Our school is a school of choice, and our school is based on a charter which stipulates what curricula we use. Committing to our school is at least in part committing to our curricula. Thank you for your vote of confidence!
Saxon Math was developed by John Saxon in the early eighties, and it's only getting better and amassing the research to prove it. It is what is called a spiraling curriculum: students learn increasingly complex concepts that circle back around on themselves. The very fancy diagram below illustrates this. This is ONE spiral for one concept; there are hundreds of these, for each skill and/or concept mathematicians need to know.
Studies show that learners retain and better understand new knowledge when it is taken in bite size pieces and practiced regularly for a while, and then added on to. Saxon Math does just this.
In the primary grades, which this post is about, students practice basic concepts that slowly build on each other. This is an essential time in mathematical development: we are building the foundation of all future math, and just like a rushed construction job often yields poor results, a rushed development of math concepts reveals gaping holes and shaky understanding in later years of math.
Some may think that even taking into account the incremental nature of Saxon Math, it's still TOO easy for their child. Please keep in mind some of these points:
DEVELOPMENTALLY: Younger children need less homework. Just because they can do higher math, doesn't mean they should be doing that. Saxon 5/4 (fourth grade math) has 30 problems for homework each night. Finally, Saxon Math relies heavily on reading ability, and does require writing and verbal reasoning as well; many younger children do not have the linguistic abilities to fully participate in higher math.
CONCEPTUALLY: Humans move from concrete to abstract thought at about ten years of age, which results in an incredible leap in mathematical reasoning about then. Again, younger students may be able to do higher math but it doesn't necessarily mean they're understanding the underlying concepts.
If you would like to challenge your primary child with math, you might consider:
- Starting the times tables with them.
- Working on accuracy and speed/automaticity of basic facts.
- Finding ways to illustrate and incorporate real life math into your child's life: cooking, building, crafting, sewing, sports stats, etc.
