Hi! Can you all help me choose a math program for my boys? We have done Saxon in the past, but they are bored with it. They are bright and math is not challenging for them. I am wondering about Beast Academy for my 3rd grader and Thinkwell for my 6th grader. My 8th grader did AoPS last year for Algebra 1 but the message board format drove him crazy, so I am considering Thinkwell for Geometry for him. Singapore or Math Mammoth are also on the table for the 3rd and 6th grader, but I am getting lost in the details and not sure what is best for them. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and recommendations. Thank you!

My DS is 4 and will be attending K in the fall. He is currently reading Magic Tree House books and working through Building Thinking Skills Grade 2/3. However, he can’t write legibly at all. He gets frustrated trying to write letters and numbers. He doesn’t like drawing, either. What should I do?

I am considering switching from Saxon Math to Foerster's. Can anyone tell me if Foerster's Algebra 2 would follow Saxon Algebra 1? Thank you Christa

Dd10 has been working with exponents recently in BA. She often will write the multiple as the exponent instead of the power, i.e. 20=2^10 instead of 2^2*5 When we talk about it, she understands the difference and can immediately fix it. I think I am part of the problem and that if I could tighten up my vocabulary on the topic it would be clearer. Remember in the Liping Ma book when she discussed teachers not using the correct names for fraction parts and multiplication and division (minuend, subtrahend, etc) It also may be that I need a good story, like the holes and piles discussion for negative numbers. In any case I could definitely use a good, repeater line. When people are slouching during writing I always say, "please put both hands on the table, it will improve both your posture and you're writing." Even I am sick of hearing that line!! But the repetition does work, eventually. How do you discuss exponents with your math learners?

Hello, I've been asked to teach some small co-op math classes next year. This year I'm teaching Geometry (Jacobs) and in the past have taught Algebra 1 (Holt). I love the Jacob's Geometry. The Holt, it's pages are busy but it has some good points, too. Ages ago I used Foerster with my son for Algebra I and II but I hardly remember it and the books are not in my personal library any more. I'm looking for text recommendations for Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Algebra II, and Pre-Calc/Trig. I had originally thought to use Jacob's Algebra I since I like the Geometry so much, but now I'm wondering whether consistency in all the classes (except geometry) would be a better idea and if so, what text? I did get my hands on some Lial's (how do you pronounce that, by the way?) but only the Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, and Pre-Calculus with Limits, not the Pre-Algebra. They were $4 per book so I'm not heavily invested here, they mostly quite old. I haven't had a chance to evaluate them yet. If I do use Jacobs for both Algebra I and Geometry, what do you think would be a good Pre-Algebra, Algebra II, and Pre-cal? Do you think consistency is important? Thank you for your input, I really appreciate your experience and your comments. Sandra p.s. I'm sure my sig line is very out of date.

If you have kids who are good at math, the Purple Comet Math contest is still open for registration and participation for a few more days. Kids can work alone or in teams of up to 6. It's free and for middle or high school. https://purplecomet.org/

My son is very good at math, doesn't like the idea of having to sit for 3 hrs. a week listening to lectures but would like one class to go over assignments possibly one day a week. He took Algebra II this year with Foersters using Math without borders (we have done Derek Owens all prior to this but thought we'd try this since it was cheaper this year) he has done really well we are now on chapter 10 but that begins full on trig and I didn't realize and he is having some difficulty and I can't help him! Evidently Veritas Press uses the same book for PreCalculus and trig begins on chapter 9. 😛 So he is beginning the PreCal and evidently needs some assistance. So we were looking for a good math program that offers once a week meeting that is a well rounded program. He is not planning on going into stem even though he is good at math not an interest for him. He is planning on taking Statistics his senior year so we plan on doing that at the college. Another thing we have to consider is it being approved of NCAA since he is hoping to play sports in college.....So any ideas for this math would be greatly appreciated!

I'm looking for something to catch up my math phobic 7th grade daughter. She is dyslexic and doing well in her reading. Now it's time to work on math again.

Hi all! My son did Shormann Algebra I last year and is going to finish Algebra II this year. This program includes a 1/2 credit of geometry each year. He struggled in Algebra I, but for the second half of Algebra II, his daily grades have slipped into the upper 70s- mid-80s. I am not 100% comfortable with him moving on to PreCalculus next year, but it is not as if he flunked either. He is resistant to "mom" helping him too much and I am trying to respect that, but I have maybe let his struggle go on too long. What do you think, homeschooling friends? Any advice as to what to do next?(He is considering going into engineering or a science field so going easy on math is not an option )

OK, so this is our fifth year homeschooling. I really thought by now I'd sort of have this all figured out. The last 4 years I used Life of Fred for math for both boys. It was great up until last spring when nothing seemed to work. We tried out Teaching Textbooks 3.0 in August and TT got 3 thumbs up - both boys and I liked what we saw. So we are about 4 weeks in TT. My 14 yo is using the Algebra I and my 11 yo is using Pre Algebra. I am literally losing hair, sleep and of course my sanity over the fact that they both refuse to write out their work on paper. They insist on doing it in their heads. I'd be sort of ok with this if they got the work done CORRECTLY. However, they are not. Of course, I can't see where they made a mistake in a problem as it is in that thick skull of theirs. I knew this would be a risk using an online program as they much prefer just typing an answer in the box and moving on. However, I'm a firm believer in you need to write this stuff out...when it's there line by line, if a mistake is made you can catch it and work on why the mistake was made. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but I just want to lay out my math beliefs ? I've made them redo entire lessons when they've not written out the problems....doesn't seem to bother them. Where have I gone wrong? When we did LoF, I made them write everything out so this is certainly nothing new. Granted there is more work now as TT is on average 20 problems where LoF was never that many unless it was a bridge (a bridge is a test for those of you unfamiliar with Fred). How can I make them realize they need to write this stuff out? My 14 yo is taking a physics class at our co-op this year. There is more math in it than anticipated but he is doing well with it. Except for the fact that he isn't showing his work! His teacher said the same thing I have said to him. All I get from him is the "I know, I know". I will say this week he has been a little better at it but the 11 yo has me literally at my wit's end. The 11 yo has never wanted to write out his math. Ever. It's been a struggle for a while now but I seem to have come to my breaking point. I just went over today's work and lost it on both of them. The 14 yo's main offense was he didn't date the paper or write down which lesson it was - I know not the biggest deal but I had just finished looking at the 11 yo work that didn't have much work to look it. Or if he did write it out, he just stopped when he got the general idea of what the answer would be (ex. if the answer was 23.45...he stopped at 23.4) I don't think this is a dysgraphia issue. Both will write for history, Latin and English. Many thanks in advance for any advice you all may have. I hope I'm not the only one with obstinate boys.

First post here 🙂 I'll preface with both DS 6 and I are autistic. DS is more of a sensory seeking, clothing freakout, overwhelmed easily type. I like quiet and researching and noise gets to me fast. We are a pair! And we have my DD 3 running around wreaking havoc. We do "formal" work Tuesday/Thursday/Friday because I'm in school Mon/Wed. I want to get a plan together for next year and the ending part of this year because we hit a handful of snags and can't seem to get back into a groove. Currently: McRuffy Language Arts 1, we started this late and it's working well for us, I don't do all the workbook things because some is busy work and he hates that. Math is a mash up with some problems from Primary, some from math mammoth, and others from some teachers pay teachers pages. The thing with math is he will not play games, or use manipulatives, and he WILL NOT look at the actual book - I have to copy the problems to a whiteboard or into a plain notebook. I pushed too hard with math in the beginning because he was loving it and breezing through math mammoth and then there was just one day where he crashed and now the idea of a workbook makes him slither to the floor. Now, I'm ok with taking time off from math but he isn't! He wants to do math everyday and learn more but it would be so much easier if I could show him the pages! So I was considering starting MEP and getting him gently into math and maybe getting miquon with the rods? I want him to back up and find the fun again and at the same time make sure he has a firm grasp on the basics. Next year - I don't think we can do second grade McRuffy LA because the books get much longer and he is going to panic so I'm eyeing Reading Street or and then just planning on a ton of readers and library books. Any experience with Reading Street? Basically I want to read aloud and have guidance with the critical thinking type questions. Math - Horizons, MEP, or MCP, Science - probably nancy larson 1 History - SoTW read aloud and the Maps/Maps Activity Book Writing - this is where I have absolutely no idea. He hates to write so I want something that will spark his creativity... like a story starter but one that doesn't look overwhelming...writeshop? I need to get a strong idea of what next year will look like because there's a very good chance I will be in a PA program and won't be able to plan and prep once that begins.

Okay, DS is in Singapore 5B (standards). I switched him back to SM after 2 years of BA--he'd found it amusing and challenging, but needed quite a bit of hand-holding for it and lost ground in simple computation. (His ITBS scores tanked.) Now I want him to A) speed up on facts--sometimes in the middle of a problem he's stopping for 10 seconds to recall or, more likely, calculate something he should have memorized (despite some improvement via Times Tales) and B) get to Algebra in 8th. He might do high school at home, or might go to a B&M school. Visual presentation is very important with this kid. Seeing them in person at a local store, I have eliminated LOF and Saxon (again), and I think we could work with the ones below. What I'm considering is rest of 5th: Finish SM 5B. (summer) fact review (via Kate Snow??) 6th: Math Mammoth 7 color worktexts (their books for 6th looked like approximately the same scope as SM's 5th) 7th: Horizons Pre-Algebra (I do not like the look of their algebra, but the pre-alg looks good.) 8th: Jacobs Elementary Algebra. (It looks good, and now I've just done the Math Curriculum Selector quiz, which also suggested Jacobs or SM products.) It seems odd to use a different publisher every year, but these really look like good options for us. I don't mind repeating some stuff, as DS appreciates easy lessons. Jacobs looks like it's thorough enough not to worry to much about gaps beforehand, right? Do you see any glaring issues with this?

Please give your opinion on a solid math program. Dd is 4 and is excellent at computing and actually does math play on her own. We have used the Critical Thinking Mathamatical Reasoning Book, but wondering if she may benefit from a different program. So what do you feel is the best math program for a child gifted in math.

Okay, here's where we are. DS is in Singapore Math 5 and doing fine. He did Beast Academy 3 and 4 (not independently) and liked the series. However, he needs more work on the basics than BA was providing even with some extra practice with me, and his ITBS calculation scores went down. We will continue homeschooling at least through 8th grade. For high school, we might continue homeschooling, send him to either our zoned PS or a charter school (which both use integrated math I, II, III and then calculus or whatever from there). The charter is smaller, with narrower range of students, and I'm not sure how they do with college admissions; our zoned school is large, typical, and has a big range of students and abilities. or send him to a high-expectations private school. (There are two we'd consider. Both send 97% to college. One does the integrated math pathway with a range of ability-level options and the other more like a traditional sequence with lots of flexibility.) Continuing to homeschool is what he says right now he would prefer. Note that only homeschool and the zoned PS will definitely admit him. He is a mostly a social science guy but likes the sciences as well. He's not a language person, but enjoys word problems. If we were 100% sure of homeschooling all the way through, I'd probably buy AOPS stuff to try out for middle school and go at whatever pace works. But is there something made by SM to consider as well? Or somebody else? Please suggest 6th-8th grade math that is attractive to look at, likely to get him finished with the equivalent of at least Math I and Algebra 1, and a good mix of conceptual and skills practice? I'm fairly mathy and don't need a lot of support to teach, so open to whatever will be good for DS. Thanks!

I am trying to help out a mom who is considering homeschooling for her K'er and 1st grader. I had suggested Cuisenaire Rods with the Math Made Meaningful Cards, but the wooden set is no longer available from Rainbow Resource, and I am having a hard time finding it elsewhere. The plastic rod set is still available, but I like the wood better. I was going to suggest the wood rods, and use that website that everyone mentions here that has videos on it that help you explain various math concepts with stuff lying around the house. Unfortunately, I have a huge mental block. Can anyone help?

Please share your reviews for CTY Linear Algebra online course (session based or individual based). Thanks.

Looking for online math options for next year. Has anyone used the math classes at CLRC taught by Lisa Angle, the ones at Open Tent taught by Jennifer Tubbs, or those at HS Math Live taught by Regina London or Brenda Barnett?