Math in a Box

When I returned home last night, there was a delivery box waiting for me and my oldest. I've been excitedly awaiting the delivery for about a week, and waiting to order it for about 1 1/2 weeks before. I haven't mentioned this before, because I thought I needed to wait until I had seen it in my hands before I reported on it. What is it? Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra.

Sparks is an 11-year-old 6th grader, and is about to polish off the 6th grade Primary Mathematics (Singapore) book. If you've looked up the series, or read about it in a previous post, you know that the Primary Mathematics series only goes up to 6th grade. There is another Singapore series that takes over at that point, but I've been looking for a subject that Sparx can do more independently, and this series change seems like the natural time to transition. Although the Singapore stuff is wonderful in so many ways, at the 6th grade level, Sparx was requiring much more explanation than he had in previous levels. To my knowledge, there is no online site, or dvd program to go with the the New Elementary Mathematics Series, so I went looking for something else.

Naturally, Saxon was my first thought, and there is a DIVE program available. I checked this out online, but to put it kindly, I didn't think the DIVE thing would hold his attention. I also checked out SOS, and finally a lovely homeschooling friend mentioned that she had heard good things about Teaching Textbooks. I hopped right over to the sight, and decided quite quickly that we had to try this. In my little world, it's expensive (~$180 for books and discs, but only the test booklet would need to be replaced for the next child--by comparison, ABeka DVDs run hundreds/course). Quite frankly, I need the time this will afford me with the other children, and after working through several of the sample lessons, Sparx thought it would accommodate him well. For us, if it works, it is well worth the investment.

So now the lovely box of goodies has arrived, and I've looked at it and I'm still excited and hopeful. I know that it is not reported to be as challenging as Singapore or Saxon, but I know it will cover the basics and let my son have some success independently. Did I mention he tested into Pre-Algebra, the TT 8th grade level ? Yes, he's excited about that because he thinks it validates all of his hard work. I'm excited because as a 6th grader, he has plenty of time to get through the Teaching Textbook series and still have time left over to shore up any areas we think need extra coverage.

He should begin it in about a week, and I'll keep you updated about how the series is working for us. Cross your fingers.