Review: Math U See

About Math U See:

Math U See is a complete K-12 mastery level step by step math program. This mastery program teaches students skills that build as the child progresses from one level to the next. The program assists the student by introducing her to the lesson, reviewing, practicing, and mastering the concepts. Math U See uses tools such as videos and manipulatives to help the adult (The adult may watch the video before introducing the lesson or the student may view the video on her own.) and child understand the lesson.

The Delta level is the program I was given to review. This level teaches the student how to divide single and multiple-digit numbers. "Division is presented as the inverse of multiplication. Single-digit division facts are learned and the concepts of division and place value are applied when solving long division problems."

Please click on the following links so you may find the Delta Catalog and Demonstration Videos.

Support

On-Line Store

Our Homeschool Experience:

Math U See is a mastery program which I love. (In a mastery program, the student not only learns each concept but is also able to teach it back to show that she has mastered the lesson.) I also appreciated that the student workbook included extra activity pages just in case there's a certain lesson my daughter was having difficulties with. The "Quick Review" pages and the "Systematic Review" pages were really helpful to me. I would have my 7 year old complete these assignments and this would give me an indication if she had understood and mastered what she had previously learned. Preparing for the lesson was really simple. All I had to do was watch the video, learn the new concept, and learn how to demonstrate it.

On our first day of any given lesson, she would complete the entire page. If she understood the lesson, then on the second day, I would ask her if she wanted to complete the even or odd problems. She almost always wanted to complete the entire page. My daughter always says "Mom, I love Math." If by the third day she was understanding  the lesson completely, we skipped the rest of the activity sheets and moved on to the next concept.

My daughter loved the application and enrichment activities. One of the activities that she enjoyed completing was the one were she had to recognize the factors of the number 2. She was asked to color all of the factors of the number 2 in orange and the rest of the numbers she was to color their spaces brown. The picture was of a wound up mouse. CUTE!! Finding the average was another lesson that she enjoyed learning.

A few months ago, I dropped off my two girls in the daycare at the gym. When I went back to pick them up, I saw an older homeschool girl completing a multiplication math sheet. She was really struggling with it. As I tried to help her, I noticed that the little girl had not memorized her doubles in addition. I helped her out, picked up my girls, and left the gym. When we arrived at our vehicle, my 7 year old mentioned that the other girl had hurt her feelings. When I asked her what had happened, she told me that she was helping her friend with her math and her friend said "I know what I'm doing." I explained to her that her friend is about 2 years older then she is and probably felt uncomfortable that someone that was younger then she is was helping her with her math. Thank You Math U See.

I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

Review on Time 4 Learning

About Time 4 Learning:

Time 4 Learning is an online curriculum for kids in preschool - 12 grade that combines education with interactive fun. "Animated lessons, interactive activities, printable worksheets and detailed reporting make the learning system a top selection of the Homeschool.com "Top 100 Educational Websites" list, year after year." Time 4 Learning provides automated grading, lesson plans, and detailed reporting that track progress. The lessons are presented at the student's pace. Language Arts and math correlate with your state's standards and science, social studies, and art are available in most grades. Please click on this link so you may find some demos.

PreK-8th Grade:

$19.95 Per Month

$14.95 each addt'l child

High School:

$30 Per Month

Includes 4 Courses

Prices subject to change without notice.

Contact Information

Our Homeschool Experience:

My 7 year old really loved completing the assignments found in Time 4 Learning. From all of the subjects offered, she loved Science the best. Once she signed in and clicked on the icon for Science, she saw 3 choices, "Patterns in Nature", "Force in Motion", and "Earth and Space". Even though there was an arrow showing the suggested sequence,  she decided to complete them out of order. The first one that she was interested in was "Moon and Earth". Once she clicked on this icon, she had two other choices to choose from. The 2 resources provided were "Sun, Earth, and Moon" and "The voyage to the Earth, Moon, and Sun". When she clicked on "Sun, Earth, and Moon" the animation made it seem like she was inside of a spaceship. Here she met "Neep". "Neep" would teach her about the sun, earth, and moon. With "The voyage to the Earth", my daughter was at a carnival. Here my daughter learned about the Sun being a star and how it shines on the Earth and Moon. She also learned that Earth is a planet and has water, air, and life. As far as the Moon, she learned that it is cold and it does not shine on its own. After these two lessons, she was given a quiz.

She had so much fun playing some of the games found in the "Playground". But the only way she was able to access this section was if she completed the lesson until the timer ran out. The "Page Color" gave her an opportunity to personalize the look of the site.In the section "Parent" I was given the opportunity to change the time settings for that particular day or permanently. In the section labeled "My portfolio"I was able to find what assignments she had competed that day, week, or month.We really loved Time 4 Learning and we would recommend it.

 

I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

"Read what the rest of the Crew had to say about Time 4 Learning"

Schoolhouse Review Crew

Common Core Math

 Please click on the link to view a You Tube video about Common Core Math.

You Tube

Review on "The HomeGrown Preschooler Teaching Your Kids in the Places They Live

About The Homegrown Preschooler:

Gryphon House is an award winning resource site. One of the resources that the site provides is the book  The Homegrown Preschooler. This how-to parenting book offers organizational tips, recipes, and over 200 hands on activities for your preschooler. The resource book helps one to find learning experiences in everyday occurrences. "As straightforward as a parenting how-to book and as easily applicable as a set curriculum, The Homegrown Preschooler will inspire parents to use their homes as classrooms and take advantage of the naturally rich learning opportunities existing in everyday life!" The site also provides hundreds of  free activities and free crafts for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary school children.

$29.95

Gryphon House, Inc.

PO Box 10

6848 Leon’s Way

Lewisville, NC 27023

ORDER PLACEMENT: 1-800-638-0928 (US only)

Fax: 1-877-638-7576

Our Homeschool Experience:

Both of my daughters loved the activities in this book. Even though the book is designed for younger children, I was able to include my 7 year old in many of the activities. For example, both girls love to paint. One particular morning, I had them paint to music. I played a variety of music and encouraged the girls to paint whatever they felt the "music sounds would look like." Another activity that they were able to do together was playing with the sensory table. My father in law built one and the girls have not been able to stop playing in it. They have taken their toys and hid them in the sand. I hid different shapes and asked my 3 year old to try to find them. Once she did, she had to try to tell me what the shapes were. Another activity that the girls did together was the "Salt Dough." Once they made the dough, my youngest created some shapes and my oldest spelled some of her spelling words. Learning how to sort was another activity in the book.  A few days ago, I was doing the laundry and I had my girls help me sort it out. This daily mundane task became a teaching moment for the youngest.

We also made some of the recipes found in the book. "Sweet and Crunchy Chicken" was the best. We all loved it. The recipe called for chicken breast, honey, spicy brown mustard, olive oil, salt, garlic, black pepper, panko, and pecans or almonds. The day before we made this recipe, I had cooked a whole chicken and had some left overs. I saw this recipe in the book and decided to try it out. Even though the recipe called for strips of chicken, I used shredded chicken. For the breading, I did not have enough walnuts (recipe calls for pecans or almonds) so I added peanuts and panko. It was really good!!!!!!! Another recipe that we tried was the "Chicken Bundles". The ingredients needed were chopped chicken, salt, cream cheese, chives, peas and carrots, milk, crescent rolls, butter, and crushed croutons. We did not enjoy this recipe as much as the other one but I'm not sure if it was because I used ground beef instead of chicken.


Gardening was another activity in the book. Coincidentally my oldest was involved in a summer gardening camp at the same time I was reviewing this book. One particular day, after the gardening camp, she came home with seeds in a paper towel. Because of this, we were able to do the activity "The Root of the Process".  Once the roots started growing both of my girls were able to see them  and I was able to explain how the roots receive their nutrients. This was a fun and really educational book. We all loved it and we would recommend it.

 

 I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

"Read what the rest of the Crew had to say about The Homegrown Preschooler"

Schoolhouse Review Crew

Summer Giveaway

July’s Giveaway

 July 1, 2013-July 31, 2013

Samuel Adams Returns 

$18.00

In this educational DVD geared for 6th graders and up. Tom Niewulis, Jr., presents to modern audiences the speeches of Samuel Adams while acting out his life and words. This DVD is a real - life portrayal of Samuel Adams. Click to see trailer. YouTube 

 

Amphibians Downloadable Version

$13.00

This downloadable lapbook will answer questions such as: "What is an amphibian?", "What defenses do they have in order to survive?" ,"What about the amazing world of tadpoles?", "Are there differences between frogs and toads?", "What are salamanders?", "What are caecilians and do we ever see them?" After completing this colorful lapbook, you children will be able to answer these questions. 

Celebrate High School 

"Every student has a high school story, a story told through transcripts, course descriptions, reading lists, co-curricular activities, letters of recommendation, community service affidavits, and supporting documents. Celebrate High School encourages parents through the process of writing their student's high school story with step-by-step instructions, and ready-to-use examples."

Geometry

$6.00 + Shipping and Handling 

"One month of purposeful concept-specific, multi-sensory opportunities for children
preschool through second grade, designed to teach and reinforce aspects of foundational geometry. Nurtures a child’s innate curiosity about how the world works while inviting questions, engaging thought, and applying understanding. Complements any child's math curriculum or program"

There's Always a Story

$6.00 + Shipping and Handling

"There’s Always a Story helps parents and educator find books to complement a child’s studies, in every content area. This guide includes hundreds of titles arranged by content area to help lesson planning time and maximize the delight of life-long learning because There is Always a Story to enhance any topic a child desires to learn."

Cheryl's Blog

Purposeful Planning

$10.00 Instant Download

Purposeful Planning was created to help you discover the Lord's plan for you and your family. 

"Does having your spouse’s undivided attention appeal to you? Planning weekends give you time to dream, to talk together about what you wish, or want, at a time when the other person is really listening."

"Do you need a plan to keep your family moving in the direction the Lord is leading you? Perhaps you don’t know where the Lord is leading you. Phyllis takes you step-by-step through the process of planning a time together for your family to help determine the path the Lord is choosing for each area of your life. Her family has followed this format for over 12 years and has found that it provides the compass they’ve needed to plan and stay on course."

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This giveaway is open to Residents of the U.S. only. Void where prohibited. Must be at least 18 years of age.

Review on Math Mammoth

 

About Math Mammoth: 

Math Mammoth are affordable math worktexts and workbooks available as both downloads and printed books. The lessons are self teaching, thus requiring little involvement or preparation. The mastery oriented math program provides a Placement Test in order to help determine what level the child is in. The curriculum that I reviewed  was Math Mammoth Blue Complete Curriculum which covers grades 1-6. Just like the other complete curriculum, Grade 2 contains explanation of each topic and two parts of a worktext (A and B), tests, cumulative reviews, answer keys, and a worksheet maker. For $34.00 (Price may change without notice.), you would receive part A and B worktexts, answer keys, tests, cumulative reviews, a worksheet maker, and Soft-Pak.

The four main areas of study for second grade are:
 
"Understanding of the base-ten system within 1000. This includes place value with three-digit numbers,   skip- counting in fives, tens, and multiples of hundreds, tens, and ones (within 1000). (chapters 6 and 8);
    
Develop fluency with addition and subtraction within 100, including solving word problems, regrouping in addition, and regrouping in subtraction (chapters 1, 3, 4, and 8);
    
Using standard units of measure (chapter 7);
    
Describing and analyzing shapes (chapter 5)."

.Contact

Our Experience:

Math Mammoth is a mastery program which I prefer to use then the spiral based program. This online math program focuses on mastering a concept before introducing something new.  My daughter and I loved that the lessons were short. The explanations were clear and the exercises provided a lot of visuals. Very little preparation was needed in order for my daughter to complete the problems.

One of my daughter's favorite lessons was the one teaching about geometric patterns. She enjoyed continuing to color in the pattern provided. With this particular lesson, she learned about parallelograms. Another lesson that she enjoyed completing was the one that taught about solids. A few months ago, I purchased a set of solid shapes. I was able to incorporate them into this lesson since she is a tactile learner.

The program also gave her an opportunity to print out the cut outs of the solids introduced in the lesson. She was able to make a cone, cube, cylinder, and  a square pyramid.The only negative with this math program was that there were not many hands on activities. My daughter is a tactile learner so she enjoys making things. Other then that, I would recommend program.

 I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

"Read what the rest of the Crew had to say about Math Mammoth"

Schoolhouse Review Crew

 

Activity in a Bag Math & Science

Activity in a Bag 

Activity in a Bag:

Are you sometimes looking for fun and teachable activities for your children? Activity in a Bag  provides self guided activities for children from preschool through 8th grade. The activities are very engaging. "It has experiments they can see, touch, manipulate, and modify; situations that allow them to figure out what happens -- in short ,events, and puzzles that they can investigate, which is the very stuff of Science." Each activity is contained in a one gallon zipper bag. The cost for E Book 1 & 2 is $15 each. This includes instructions on how to coordinate a swap. For $27 you will receive Science Ebooks1 & 2 together at a discounted rate.  Biology, General Science, and Nature was one of the E books I selected to review. This book provides 25 samples of simple experiments. Chemistry, Human Body, and General Science E Book 2 also provides 25 samples of simple and engaging experiments. E Book 3 Chemistry, is available for $15 and the activity bag also includes instructions on how to coordinate a swap. The E Book Math includes 33 instructions for math games for elementary school-aged children and the cost is also $15. The games are designed for you to have fun with your child while reinforcing what ever skill is being taught. Most of the games are designed for 2 or more players. "These math games use materials found inside your home to make fun games that parents can use to strengthen their child's math skills and build strong, positive attitudes toward math."

 Activity Bags

8090 Downing Dr.

Denver, Co. 80229

303-288-0948

info@activitybags.com

Homeschool Experience:

My 6 year old and I really enjoyed doing the Science projects together and playing the math games. My daughter learned how to make glue out of baking soda, skim milk, and vinegar. This concoction actually worked. There's another product that I was also reviewing and my daughter was suppose to glue a piece of paper unto card stock. The paper glued perfectly using the glue my daughter had created with the ingredients listed above. Another experiment that we enjoyed doing together was  observing how plants absorb water through their stems. The instructions asked us to use red and blue food coloring. Since we only had red, we used vanilla extract instead of the blue food coloring. Well, unfortunately this did not work out. I thought that maybe because the vanilla extract is colored, that we would be able to see the color in the stem but we couldn't. Also the experiment asked for us to use carnations. Instead of carnations, we used leaves and celery sticks. This worked and my daughter was able to see how water is absorb through the stems of the leaves and celery sticks. The "Bird Seed" experiment was also a lot of fun. At first, we thought we had done something incorrectly because the plants had not germinated but we were just being inpatient.:) For our last Science experiment we learned how a siphon works. My daughter filled one cup up with water and set an empty cup on the top of a thick book next to the cup filled with water. She then placed a plastic tube in the cup with water and the other end in the empty cup. She was able to see how the water flowed. For the Math Activity in a Bag, I selected "Double Digits." Since my daughter has been learning how to subtract 3 digit numbers with regrouping, I thought this game would be a fun way of practicing the concept. I had to modify it a bit and use 3 dice instead of 2. She would roll the 3 dice and then  look at the numbers and write down the biggest number she could make with those digits. She would roll the 3 dice again and this time she would write down the smallest number. Then she would subtract the smallest number from the largest. She would then write down the answer ( her score). After a few turns, the player with the most points would win. This game was a lot of fun!!!!

Making Glue

Bird Seed Experiment

Leaves Absorbing Colored Water

Math Game

Overall Thoughts:

My daughter and I would recommend Activity in a Bag and we LOVED it. We really enjoyed the hands on activities and the math game. It was so much fun to complete these activities together. The instructions were easy to follow and I really liked the observation questions found in the Science Activity Bag. At the end of the questions, the answers were provided. I also appreciated how everything was laid out. For example, the description of the experiment, the type, and the supplies that would be needed were all well explained. We also enjoyed playing math games. Since supplies had to be purchased in order to complete some of the experiments or games, Activity in a Bag is not complete for its purpose but I would recommend it.

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

"Read what the rest of the Crew had to say about Activity in a Bag"

Schoolhouse Review Crew

IXL Educational Math Tool

Product:

IXL is an educational on-line site that helps students practice their math skills. The site provides math problems for children in pre-k through 8th grade. Students are able to master skills needed to perform at their state's standards. The site provides unlimited math problems and over 1000 topics the student can choose from. "IXL generates problems targeted to the grade or level and skill you select. A skill is a specific subject that is taught in the selected grade. Students can choose from any grade level or topic category. As they progress towards mastery of a skill, the problems become increasingly difficult." IXL provides reports that help parents and teachers monitor their students' progress. The site also provides a free trial where the student may complete up to 20 questions. This option will not give the child access to the game board nor will the student earn rewards. In addition, the site will not save the student's work.

IXL provides two different options to chose from. The family memberships are designed for parents to use with their children at home. The program also offers an educator subscription which is designed for teachers to use with their students in their classroom. With this option the teachers could either subscribe with a single classroom license or they can subscribe as part of a site license. With a site license multiple teachers are able to use the site.Teachers also have access to the "Roster Tab" which makes it easy for them to enter their students' information. The roster also gives the teacher the option of  entering the parent's email address so emails could be sent to keep them updated of their child's progress.

When students enter the site they can select a skill from their grade level, choose a challenge on the game board, or click on a skill associated with their state standard. IXL also provides a helpful feature for children in grades pre-k, kindergarten, or 1st grade level. The program offers the users an icon to hear the text of the question and its answer options.This feature ensures that the child can practice math, regardless of their reading skills.

With IXL children use the site to practice math while the parents and teachers use it to monitor their progress.The cost for the program is $79 per year for a family or $9.95 per month.

IXL Learning

777 Mariners Island Blvd., Suite 600

San Mateo, CA 94404 (USA)

Phone

    (650) 372-4040

Fax

    (650) 372-4072

E-mail

    info@ixl.com

My Experience:

My 6 year old daughter really enjoyed completing the math problems. She also enjoyed going to the game board and playing the challenge options on it. With IXL she had an option of either selecting math problems from the practice tab or  launching her practice from the game board. She also enjoyed viewing and revealing the prizes she had earned for finishing the required number of problems.When she completed 100 math problems, I received an email stating "We're happy to say that Child 1 has been hard at work on IXL! Child 1 has answered 100 math problems so far, print certificate. To view a full report, please sign in to IXL and click on the Reports tab. You'll be able to see how Child 1 is doing on each skill, and you and Child 1 can set new practice goals together." Now every  time she sees me on the computer she is asking if she has received another award.

An option that I appreciated was being able to see what skills she had completed and what she needed help in. Also for her grade level the site has an option to have the questions and answers read to her which helped her to work independently. Tracking her progress using the detailed reports was very important to me. The grade level titles also helped me to be able to identify the appropriate skills for her.

As a special education teacher, I really appreciated that the site gives parents/teachers the choice to hide the grade level. With this option the child is not embarrassed by the fact that he might be working below his grade level. The math problems are timed ,however, the program gives one the option to hide the timer which helped reduce the frustration level.

Overall Thoughts:

I would recommend this program and it is complete for its purpose. As a parent of two, I appreciated that I was able to set my daughter up on the computer and she could work independently. I also appreciated being able to look at my state standards and make sure my daughter is completing the topics required for her grade.The "Report Tab" gave me an overview of what categories she had completed and what she needed help with. The "Proficiency Category and Report Card" were also really helpful to me.

She enjoyed going to the game board and earning rewards. The rewards made my daughter feel proud about herself. Receiving immediate feedback was also an option that my daughter and I appreciated.  The program really challenged my daughter and helped her to master the skills required for her grade level. The amount of math problems helped my daughter master topics she had not yet been introduced to. She was able to work at her own pace so there was very little frustration. . We both really enjoyed IXL!!

homeschoolcrew.

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

Math Program

Product:

CapJaxMathFax is a challenging computer based math program that helps children learn their addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts. The program may be used from elementary children up to middle school. Starting at $29.95 the evaluation package demonstrates the full potential of the program, how it works, and also includes your "Home Use" license. CapJaxMathFax also gives you an option to download the evaluation program free of charge at any time. The program provides hands on overview notes. In Playing for Rating the student may choose the subject. The child will start at the easiest level and advance from there every time he accumulates 100 points. CapJax remembers the score so the child may play everyday and see his score climb up. “In the Practice Mode you may choose any combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. You may also set the level of difficulty. You may simply practice or you could create your own game. CapJax displays your results while you’re playing, but they are not saved.” The child is able to at his own level, improve his rating and combine skills for extra practice he will also be able to complete multiple skills at a time. The program also offers an opportunity for the child to practice using number keys with the enter key. It also has easy to follow step by step instructions on how to set up. When setting up, the program gives you the ability to select the skill the child will be learning.  CapJaxMathFax also gives you the opportunity to choose the individual level. The child may work on one level by marking the box Single Level Practice or not checking the box and practice all of the levels. There are 9 levels and 10 problems to a level for addition and subtraction.  In multiplication and division, there are 10 levels with 11 problems. When the child has completed as many problems as Facts in Set, he has completed all of the problems for that selection. “A super answer is one you get on the first try and in the number of Super Seconds. Three is the most popular number for Super Seconds, but you may wish to use higher numbers while you are getting started. Once the student has had an opportunity to practice using the key board and using the program, he is ready to “build your ratings and Total T- Score.” When the student first signs in, CapJax will create his progress file. The child will start off with a rating of 0. The rating will climb as he works through the level in the math skill selected. When the child earns a score of 100% on the first try in 3 seconds, the student will be ready for the next level. If the child answers the math problem incorrectly three times, the answer is shown after the third attempt. Students may obtain answers themselves by referring to pop-up tables available at the click of a button. The program also offers "Cappers" which are review facts presented at the end of each rating session. They are not counted in the calculation of the learner’s new rating but they provide additional practice of facts not yet mastered. The program gives the teacher the option to print out the performance results. It also gives one the possibility to print out the details which show the number of answers shown after 3 attempts. "CapJaxMathFax provides feedback about each session with a graphical bar chart, a running summary of session results, and a personalized session progress report." 

Use the check list below to compare CapJaxMathFax to other programs:

Does the program address the full range of computation from addition to division?
Does the program address computation with negative as well as positive values?
Will my student clearly understand the objectives of the program?
Is there positive feedback for my student to enjoy working with the program?
Is feedback immediate?
Does the program allow me to monitor my student's performance over time?
Will the program work at my student's best pace for learning?
Will my student succeed at a rate that is challenging, but not frustrating?
Does the program allow time for my student to reflect on his or her work?
Does the program use timing in a way that that minimizes pressure?
Does the program provide printed reports of my student's success?
Does the program provide graphical reports of success and progress?

Starboard Training Systems

11729 North Shore Dr.

Reston, VA 20190 USA

Phone: 703.471.6790

Fax: 703.471.6791

Open 9:00am - 5:00pm EST

Monday-Friday

 My Experience:

Since my daughter is 6 years old, I decided to have her complete the addition level 1-9 single level. I did increase the Super Seconds because she really does not enjoy feeling the pressure of having to finish something at a certain time. Since I wanted her to do her best, I decided to allow her to give me the answers verbally and I would type them in for her. She feels really pressured when she is being "timed" and at this point, I really do not find it necessary for her to know her facts in 3 seconds. She did enjoy completing the math problems. One particular day she was completing the math problems and made a few comments that the problems were too easy. The next time around I chose the "Word Thinkers" and decreased the time allocated to answer the questions to 3 seconds. She enjoyed completing the math problems and said " mom this is fun." One of the features she enjoyed was the "Performance Results" page. Every time she completed the problems, she wanted me to go to this page and see if the level had increased. In addition, the drill and practice math problems gave my daughter an opportunity for independent work since I did not have to be available for her to complete the problems. CapJaxMathFax also generates the exercise without repetition which gave me the assurance that she was learning and not memorization what she had seen some time before. What I appreciated about the program was that I did not have to prepare any quizzes or assignments. CapJaxMathFax did the work for me. I also appreciated that the program allowed the student to keep track of her score and set goals.

Overall Thoughts:

I really appreciated the wide range of math problems this program offered. For the higher grades, the student would be able to learn his multiplication and division by 12. The program also offered math problems with negatives. As a home-school parent I also liked having the option of printing out the Performance Results. This gave me the visual needed to make sure she is able to complete the math facts. The Fax Details provided a print out of the problems she completed and how many seconds it took for her to answer the math problems. I would recommend this program as a supplement to your current math curriculum and it's complete for its purpose. The program does not teach other topics such as coins, time, and fractions. It's more of a drill and practice kind of on line program. Having the option to receive merit badges for my daughter when she masters each math type is also a bonus. She really likes to receive immediate rewards. When looking at the web site capjax.com, I was able to take a look at the Teacher Guide and get an understanding of how to use the program. My daughter enjoyed this program and I did as well I'm just not connived that children need to know their math facts at a certain amount of time.

 

homeschoolcrew.com

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

Math Curriculum

Math U See

Product:

                        Math·U·See was written by Steve Demme, “a homeschool dad, for the homeschool community.” The math curriculum is designed for grades K-12. 

This past school year, was my first year homeschooling my daughter. As I spoke to friends and did some research, I came across the curriculum Math U See. I visited the web site Math U See and really liked what I read. The curriculum is a mastery approach designed to give the teacher an understanding of when the child is ready to move on to the next lesson. The curriculum is designed with step-by-step procedures for introducing, reviewing, and practicing concepts. Math U See is self paced and focuses on the unique needs of the individual child. The teacher is provided with “tools, skills, and training needed to present an explicit, structured, systematic, and cumulative program using multi-sensory teaching techniques.”  The curriculum includes a DVD which helped me understand how to teach the concepts in every lesson. Once I viewed the DVD, I would explain the lesson to my daughter and she would complete the assignment found in the workbook.

Highlights of the Program

     ·         Math skills are taught explicitly

·         There is a definite, logical sequence of concept instruction that is systematic and cumulative

·         A structured, step-by-step procedure for introducing, reviewing, and practicing concepts

·         Multi-sensory tools to engage the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic channels simultaneously in rapid succession

·         Continuous, ongoing assessment and progress monitoring allow for frequent opportunities to re-teach.

The curriculum starts at the Primer level and goes up to Calculus. In the Primer level your child will learn how to write numerals from 0-9 but also addition and subtraction, basic counting, skip counting, shapes, telling time, and will also be introduced to the manipulative block system. In calculus, the student would be taught derivatives, integrals, calculus applications, differential equations, and much more. Since my daughter knew the concepts taught in the primer level, I decided to place her in Alpha. In this level, the student would learn place value, counting to 20, unit bars, simple addition, counting to 100, skips counting by 10s, solve for the unknown, and many other topics.  The Alpha Instruction Pack contains the instruction manual with lesson-by-lesson instructions and full solutions, and the DVD with lesson-by-lesson video instruction.The cost for this was $40.00. The Alpha Student Kit contains the student text with lesson-by-lesson worksheets and review pages, as well as, the Alpha Test and Activity Booklet. This cost $25.00. 

Finally, I needed to buy the manipulative block set and this cost $35.00. The blocks are used in all of the Math U See levels from Primer to Algebra 1. There are 88 pieces in a colorful base 10 set of stacking blocks used to teach all aspects of arithmetic. The same blocks are used in conjunction with the inserts to illustrate key algebra and decimal concepts. The set consists of five each of the 2s, 3s, 4s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, and 100s; seven 5s, twenty units and twenty –one 10s. 

Sales Team - Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 6:00 pm EST

Phone: 888-854-6284 (MATH)

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Math-U-See

PO Box 8888

Lancaster, PA 17604

My Experience:

            At this point in time, my daughter does not enjoy the curriculum Math U See. She has complained in the past of it being “boring.” I supplemented with some math computer games and this seemed to work, however, it’s hard to get on the computer because my husband is taking on- line classes. Since using the computer was not going to work, I modified my strategy by not requiring her to complete all of the math problems. She would decide what math problems to complete the odd numbered ones or even. I also introduced the clock before the curriculum did. 

I purchased the second level Beta and will be using it here shortly. I thought of switching to another curriculum but I really like the mastery concept. There’s a difference between memorizing a concept and understand it.

My Overall Thoughts:

What I really appreciated about the Math U See website, was the demonstration video. I also found useful the worksheet generator. This option would allow me to choose worksheets on a range of topics, print them out, and have my daughter complete the assignment. The assessment option helped me in deciding which level I should place my daughter in since the curriculum is not by grade levels. I really enjoy using the Math U See curriculum and would recommend it to families that are interested in a mastery program versus a spiral approach.

A link to the specific Homeschool Crew Blog post http://homeschoolcrew.com

The product was received free of charge for review purposes.