Saxon Math: 6 Ways to Motivate and Help your Child Complete Their Math!

There will be times when a child is struggling with a concept or need motivation to complete their math studies.  I have used Saxon Math throughout my homeschool years.  Over the years, I have used multiple methods to help keep our kids moving through the process.  They work for a while and then a fresh idea is needed.  I thought these methods may be helpful to other parents so I am happy to share them.

1. Rewards
2. Setting a Timer
3. Break it Down
4. Take a Break
5. Tentative Schedule
6. Go Back

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1. Rewards

There are many rewards that you can offer to motivate your child to complete their assignments:

Playdates:  A great motivator is scheduling a playdate once in a while and letting your child know that when they are done with their assignments they can head over or have their playdate over.  It is great when you find friends that are able to do this with you.  You are helping each other out to motivate your child to get things done.  Your child is so happy to see their friends and you can get to see your friends too.

Food: Yes, there is a season where I used chocolate chips after each problem, or you could use raisins, or what not.  Something little they can have to give them something to look forward to.  I used this more when they were younger, but I’ve found teens appreciate this too once in a while.

10 percent bonus: Another reward they receive for completing the book is 10 percent of their grade.  My thought process is that if they did 30 problems multiplied by 120 chapters (3,600 problems) plus corrections, it is a lot of work, and they should get rewarded for that.  So I take their test scores and average that grade. I then add 10 percent for completing all the chapters.  It motivates them to complete the book and rewards them for all their hard work during the school year.

End of the year reward: After the school year is over we ask the children what they would like as a reward for completing the book.  Some things they have requested are money, gift cards, to go out for ice cream, to go out to dinner.  This is a fun for the family!  We have all worked hard and as parents we are happy to reward them for a job well done.

2. Setting a timer

Sometimes something as simple as setting a timer can help to motivate your child to get their math completed.  Kids can get distracted easily.  Completing an assignment before a timer goes off can help them to stay focused.

3. Break it down

My daughter actually brought this to my attention.  It has helped us a lot.  She asked if we could correct after every 10 problems rather then wait for all 30.  This helped her get through some difficult chapters.  Sometimes correcting all thirty at once can be overwhelming.  Breaking the chapter down into increments was helpful to me as well.  This technique is very helpful when your child is struggling in some areas.  There are times where I have checked their work after every 5 problems and some days where we check each problem while they are going through the chapter to see if they are doing it correctly.  There will be seasons that you may have to do this.  Usually towards the end of the school year when the problems get harder and the weather is getting nicer. Then there were will be seasons where they have no problem doing 30 problems before correcting them, like the beginning 20 chapters of the book where it may be some review.

4. Take a break

Yes, I said it and it is ok! There are times when you and your child have been working hard trying to get through every chapter, doing multiple corrections, and so on.  You are noticing you are getting frustrated and/or your child is getting frustrated.  It is amazing what taking a day off will do.  Have your child work on his other subjects for a day or just do something fun with them or relaxing like playing a game or watching a movie.  One day when the kids were little, I was so frustrated… we all have those days, I found myself snapping at my children.  I realized it was me, not them.  So I said we are taking a break.  I made buttered popcorn and we popped in the Mary Poppins movie and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. It was the best decision.  We cuddled and had a great day that we will always remember.  The next day we started again but we were more refreshed and better off for it.  Of course you can’t do this all the time, but overall in the scheme of things you will both be grateful and refreshed to start again after some time away from it.  This is your time with your kids.  We work hard but it is ok to play hard too! Employees get vacation days, why can’t we right?

5. Tentative Schedule

I am somewhat loose with this.  I start a tentative schedule for the kids at the beginning of the year, however, I know life happens, vacations, family, and so on, so that is why it is tentative.  I have learned to adjust it as the school year progresses and my goal is to try to be done by June.  There will be times you have to spend more time on things and that is okay.  That is why we homeschool to be there for our kids and we are not on anyone else schedule.  I have also learned that they will work at their own pace and different things will motivate them.  I have one child who discovered that if she takes a test the same day as the chapter, that she can knock off 30 days (since there are 30 tests) off her school schedule for math.  This motivated her to do that.  I have another child that to do both the test and chapter the same day would overwhelm them. So that child has a different schedule.  You do what works best for you and your children and be flexible because life does happen.  Here is a quote my father told me a long time ago.

6. Go Back

I don’t like this one because it takes me off our tentative schedule.  You feel like you are loosing momentum. Remember I said I like to be done by June. But it turns out to be a blessing in the long run.  (Now if you go through each lesson with your child up front, you may not have this issue, but by high school I try to have them do their lessons on their own.)  There are times when your child/teenager may be struggling to understand some of the new the concepts.  Normally they do fine on their own using the Book and CDs and get the concept eventually with the repetition, but sometimes you may notice they are getting more wrong on their test(s) then usual.  When I see this happening consistently,  I come to the realization that I have to go back and take the time to go through the concepts with them for a while until they get it and can move forward.  I had to do this with all three of mine for long division and also during parts of the Algebra classes.    It takes more time and effort on both our parts for the short term.  But it is what I found needs to be done to help them through it and get them on the right track again.  

How do I do this?…Every problem (except in the Advanced math book who has it only in the solutions manuals) has the chapter where the concept was given.  This is a wonderful tool when used wisely.  Train your child that if they don’t understand the problem to go back to that chapter.  Review the lesson.  Most likely there is an example similar. Then try the problem again.  You may only get a few problems done for those days.  It may feel like you are not making progress. But it is quality time well spent with your child. We even have some laughs in the process and enjoy the time because we don’t have the pressure of finishing the chapter. I just work on the concepts with them. It may take a couple weeks.  Remember we are not on any ones schedule but our own. The lightbulbs will go off and eventually they will be able to progress on their own again.  

Your child will also learn how to problem solve and research which are great skills to have.  It helps them to know that they can get help, get through it, and with perseverance they will get it.  I don’t always understand some problems myself.  That is where the Saxon Math CD’s for example this  Saxon Teacher for Algebra 1, 3rd Edition on CD-ROM  is very helpful for Algebra 1. The CDs are provided for all Middle school and High School classes. Saxon also provides DVDs as well to help your child.

I hope this gives you some pointers to help you with your math endeavors.  Just remember it is a journey and thankfully we are there to help them through it. Always pray for guidance as well.  You are not alone.  Jesus is always with you.   If you have any questions or suggestions of your own, feel free to post them below.

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Blessings,

Cheryl Bippus

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