No special preparation is required before your student begins this 6th grade program. In our case, during the elementary grades we used Sonlight extensively combined with Math-U-See (Introduction and Intermediate) and the Learning Language Arts Through Literature series. As a result, our children could read well, do basic arithmetic, and had basic grammar skills.
Sonlight is a literature based curriculum consisting of about 2 hours a day of reading aloud as a family and reading individually. As a result, our children were accustomed to a versatile school day as opposed to a systematic sequence of textbooks and workbooks typical of an institutional school setting. I believe this helped become independent and enjoy the more self-directed style we use in 6th-8th grades.
Transition from Math-U-See to Saxon
We transitioned from Math-U-See to Saxon for 6th grade. Saxon does not rely on the videos of the Math-U-See method, which again, reinforces the self-directed study style we want to motivate in our children. The transition is a little tricky so it bears a detailed explanation.
After Math-U-See Intermediate is completed, the student can pick up Saxon 65 near lesson 41. We found the following reviews in Saxon 65 helpful. This introduces Saxon’s format to the student with math principles they are already familiar with from Math-U-See. So the student is comfortable with Saxon’s format when new material is covered in lessons 41 and beyond. Following the completion of Saxon 65, lesson 47, the transition was complete and we continued with Saxon 65 at a normal pace – which was 2 lessons a day at our modified pace, as explained below for lessons 48 and beyond.
Saxon 65 Daily Lesson following completion of Math-U-See Intermediate:
Practice set of Lessons 10 & 14
Practice set of Lessons 16 & 24
Lesson 27 – Practice + odd numbered Problems
Practice set of Lessons 29 & 33 + Problem Set 33 #4,12,16-21,25
Practice set of Lessons 36 & 38 + Problem Set 38 #1,2,8-10,15,16,20,24,25
Lesson 41-47 (1 lesson each day: Practice + odd numbered Problems)
Practice set of Lessons 48 & 49 + odd numbered Problems for Lesson 49
And so on for lesson 48 through the end of the book (Lesson 121). Each day the Practice set is done for 2 lessons and the odd-numbered Problems are done for the second lesson.
In this way, Saxon 65 is completed in about 50 school days. Saxon 76 is then started. See Math-6th Grade for more details.
Finally, the student should have been introduced to weekly library trips and music lessons before 6th grade. We don’t discuss these in detail in this plan, but these are essential to a well rounded education. They should continue throughout the middle school years.