DD9 is going to be starting 6th grade in ten days. Her new school seems flexible, and I'm hoping to get her into an algebra placement.
I've already actually done a lot of algebra with her (3 chapters of a rigorous text before the spelling bee took over), and my stuff is likely to be more rigorous than what the school uses. They use Khan Academy instruction and a teacher; I use an older algebra book (Brown & Dolciani) supplemented with ideas from Wu's
Common Core book for teachers. We go over the stuff the teachers do when we use that book: proofs involving variables, that sort of thing.
I'm not convinced that pre-algebra is a good option for a HG+ child with math talent. I've looked at pre-algebra books and curricula (starting in 9th grade when my friends were enrolled in it), and the course has always struck me as being algebra-lite, with repetition of the same stuff in algebra 1.
Does anyone have
1) thoughts on ideas about the suitability of skipping pre-algebra
2) thoughts on how best to advocate?
Thanks.
