Comments on: What is the Right Math Curriculum for Your Homeschool?

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 01:32:15 +0000

My kids all LOVE Life of Fred for math and my older kids (I have 7 children, ages 21 down to 2, all home schooled their whole lives) who used to struggle a lot with math are now not only excelling and genuinely understanding it but loving it too (My 21 year-old, who graduated before we found LoF, is using it now in her spare time so she can understand math better)! It’s also so much more affordable than other programs and has curriculum for every age group from K-1 on up to calculus and trigonometry.The plus is that the kids will love Fred and learn way more than just Math too. You’ll have to check out the website.
http://www.lifeoffredmath.com/ Have a great year!

By: Samantha

Samantha — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 14:09:14 +0000

I would not recommend Teaching Textbooks, because it does not prepare you for upper grade math that well.
A Beka is great, but the older grades (9-12) are reprints of a 1910s textbook. We are trying Saxon for algebra 2 next year

By: Keri

Keri — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 19:55:09 +0000

Math! Yep, that is not my strongest area to teach either. So, do not feel alone in that. We personally use Time4Learning. The reason why it works so well for us, is that it TEACHES!!! lol 😉 But seriously, it is a lifesaver in that department. Plus, if the kiddos forget how to do something they can go back to that lesson and relearn.
No more ~> MOM!!!! I forgot how to do ……… again. O’ and they are fixing to start offering High School level Courses http://www.time4learning.com/homeschool/high_school.shtml
HTH 🙂

By: Sharla

Sharla — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 00:42:45 +0000

In reply to Jen Wieber. Jen, I'd love it if you shared a link to this with your readers. Thanks for asking!

By: Jen Wieber

Jen Wieber — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 23:51:10 +0000

Hi Sharla,
I am a home school mom and a writer for a blog on http://www.multiplication.com and I find this article you wrote extremely helpful. Could I link to your blog and send our readers your way? There are so many math choices out there and I like the way you have researched the different curriculum, and how you facilitate discussions regarding reader’s opinions. Thank you!

Also, I do have to agree with Tracy. I, too, was surprised that no one had suggested Singapore math. Math U See gave us a great foundation, but I really wanted a spiral instruction for my kids. We then tried Horizons, which was very appealing with it’s bright colors and bold, simple pictures. Now we are working with Singapore, because I had heard Singapore was excellent at teaching mental math. I see how great it has been to teach my daughters every day math skills. But I do believe it needs to supplemented by another program.

By: Sharla

Sharla — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:44:02 +0000

In reply to Dawn @ The Momma Knows. Thanks Dawn! I will add the link to the review into the post so that others can benefit from reading it. That name has been popping up a fair bit in this math curriculum discussion.

By: Dawn @ The Momma Knows

Dawn @ The Momma Knows — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:23:09 +0000

Sharla I wrote a review of Khan Academy (with screenshots) last year: http://themommaknows.com/our-new-math-curriculum-khan-academy/ We don’t use it full time (although we did for a short period) but still do use it for help and practice.

By: Sharla

Sharla — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:14:14 +0000

In reply to Rhiannon. Thanks for the suggestion...I will check it out!

By: Tracy

Tracy — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:03:51 +0000

I’m surprised no one mentioned Singapore! We started with Saxon but disliked the incremental approach. It was hard for my math-minded child to move at the pace he needed. It was also boring for my verbal-minded child. It took most of the year (Saxon 3) to find a concept he didn’t already know before it was “taught.” We switched to Singapore because I keep hearing how wonderful it is. I do like it, but it doesn’t have enough practice in it, in my opinion. I also feel like the way some of the concepts are taught is too abstract. I want to find something more traditional, that is a mastery approach, but I cannot seem to find what I want. I do supplement with Life of Fred, Math Detectives, and Beast Academy. I really like all of those as supplemental materials!

By: Rhiannon

Rhiannon — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:39:36 +0000

Here is the website you need

http://everydaymath.com/