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divinagrace Forum Newbie
Joined: April 09 2007
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Posted: May 28 2008 at 7:26pm | IP Logged
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I am looking into using Saxon K or Saxon 1 for my 5 year old this upcoming fall (2008). Has anyone used Saxon K or 1 without the teacher's manual? Does anyone recommend using/not using the teacher's manual? Also, what is the student's "meeting book"? Do I need to buy this, too? I have heard/read that a Kindergartener could start with Saxon 1, since it uses a spiral approach to teaching math and that the concepts in K would be reviewed in Saxon 1. Has anyone found this to be true?
Thanks for any input.
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RamFam Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 21 2008 Location: Virginia
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Posted: May 28 2008 at 7:57pm | IP Logged
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I was told that Saxon 1 repeated Saxon K, so I began my 5 yo with 1. The meeting book is simply a blank calendar for filling in the date as you go, a number line to fill in and a simple bar chart to record the type of weather for the month. I found it mostly useless.
Hope that helps.
__________________ Leah
RamFaminNOVA
Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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Sarah M Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 06 2008 Location: Washington
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Posted: May 28 2008 at 8:09pm | IP Logged
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The whole Saxon K lesson is in the teacher's manual, so I don't think you could use Saxon without it. The meeting book is, as Leah said, mostly useless. If you choose to go with Saxon, you'd need the teacher's manual, but not necessarily the meeting book.
I wasn't especially pleased with Saxon. We only used it for a couple of weeks. It's very scripted, which I didn't like, although I know that others do enjoy having their lessons mapped out that way. Much of what was taught my dd (then 5) knew already just by real-life experience, so if we had continued with it, we would have skipped a lot. I ended up deciding to continue with real-life math, board games, and cooking activities, since all the k-level math concepts seemed to be easily approached that way. I don't want to discourage you if you want to go with Saxon- just wanted to share our experience. I've heard through the grapevine that Saxon gets much better from level 5/4 on.
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MaryMary Forum All-Star
Joined: July 04 2006 Location: Canada
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Posted: May 29 2008 at 1:00pm | IP Logged
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I would skip Saxon K entirely and just take your time with Saxon 1. I promise you won't miss anything!!! As the others have said, you definitely need the teacher's manual as the hands-on lessons using manipulatives each day are really the strength of this program. I would skip the meeting book as well. Much of what is taught in 'the meeting' is like doing a circle time for math(what is the day/date/year/month etc.) You can do it all yourself with a calendar at home. Do you have all of the manipulatives required? I loved this program when I taught in the classroom (teaching first and second graders)but I found it a bit much when I used it at home with my own first grader and a preschooler and a toddler to boot. I found it somewhat exhausting pulling out a different math manipulative each day. Don't want to discourage you, though, as my former students LOVED Math (and did very well) using this program...
__________________ Mary
Wife 2 1
Mum 2 four blessings on earth and two in heaven!
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RamFam Forum Pro
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Posted: May 29 2008 at 3:44pm | IP Logged
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MaryMary wrote:
I loved this program when I taught in the classroom (teaching first and second graders)but I found it a bit much when I used it at home with my own first grader and a preschooler and a toddler to boot. I found it somewhat exhausting pulling out a different math manipulative each day. Don't want to discourage you, though, as my former students LOVED Math (and did very well) using this program...
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I am finding this to be true, too. What did you do instead that was less teacher demanding?
__________________ Leah
RamFaminNOVA
Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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divinagrace Forum Newbie
Joined: April 09 2007
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Posted: May 29 2008 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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Thank you ladies for your replies. Your input has helped me to make a decision. I have the manipulatives already and I think I will go with buying Saxon 1 student workbook and the teacher's manual. That being said, does anyone know where online that I can get both at a good price?? Thanks.
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RamFam Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 21 2008 Location: Virginia
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Posted: May 29 2008 at 7:22pm | IP Logged
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I just purchased the three Saxon 2 books (Teacher's manual and student workbooks part 1 & 2) on Amazon in excellent condition for about $10 each, I think. The Saxon math site asks about $90 for the books, I believe.
__________________ Leah
RamFaminNOVA
Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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