****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is a wonderful math program. All of Saxon math is great, but I'm doing 5/6 this year with my advanced 4th grader. Last year (her 3rd grade year) she was in public school and struggling with their advanced placement program. I knew she is advanced in math, but there was no reason she should be struggling so much with it. We started homeschooling this year and in the 6 weeks we've been doing this program, I have seen huge growth in her understanding of the basics and also huge growth in her confidence. She's starting to like math again and be proud of herself for how well she can do it. :)Each day starts with a facts test. There are one hundred basic problems on a sheet. First, simple addition facts for a week or so. Then, basic subtraction facts for a while. Then it progresses through multiplication, division, fractions, etc. throughout the year. The student is timed to see how many they can get done in a 5 minute period of time. Every day that she takes a test, my daughter's time gets faster and faster. She is very proud of these test improvements.Then you move on to "mental math." At first I was skeptical about this part, but they start off so slow and basic and add on in small increments that it doesn't feel challenging even though it is. The progress I've seen here is amazing and it's only been a few weeks. This is the part of the program where she gains a TON of self confidence. And my mental math has been sharpened, too. Added bonus!The next part is one "problem solving" problem and requires simple logical thinking. A great skill for use even in other subjects.Then you review the previous days homework and correct any errors. After that you read through the lesson, do 8-10 practice problems on the newly learned skill and then begin the "mixed practice" set. The mixed practice contains 28-30 problems which cover all concepts learned up to that point. It's great because the repetitive practice really gets her comfortable with each skill. It does not become monotonous to her because she's grateful to have those problems she considers "easy" mixed in with the problems that are newer, more "difficult" skills. Eventually, the difficult ones become the easy ones and new problems are the difficult one and so on and so forth.Overall, my daughter is starting to like math again and realize that she actually is good at it and only gets better and better. Love this program!
