over 50 books for me, I spent hours on the internet, and talked to anyone I could find that was doing homeschooling. Once we made the decision to go for it, I began round 2 of research into the world of endless curriculum choices. We decided we definitely wanted to take an eclectic approach (which simply means we wanted to use materials, ideas, etc. from a broad and diverse range of sources). I talked to teachers from different school districts, asking for recommendations.

When it came to a math program, all the teachers I talked with had nothing but praise for Saxon. When I asked why, if it was so great, were some of the schools no longer using it, I was told that it was because Saxon was also more expensive. Yet, as I looked into the Saxon Homeschool Program Kits, I was genuinely impressed.

Of all the subjects to be taught, math - especially at high school levels - had me worried. I am not a big math fan. Oh, I loved accounting in high school and can keep business books with ease. But Algebra was not a favorite, and I absolutely hated geometry. If it weren't for a couple of good friends, I would not have passed geometry. The fact that I didn't like the teacher, the subject, or the "encouragement" that the teacher gave me when he told me that he had barely passed geometry with a "D" in college, did not help my situation at all.

So, we chose to go with the higher priced (quite expensive in the upper grade levels, actually) Saxon with the thought floating in the backs of our minds that, if we didn't like it, we would find something else for the next year. The fact that we had younger children coming to also use the curriculum helped ease the price tag shock. But I must say, we not only liked it...we LOVE Saxon Math! With Alayna and Afton, we used the homeschool kits from grades 5 through their senior years.

Last year, we began a new leg of our homeschooling experience when Maddy started kindergarten. The very first subject "finalized" for use was Saxon Kindergarten and we also ordered the K-3 Math Manipulatives Kit. This year, Maddy is also using Saxon Math 1.

I not only recommend Saxon, I also highly suggest ordering the manipulatives, too. Maddy and Kenna both have taken to math with open arms. They love the "hands-on" approach of using the pattern pieces, linking cubes, counting bears, etc. There's also a balance scale and a teaching clock, along with many other things. 

I don't "endorse" too many things. If someone asks, I willingly share what materials we use, but Saxon is the one company product that I speak out loudly for. Easy to teach, easy for the kids to understand, a step-by-step approach that builds from the basic concept on to the next. Yes, a lot of review, but depending on fast your children learn it, the faster they can work along

 The book/grade title were not originally meant to be used as a "grade-level" title, but the schools themselves kind of established that way of thinking. Saxon explains their original intent in this link:  http://www.usingsaxon.com/newsletterpage-2012.php#0412