Higher level math for nonmathy people

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  • January 15, 2015 at 6:22 am
    Melanie32
    Participant

    Hi! Higher level math is not my strong suit and my, now graduated, son and I really struggled through algebra and geometry. I used Math U See up through algebra with him but we couldn’t seem to get through Algebra 2 so we switched curriculums to Saxon math with the Saxon teacher CD ROMS. We made it through but it was tough.

    Now my daughter is getting ready to start Pre algebra. She, too has done Math U See up through Zeta. I’m a little nervous about the upcoming years of math. I do feel much more confident in my math skills than I did when I went through this with my son but I’m still not sure which route I should take.

    My son was good at Math through Prealgebra and really began to struggle after that. My daughter has done well so far but she does need a lot of hand holding as she works through her math lessons.

    So, my question is have any of you nonmathy types taught higher level math effectively and which curriculum did you find the most helpful? I love Math U See and would like to stick with it but would like to know if there are any moms like me out there who used it successfully for upper level math. However, I’m definitely willing to switch if there’s a better fit out there somewhere.

    Any advice? 🙂

    January 15, 2015 at 1:21 pm
    Misty
    Participant

    I would love to hear this also.  My son is trying to do Alegbra 2 in MUS.  He was advanced in MUS till he hit Algebra 1.  Then it went to a snails pace, now he’s barely making a C if I was to grade his math.  He is giving it 110%, he doesn’t get frustrated, but for some reason it’s a huge struggle since starting Algebra.

    I have thought about having his use Khans along side MUS.  Anyone go this route?

    Don’t mean to take over your topic, just wanted to say you are not alone and I am a strong math mom (dad is also strong in math).

    January 15, 2015 at 2:43 pm
    anniepeter
    Participant

    You might try Teaching Textbooks.  I think it must depends on the child, but my first daughter did very well with it and recommends it to others in this situation.  However, my next son didn’t fair so well with that for algebra, so we actually started Math u See at that point.  It had worked well for him so far… Through algebra 1 and geometry now. Guess that’s all I can offer 🙂

    January 15, 2015 at 3:13 pm
    Melanie32
    Participant

    Thanks for chiming ladies! 🙂 It’s nice to know that at least I’m not alone in this struggle.

    My plan right now is to learn alongside my daughter. I tried that with my son but that was a much busier time in my life and it was very hard to manage. Since my daughter is my only student now, I’m hoping that we can learn and work through this together. I would just love to hear from someone who’s been there, done that and see how it worked for them.

    Thanks for the suggestion Anniepeter. I have looked into TT as well. Right now, my choices seem to be to continue with math u see or try TT or Saxon with the teacher CD ROMS again.

    January 15, 2015 at 8:34 pm
    retrofam
    Participant

    We use Math U See, but I am going to try a few different things with upcoming math strugglers; Bridgeway pre algebra(curriculum express.com)

    Hands on Equations

    Make Math Meaningful Algebra : Principles from Patterns

    Key to algebra…geometry books.

    Kahn Academy as well as purplemath.com helped my son. Purplemath.com was his favorite because they show common errors students make.

    Patty Paper Geometry is working well for my son. He made it through half of MUS geometry, then switched.  If he had more time he could have finished MUS,  but he needs to finish geometry soon. MUS is good,  but for this son it takes a long time for him to learn it.  He said that once he finally learned the many new vocabulary terms in geometry,  it was easier.

    MUS works well for my average and advanced math learners.  It is still my back up plan for the strugglers.

    January 16, 2015 at 5:35 am
    Melanie32
    Participant

    Thanks Retrofam! I guess you just do what needs to be done to help each child learn in a way they can understand the information. Thanks for all the supplements you mentioned. I will definitely be looking into all of them. I’ve heard of a few and was already planning on using Khan as a supplement. 🙂

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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