“Do not worry too much about your difficulty in mathematics,

I can assure you that mine are still greater.” -Albert Einstein

Alright, I’m dedicating a whole blog post to MATH!!

I know crazy huh!? Maybe not for those who absolutely hands down love math and everything math, but for me my brain really struggles in this department.

Math has always been daunting to me. I did well enough in it to keep me on honor roll and get that star by my name for sports. However, I always struggled. That struggle kept going and I felt the love that was not there show up when attempting to teach my kids Math.

I personally have gained lots as I’ve gotten older in this subject but honestly it has been the why factor that has clicked more and either I never payed attention in class or I wasn’t taught many reasons on why certain math would be so valuable in everyday living. I want my kids to see the Why as being just as important as the solution.

I use to be jealous of those who homeschooled and picked one curriculum and stuck with it plus loved it. I thought why could that not be me? Why did I struggle so much in finding what worked for my family? Now looking back, maybe the whole reason (besides finding what works for my kids) is simply to have the knowledge of different programs for the sake of helping others choose what might work for them. I for sure have learned what works for my own family…while looking back and seeing so much initial struggles I now see so many benefits those struggles brought me to where I’m at today.

Here is what I learned ———————————-

One: I’m an Eclectic Homeschooler

Two: If I’m bored with how the subject is being taught, most likely my kids will become bored. How can a teacher bring joy to her students if she herself is dying with dulness.

I’ve learned my teaching style. I don’t just have one learning style. I am Eclectic, bringing about the Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, and Classical methods as my main mix of teaching. If I as my kids teacher am not excited about their lesson or what I’ve prepared that week then most likely my week will go downhill. It is so important to LOVE what you are doing. Not just love the concept of homeschooling and the material but implement it in a way that brings forth and cultivates a love in both the child and the teacher. This area is still constantly being fined tuned and you will never 100% implement it to perfection, but this is the beauty. The beauty of learning.

When deciding what materials to use when Homeschooling a big factor to think about is your own family dynamics. Now my husband loves math and I have a couple kids that don’t find it daunting. The nice thing is when I don’t understand my husband can step in and give us both a lesson.

Let me brake down what we have tried and what we are currently using.

Tried:

Math-U-See
Saxon
Teaching Textbooks
Life of Fred
Khan Academy
Aleks
Math in Focus
Masterbooks Math

Currently Using:

McGruffy Color Math
Aleks
Keys to Algebra
Khan

Exhausting list I know. However, I am so excited to have discovered McGruffy Math. This is the main math I am using with my three younger kids. The downside…..They only go till 5th grade. My oldest who struggles the most with math is doing Keys to Algebra at the moment along with Khan Academy. My second oldest is doing Keys to Algebra along with Aleks. I will go more into details about these later in my post.

Why McGruffy Math? The lessons are interactive, can be short, and have small reviews at the beginning. Can be very hands on or very little if you want.

How I structure our Math time. I set up our table with all three kids math books along with two Response Books that my fourth and second grader do. My teachers guide lists out all materials needed for each lesson at the top of the lesson. I determine if I will pull out all additional materials (mainly manipulative) or if it’s something we don’t need. The program also comes with a packet of extra papers including review, time tests, games etc. and little cards with activities on them.

Response Book basically is a quick review. Example: My fourth grader for that day usually is solving 10 problems. I would tell him he will be dividing and proceed with the first numbers(84,12). He then uses a dry eraser and writes the answer in the box. We repeat this process till the end. I then tell him what page to find the answers on and he corrects his work himself and usually announces proudly he got them all correct or missed one. Super simple and a fun easy way to review. After that we proceed to their workbooks.

Workbooks: The first part is review so they can do that on their own. While my older two are working on the first part independently I usually begin to give directions to my younger one on what she is doing for her lesson. After that its back and forth giving each kids directions on their paper if need be. What I like is there is much mix from review to new. Its not boring reputation page after page but with repetition its intermixed within the lesson to where at least to my kids doesn’t come across like….”Ive done this the past 20 lessons”

Overview: Our family very much hands-on. I as their teacher is hands-on and when I can see something visually in different ways it really helps me retain and understand it. The hands on aspect with multiple children isn’t to overwhelming. I have found if we do Math all at the same time kids benefit from each other by listening to each others lessons. They may be working independently and then look up excited that they know their siblings answer or want to join in on the game I’m teaching the other. I can find this time very busy as many manipulative’s are out but also very engaging as hands are busy connecting the dots in their lessons. For the first time Math hasn’t seemed boring, or causing tears.

Junior High:

First: My oldest two are making their way through Keys to Algebra. I highly recommend these cheap lessons. They are maybe 40 pages each per booklet. Algebra has 10 units each unit is broken down into 10 booklets (Example…Book 1: Operations on Integers, Book 2: Variables, Terms and Expressions). Maybe just this alone for a child who math isn’t their love seems far less daunting than a heavy text book. My oldest will then fill in some other math through Khan Academy. My second oldest fills in through Aleks. She doesn’t struggle like her oldest and in fact is my most traditional child (This is what I call a kid who wants to take a test or doesn’t mind textbook type material). I am not sure if this will be the same route I will take with my three younger ones. I am often times re-evaluate each individual but patterns begin to develop early helping to navigate those pre-teen and teen years much easier with how I can help them thrive in each subject and well…life in general.

Figuring out your families way of learning, your style of teaching and your kids way of thriving is crucial in many ways. A way of life may look appealing, but the breakdown might be more complicated or not work in the dynamics of your home. Here is my review of the math we tried and mostly have put aside.

Math-u-see: We used this as our very first math. I was a newbie and a part of me still wonders what went wrong on us stopping. The only things I can think of (This was over 10 years ago) was as a new homeschool mom I was in the middle of pregnant, nursing, toddlers and well just everything that comes at young moms. I didn’t really know about other methods of homeschooling (I was slowly learning) besides traditional and somehow I landed on this non traditional math. I didn’t put much into preparing lessons or even finishing anything so I think some how it just didn’t happen. Shortly after this we joined a state program and I decided to try something else. So I don’t feel I can give an accurate review on this math. What I do know is it is very mastery. A whole year is dedicated to certain things which can be great but when it comes to state testing your child can seem behind. If we weren’t apart of a state program this wouldn’t faze me because I wouldn’t have pressure from the outside regarding my kids performance. I still highly recommend this program for children who math is not their strong suit.

Saxon: This Math has been used, then discarded only to be used again and finally discarded once again for good. Especially for my oldest this is not a good fit at all. My second oldest did fine in it (remember she can be my most traditional kid when it comes to learning). This is a highly rated math but we found it just boring in not grabbing our children creative side. If you have a kid that thrives on math this program would probably be a great fit. My husband LOVES math and well…..none of our children have expressed the same love.

Teaching Textbooks: Independence! No teaching! This math is great in that area. My kids could log in and complete their assignment. They knew if they got less than a B they would have to retake the lesson. However, I caution you to level up. It starts at grade 3 this is more like grade 2 math. We didn’t discovery that with our oldest and she began to fall behind on the testing through our charter schools and I think discouragement began. We were then suggested to try other maths and well our journey sorta spiraled down hill when I think she would have done fine sticking with this and not worrying that she was ”behind” by others standards. She did do a trial of the pre-algebra this year (and seemed fine with it) but I didn’t buy the program since we aren’t sure what next year holds regarding high school. The switch to Keys to Algebra was good.

Life of Fred: We own the first six books and although they aren’t a core use in our daily homeschool I still highly recommend them. Great for changing it up every once in a while and a fun way of learning math. Story like but in very funny humor that help you see math in a different light. Boys tend to be drawn to these books but girls can truly benefit as well.

Khan Academy: This is a great free resource. I highly recommend this math and have even heard of families exclusively using this for their child’s math. We have always used it as supplemental because even though its a great free resource it doesn’t fully fit our learning style.

Aleks: My older two girls have used this off and on. There really isn’t lessons but areas to work in. My one daughter does well with it but in her mind she wants a lesson to complete. Even if the lesson takes her longer than if I were to tell her she needed to do math for 45min. For her she needs to feel like she accomplished something. There is a pie chart you can see that helps show progress but no direct lessons.

Math in Focus: This is basically Singapore Math. It teaches math in a different way which for someone who has done it the traditional American way it was slightly challenging. The concept made since but for me I struggled switching from what I’ve always known. If math was a love I think this program would be a very good fit. We just found it not a good fit and I had many tears shed from this with my younger ones.

Masterbooks Math: My oldest tried this program and its tough to give it a fair review. The program does well giving more practical reason for math, which is great. However, I feel my daughter wanted more traditional in a way for lessons and has made up her mind math Is her least favorite subject. I could see this working well for my second oldest daughter so I will be keeping this in mind for the future for her. My three younger ones I’m not sure.

Well….There you have it. This incredibly long post and who knows how many of you actually made it through. However, if it helps even just one person than it is all worth it.

Due to limited space we keep most of our math manipulative’s in a crate under our lockers.

Journey of Mathematics