Homeschooling math programs?

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Which math program are you using, do you like or dislike it and why?

I’ll go first. I start out with Moving with Math for the younger ones. It’s heavy on manipulatives and seems to give them a good foundation.

I then move onto Saxon. I know people used to be critical of Saxon but they’ve reworked their program and it seems pretty good now and very incremental. I teach it by myself until the 7th grade then I start using the D.I.V.E. CD-roms. This seems to be working out wonderfully. For some reason they seem to be able to grasp the concept when he explains it as the math gets harder.
 
My kids complained about Saxon, but I didn’t! It’s pretty thorough, IMO.

They hated 5/4, so when they finished we baked a cake to celebrate 😉 .

They’ve all gone on to do well in math. —KCT
 
I used Saxon when I was being homeschooled. I really liked the series, however, I wouldn’t do all of the exercises they provide, I would only do the odd or even exercises to cut down on repetitive work–It isn’t a bad series though because they give you more than you need, it is nice to have the choice of how much you want to do.
 
It’s interesting that you mention that. We actually only do the odd problems in the odd lessons and even ones in the even lessons. Of course we do all of the lettered problems that were introduced in the lesson. Everything gets covered but it does cut down a little on the reperition. You might say it’s too incremental!😉
 
It’s interesting that you mention that. We actually only do the odd problems in the odd lessons and even ones in the even lessons. Of course we do all of the lettered problems that were introduced in the lesson. Everything gets covered but it does cut down a little on the reperition. You might say it’s too incremental!😉
 
We use MCP Math, but because we’re in Kindergarten, and that’s what CHC has for its Kindergarten curriculum.

Actually, having finished kindergarten this year, I’d use the program again for next year, but I did find that I had to purchase supplemental materials for her to use. I felt they covered somethings WAY too quickly for her to pick up on. However, I didn’t buy the teacher’s manual, which I understand has supplemental materials in it. I went for economy, and bought the $10 workbook from another company, rather than the $33 MCP teacher’s manual.

Now, as the kids advance through grades, and they surpass my own math skills (which, when I taught 7th grade english, had usually happened by late winter- after that I couldn’t help my students out anymore 😉 ), I’ll have to buy the teacher’s manual.

Cheers,
Cari
 
Eldest dd, 9th grade, is using Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1. 👍 I highly recommend it!

Middle dd, 5th grade, is using Horizons math. She likes it because it has a lot of different things (spiral approach) to learn/do/review each lesson. No getting bogged down on a page full of the same type of problems.

Youngest ds, 3rd grade, is my mathophobe. He’s still working on learning his basic facts, so he’s really closer to 2nd grade level math. We’re having better results with Singapore math than anything else. We also use Right Start math manipulatives, Addition the Fun Way, and math videos I get from A+ Educational Videos. Every now and then I’ll try him with a Horizons page since I bought the Horizons 2 set before I saw how overwhelmed it would make him feel. (On the bright side, he reads beautifully! I have to remind myself that some 9+ yos are still struggling to learn how to read and that has never been a problem for him. 😃 )
 
I used Math-U-See and my daughter really liked it. It comes with a DVD that kind of does the teaching. Then there are manipulatives that you do to solve all the problems. Now she is in school and they use Saxon, which I also like a lot.
 
bear06 said:
Which math program are you using, do you like or dislike it and why?

I’ll go first. I start out with Moving with Math for the younger ones. It’s heavy on manipulatives and seems to give them a good foundation.

I then move onto Saxon. I know people used to be critical of Saxon but they’ve reworked their program and it seems pretty good now and very incremental. I teach it by myself until the 7th grade then I start using the D.I.V.E. CD-roms. This seems to be working out wonderfully. For some reason they seem to be able to grasp the concept when he explains it as the math gets harder.
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We were very happy with Saxon. Very happy indeed.
 
mcp until 5th/6th - then switched to Saxon
I never let them skip in math.
IMHO, it becomes second nature and much easier later with lots of practice.
 
Don’t rule out community college…I got only so far with ABeka and my parents, so when I was old enough I went to community college. It helped me make sense of algebra! Plus, as a bonus, you get both high school AND college credit from the same classes!
 
Have to say Saxon. I’ve had too many homeschoolers (Catholic and non-Catholic) tell me that they were blowing away their public-schooled classmates in college freshman math, thanks to the Saxon series (and a few were able to test out of the more basic math courses.)
 
We use Professor B’s Mathematics Power Learning for Children. My only complaints about it were that it has a horribly long name and it didn’t cover patterns. LOL

My daughter struggled with math on regular programs but with this (it’s very verbally oriented) she really ‘got it’. Math isn’t hard for her anymore!

I found some math videos that covered patterns… some older lady making noises while she taught them up on the board. I pre-watched it and thought it was the most boring thing ever, but my daughter and the kids at my daycare LOVED the pattern video and would beg to watch it over Cinderella. A friend of mine said her grandkids watched it over and over until it drove her nuts too. 🤷
 
I considered many curriculumn and it came down to Math-U-See, Singapore math, and Miquon math. After much careful examination I chose Miquon, a program from a Pennsyulvannia school based on German mathemetiacs - Germans are supposed to be the best at this. It is not expensive and not fancy and its real easy to use. The math work pages progress in a sensible way and my son never bulked about doing math. In fact I saved it for last, wanting him to be fresh for subjects he liked less. Math became the “reward” subject.

We did the Miquon K-2. The plan was to go into Saxon Math in third grade. Unexpectedly, he had to start school then, and it was a blessing to see his school used Saxon. In 4th grade he got into Level 4 on the state exams, the highest level, and was the only one to do so at his school. I am expecting he will score high in the 5th grade state exam too. He is in highest level and finds it simple, so the good German math foundation is evident. All this tells me that the Miquon was a real solid foundation, besides beig a breeeze to use with little assistance from me.

Also I had some colored counting sticks we used in conjunction with the program. I forgot what they are called - you probably know if you are looking into programs now.
 
Cuisinaire rods… we had fun playing with them when I was taking Math for Elementary School Teachers in college!😃
 
Syele said:
We use Professor B’s Mathematics Power Learning for Children. My only complaints about it were that it has a horribly long name and it didn’t cover patterns. LOL

My daughter struggled with math on regular programs but with this (it’s very verbally oriented) she really ‘got it’. Math isn’t hard for her anymore!
Click to expand...
Verbally oriented math, eh? I’ll have to look into that for my mathophobe. 👍
 
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