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MUS — how far ahead do you let your child get?
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My 9 year old 4th grader started Epsilon 8 weeks ago and is currently on lesson 10. He grasps the material very easily so far and I expect he’ll be half way through the book by Christmas break. If so, that means it’s possible for him to finish the course by mid April at one lesson a week. So, I am trying to decide if I have him pick up right after that with Zeta for the final two months of school or if I’d be better off holding off until the start of 5th grade. If we started Zeta in April, he would be likely finish it mid way through the following year and then be able to move to (and possibly complete) Pre-Algebra in his grade 5 year. But I am concerned that being that far ahead in math (Algebra 1 in grade 6, Geometry in 7, Algebra 2 in 8, Pre-Cal in 9?) I know there is a Stewardship course in there but wondered if it mattered which year — I was thinking I might have both my boys do it the same year. That still allows for the potential for my younger ds to complete the MUS highschool by grade 10. I know I can always find more advanced math courses for later if needed, but I was wondering if I am better off slowing him down and doing something different (maybe LOF or the Pet Shop math) for those two months. Opinions from those who have been there would be appreciated.
I haven’t been there, but we’re not far behind you. Just starting Epsilon with my 9 year old, because I WANT her to get through calculus before the end of high school and I want to make sure we’ve got a little cushion for the more difficult math years. I was great at math and went through Calculus in high school, but Alegbra II was quite a challenge for me, I spend MANY hours before school with my amazing math teacher working through difficult problems (I had to have an “A” or I could have probably made it through the class without extra help), but as homeschool parents I think we want to make sure the kids are understanding it at an “A” level before moving on, so if you get to a point where you need more than a year for something, you’ll have the time. I would definitely let my daughter work ahead as opposed to purposefully trying to slow her down – I’m assuming that your son is able to “teach back” all the concepts he is learning. If he’s not able to teach it back then he probably needs to slow down. You could also take a short break in between books and let him do an appropriate LIFE OF FRED book for a few weeks and then pick up again. But I just wouldn’t be worried about him being too far ahead in math – if it’s his passion he could even do a second level of calculus before college!
We have always used MUS and found we were finishing earlier and earlier in the year. The past couple of years we have finished in March and then begun the next year’s math in July so as to not take too much time off. But it is an escalating problem. This year my oldest is doing mainly LOF though I make him do the MUS test booklet to make sure there aren’t gaps. So far this school year he has already completed algebra 2 and is halfway through geometry. He had always been a math guy and does extra for fun. My feeling is that I will let him go at his pace and if he finishes calculus at age 15, we’ll send him to a community college to do more. My dd, on the other hand, wants to be an artist and doesn’t want to go beyond algebra 2 and geometry. I haven’t decided on that yet.
Wow, you girls with your 9yos are REALLY ahead…or we’re REALLY behind! My ds just finished MUS Gamma. Delta should be arriving on our doorstep next week.
I am kind of a “later is better” momma, taking the approach that the later you wait to teach a child a certain skill or concept, the easier and more smoothly the whole process of learning/teaching will be. So, maybe that’s just me?
Also, our end goals for homeschooling may be different than yours. We will prepare our children for college if they want to go, but we are actually hoping that they will opt out of college. So I can see how you would need to get all that upper-level math in before graduation if that was your goal.
Not really anything to offer, except great job for getting your boys ahead!
If he is really motivated and understands and retains everything I wouldn’t hold him back. We, as homeschoolers, have the complete freedom to let our children learn as much as they can! Perhaps the Lord is leading him to a career, home business or ministry that requires really advanced math. Let him go and see what happens! @ Nebby: I also have an artist daughter also and she is also stopping after Algebra II and Geometry. I dont have a problem with it…her life is on a different sort of path anyway…
Oh — he’s retaining it alright. And as far as teaching goes, lately he’s been grasping the concepts from the videos quicker than I am and teaching it to me from day one of each lesson. He is usually able to do most problems in his head, and I have to remind him that he needs to show all of his work even though he can convert to like fractions then add, subtract, multiply, divide and then reduce in his head (I can’t keep up with him at all). I keep waiting for him to hit a wall, but so far, nope.
He loves math. I will assign all the even or odd questions on a page and come back to find he’s done every question as well as the next Page.
I guess we’ll just keep letting him move at his own pace. He wants to go into engineering. Of course he’s nine. He’d like to be a rockstar and a travel agent, too.
I have some of the same concerns as you do 4myboys. My ds is half way through Gamma and he is 7. I don’t know how or if I should try to slow him down. I am concerned he is advancing too quickly, but he understands the concepts. We move at his pace. I don’t know what the answer is.
@4myboys: LOL!!!!! My son is going to be an electric guitar playing, astrobiologist pastor!
Too funny, Cheryl! My ds has been talking about being a structural engineer and designing rollercoasters since our trip to Disney when he was 5. He will often ask how old he has to be to be a travel agent because he’d like to do that before he goes to University. At one point I think he thought he could open up his own travel business on the curb like a lemonade stand. It’s soo funny the things little kids come up with!
My 9 year old is halfway through Epsilon, and that’s after doing Teaching Textbooks for a while, then deciding he wanted to go back to MUS. I let him go as fast as he wants as long as he’s doing well retaining things. One thing we do is have Friday as either a day off math if he’s worked hard all week, or he can do math games on http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com or multiplication.com. The problems he misses are almost always because of a regrouping or multiplication error that he sees as soon as he does the problem again. He goes too fast, and tries to do too much in his head, so every now and then I print worksheets from MUS on basic multiplication/division/subtraction, etc. He would possibly like to do engineering as well, so like another poster said it would be good to get through higher math and have extra time to go slowly through it if needed.
LindseyD: I don’t think there is a “behind/ahead” in math (although I’m sure state standards disagree) because I think each kiddo is so different. My 5 year old son loves and gets math, and is already doing well with multiplication but his 6 yr old sister is struggling through Alpha, and his other sister is slowly plodding through Gamma. I try to not make a big deal of what book they are in with MUS and I really like that they don’t have a grade level on the book anywhere like other curriculum does so they don’t feel behind because of that.
We are also hoping/encouraging them to opt out of college/be more creative to earn a degree, but I think if your child is skilled in specific areas it doesn’t hurt to move quickly and encourage those skills.
We let our kids work at the pace they are excelling at (within reason). I have a twelve year old in Algebra and doing just fine, figuring out honors lessons on her own – why stop? To create boredom? I have a ten tear old just starting Delta and going slowly; as long as she’s doing her best, that’s okay with me too. We do problem solving on Fridays for something different. I’m sure you’ll figure out what suits you best, but here we don’t stop them from advancing at their pace if the comprehension is there.
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