Recommended Math Programs

Recommended Math Programs

April 4, 2013

Figuring out which math curriculum to use has probably given me the most problems over the course of our homeschooling journey. Personally, I was never very good at it when I was in school, so teaching my children math promised to be a daunting task.

After many years of worrying about math, I’ve finally found what works for each of my children. This ultimately will end up what you will need to figure out, unfortunately through trial and error. But that is the whole point of homeschooling – catering to the exact needs of your child, as opposed to being at the mercy of the public school’s singular method of teaching. Using this trial and error approach, we have used several programs over the years. In this article, I’ll go through what we’ve used and give a pros and cons list of each.

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Math U See

Math U See was the first math program I used with my children. I LOVED it. Unfortunately, “my” kids didn’t. We used the Alpha through Delta programs.

Pros

• It comes with it’s own video math teacher – Steve Demme is fabulous, and he makes math easy to understand.
• The manipulatives are really fun to play with, and they help cement the concepts being taught.
• MUS is a Mastery program, so you focus on one concept until you’ve learned it before moving on to a new one.

Cons

• My twins are very good at math and found MUS boring. There are no pictures, just a full page of problems to work through.
• Because it’s a mastery program, a child who is quick to understand a concept may get bored quickly. There also isn’t a lot of review.

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Math Mammoth

We used Math Mammoth for a few years – using the 3-6th grade full curriculum materials.

Pros

• Very inexpensive – you can get a full year of math for under $40!
• There is plenty of practice and review of concepts.
• The books are a bit more colorful and “fun” looking.
• There is a full year curriculum series, but she also writes a concept based units. If your child needs help on a specific concept, you can purchase these for fairly cheap and spend time focusing on trouble areas.

Cons

• There is no teacher’s manual, just an answer key. The program is written to the student and ideally, it is a self-taught program. Unfortunately, this only works with a certain type of child. If your child isn’t already good at math, they may get quickly frustrated.
• Because there is no teacher’s manual, the answer key only contains the answers – without the explanation of how to get the answer.
• While the program is very inexpensive, it does require you to print it out – this can raise the price quite a bit.

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Teaching Texbooks

Teaching Textbooks is the program we are currently using, and it’s most likely the one we’re going to stick with.

Pros

• Teaching Textbooks is almost completely hands-off for mom – it can be done independently.
• The program acts as a computer-based, interactive tutor – guiding you through the concept, then through each problem to help you understand why you got it wrong.
• It’s on the computer – my kids LOVE getting to do school work on the computer.
• It keeps a grade book so you can keep track of their progress – this can be especially helpful if you need to keep records.
• Because the entire program is online, it is non-consumable.

Cons

• Teaching Textbooks in its current format is set us as a subscription service. This means if you have multiple children, you’ll need to repurchase each level as you need it.
• There is not a lot of review problems, so you may find that you need to supplement with either Khan Academy online, or Math Mammoth concept books once in a while.
• I’ve heard it said that TT seems to be about a grade level behind. But again, that will be determined by your child’s aptitude in mathematics. Some of my children are very good at math and they breeze through the lessons. While some struggle with math, and can take up to an hour to work through a lesson at times.

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Unfortunately, there is not a one-size-fits-all math program. You will have to evaluate which program you feel will best fit your child’s learning style, and then try it out. You may end up switching every so often, or your child may fall in love with on particular program and use it throughout their schooling.

Remember, if it wasn’t a consumable workbook, you may want save your previously purchased math programs if you have other children. One may work perfectly well for one child, but not so well for another, as was the case for mine.

Please feel free to ask any additional questions and I’ll see if I can point you in the right direction. If you have experience with some of the other popular math programs, or if you know of an unusual one, please share in the comments (which are chock full of great recommendations for other math programs)!

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Emily Cook is the author and creator of the secular homeschool curriculum Build Your Library, a literature-based K-12 program infused with the teachings of Charlotte Mason. She writes full year lesson plans as well as shorter topical unit studies. Emily has been homeschooling her four children in Southern NH for 21 years. She is passionate about reading aloud to children of all ages and loves to share her love of literature with others. She and her family also makes incredibly dorky videos about homeschooling, books and more on Youtube at ARRRGH! Schooling. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.