Hey Homeschoolers! I am working on making a resource for new homeschoolers where they ask the questions and veteran homeschoolers give the answers. My goal is to provide advice, resources, and most of all to show that there is more than one way of doing things.
Please contact me with your answer to the following question. I have already included answers that folks sent me on Facebook. Please let me know if you do not want me to include your name in the posting. Please give as much info as possible including links, details, explanations, etc... I will add your answers to this page so that new homeschoolers will have a resource to refer back to again and again.
You can contact me at everestacademy1@gmail.com with your answer. Please put "Blog Challenge" in the subject line.
Thanks!Deb Spradlin
Everest Academy Administrator
Question: I need a suggestion for MATH that is good at explaining.
My Answer: We love, love, love Teaching Textbooks.
Our very favorite math is Teaching Textbooks, without a doubt. Math-U-See if you need hands-on--perhaps a visual learner. Apologia is great for science and they offer online classes for their curriculum. BJU is solid, but older. PACES, I think, are okay, but, I think, a little behind. Keep in mind that School of Tomorrow (PACES) is a mastery-based program and self-directed, so any of the other curriculums require a lot more parent involvement--with the exception of Teaching Textbooks. But, truly, any curriculum is what you make of it. Good Luck!
Right Start Math is great for elem. years. It teaches strategies not memorization.
We love Math-U-See. I've been told it's too simple, but for a child struggling to figure it out, MUS covers all the bases.
For jr high and high school classes BJU is awesome. I preferred ABEKA in elementary and middle school. My kids love BJU math more than any other.
I have used Switched on Schoolhouse for my 8th grader and high schoolers. I do NOT recommend it. Explanations are vague and more often than not when answers are correct they are marked wrong if they aren't EXACTLY like the software requires.
I have a friend who used SOS this past year and they hated it. She didn't feel like it really explained everything clearly. They are using Chalkdust next year, which is similar to Teaching Textbooks. I've heard good things about it but have not used it myself. We did use TT and it was great at explaining but my son is a quick learner and was bored of the length of the lessons by the end of the year. Good luck!
I have fallen in love with Teaching Textbooks and it has cd solutions that take you step by step through problems. You can take placement test at website to see where you should start child.
Oh my gosh.. the only math I ever suggest because it is wonderful is Math U See. ABSOLUTELY fabulous. We switched over to it a few years ago here, I use to teach public school and primarily use ps textbooks. ... except for Math U See.. which is a DVD based program. I have told MANY people about this program and NEVER had anyone not one person, say they did not agree that it was the best, easiest to follow, program out there.
By far Math u see is the only math for our family I have a 7th grader that we brought home 2 years ago she would cry every night over her math homework now it is the first thing she asks to do each day.
My kids did not like SOS at all -5th grade. We have used Math-U-See Alpha through Epsilon and love it. The DVD explains the concepts well. Friends use Teaching Textbooks Math. I do not like it as much, but is much more repetitive on covered concepts and limited problems on the new concepts. I do like that my kids are more independent using TT. It is a grade or more behind M-U-S.... we are using both but expect to go back to MUS
We use Math U See and my child loves it...try it...
We like Math U See and have heard great things about the teaching textbooks. Deb posted a resource called Khan Academy which is online (free), and my oldest loves it. So, you may want to look at it and it can be a resource, if nothing else.
Love Teaching Textbooks for our math program!!
We also used Switched on Schoolhouse and my kids found it quite unappealing and rather boring. We were expecting all this interactive stuff that would keep their interest and would be visual, but it was very much a disappointment. Abeka is OK when a child is younger, but as the grades progress, it gets repetitious and can seem to run the work into the ground. Good Luck!!
MATH U SEE...amazing! My daughter struggled for a very long time and after paying tutors and using most of the stuff out there we found math u see! LOVE IT!
After hours and hours of research, we chose Maria Miler’s Math Mammoth (light blue series), which is available as download, cd or “worktext” workbooks. The explanations and examples are solid – it is reasonably priced and it works for us. You can get free workbook page samples and even a free placement test from the Math Mammoth website. She teaches many math lessons on you tube as well. Also perhaps worth noting is a series of workbooks I am really interested in called Make it Real Learning. Since I do not have these workbooks yet I am not endorsing them but think others may find they are worth a look. This series is supposedly aimed at answering the math question we hear a lot in our house “When am I ever going to use this?” The problems are those you would encounter in real life. For example, looking at different cell phone plans and determining which one is the best deal. (I think this series is for middle school through high school.) I am planning to supplement the Math Mammoth with the Make it Real Learning workbooks and hope we don’t find them disappointing. As others have said, I agree the best learning is often hands on, in the kitchen or measuring and cutting angles in a woodworking project. It’s amazing what knowledge kids will soak up building a catapult – and what fun!
I love Teaching Textbooks because it largely takes me out of the equation. I understood the math I was trying to teach my kids, but apparently I was awful at explaining it since the kids would just end up more confused. It is a computer based (disc) program which works well for my electronic junkies (plus doesn't need a lot of materials like Math-U-See does). My one complaint thus far is I school year-round and have just passed my kids from one level to the next without a break. The 1st several lessons (at least 10) are all review. This would be fine coming back from summer break, but I got a loud groan and an "I already know all this!" complaint from my child. However, I informed her that she has the option of skipping the lecture and going straight to the questions (at her own risk)....on the other hand, this also demonstrates a level of flexibility that other programs might not have. There are online demos you can check out to see if it will be a fit for you too. :)
I love Teaching Textbooks because it largely takes me out of the equation. I understood the math I was trying to teach my kids, but apparently I was awful at explaining it since the kids would just end up more confused. It is a computer based (disc) program which works well for my electronic junkies (plus doesn't need a lot of materials like Math-U-See does). My one complaint thus far is I school year-round and have just passed my kids from one level to the next without a break. The 1st several lessons (at least 10) are all review. This would be fine coming back from summer break, but I got a loud groan and an "I already know all this!" complaint from my child. However, I informed her that she has the option of skipping the lecture and going straight to the questions (at her own risk)....on the other hand, this also demonstrates a level of flexibility that other programs might not have. There are online demos you can check out to see if it will be a fit for you too. :)
