Algebra....Grrrrrrrrrr!

I feel your pain. My 6th grader's math is killing me already. Seems they changed the way I learned it as a kid. Ugh.

A homeschooling friend of ours uses Alpha & Omega's Switched on Schoolhouse. She says it is all on the computer and even grades the work for you, and you can buy only the subjects you want. Her kids seem to like it better than any thing else. I certainly plan to try it next year, at least for our oldest.

 

I'll be there with you soon Sue. We plan on Chris starting Algebra in January, as he's ahead in math.

I'm thinking about using Teaching Textbooks Algebra, though. I have the Switched on Schoolhouse available, but I'm not sure I like the way it "flows". I gotta get him through to December first. He swears I'm killing him as I have him doing almost all of the SOS 8th grade math before Dec. Most of it is just review work though. (as in I'm not really killing him and he is capable of doing all this and more. He'd just rather spend more time playing video games. )

If you get stuck on something, pm me (so I'll notice) and I'll try to help.

 

Hire a tutor.

 

Glad you are getting some help, Sue! I was planning on recommending some sort of video class for you until I read your last post. I know you are breathing a sigh of relief!!

I got A's in Algebra in high school (not in Algebra 2, Geometry, or Trig tho), but it was anything but my favorite subject, and so many years later when I was homeschooling I didn't remember much, so my husband took care of that class. Yay DH!!! :applause:

I don't know if you belong to a support group or have many homeschoolers in your church, but if you find you need more hours of help than you want to pay for per week, you might also check to see if any of those moms/dads might be able to help out as a supplement.

 

AGAIN?!?!?

:BangHead:

 

I have one who is in 10th grade geometry.

Thankfully, she's pretty good at figuring stuff out. LOL While I can't do the work myself, for some reason I can explain it enough that she can grasp the concept and figure out the rest. (very weird, I couldn't pass math in college to save my life, and took 9th grade math in school four times to pass it and be able to graduate)

I've found that if you don't know how to do something and you look up a similar problem on the internet that already has the answer, you can sit there and figure out how they got that answer. It's much easier than reading the fifty page explanations that explain how to get to the answer! The only problem with that is that he HAS to know the steps, so hopefully he can figure them all out, because in college they will mark an answer wrong, even if it's correct, if you can't show how you got it and show it how THEY want you to show it. No room for actually using your own methods...dumb but true.

 

Your local public school may have a homework helpline. It could be a valuable resource. And, it would be free!!!