I’m in a bit of a quandary and would love some help/insight. I am not a mathsy person. My ideal scenario would be to hire a Montessori teacher (who would also loan me the materials) to come to my house and present a new material and work with my dd once a week or so. Then leave the material with us for her to work with at will. I live in a super rural area so that would never happen. My realistic options, therefore, are: 1) Buy the materials and albums myself and DIY it. £315 for a starter pack to get us up to the snake game, or £1,280 for a more complete set to get us to four-digit arithmetic. This option is pretty scary. Expensive, and I will basically have to teach myself to be a Montessori math teacher. It could be a fun challenge, but I plan to have another baby around the time my ds will turn 4. However, it could work out cheaper (and I could get better quality/prettier materials than the options below). I also really like that the materials/games are self-correcting, so my dc could work on them on her own once they’ve been presented. If anyone has done this I would love to hear how it went. 2) Mathessori: £535 - Starts when children can count to 10 and recognize quantity (age 4ish) up to fractions (age 7-8) The quality of materials is pretty high (not as nice as I would buy myself- plastic beads etc). They have everything you need and videos online showing you how to present the materials and in what order. Do you think this would be much more useful than just looking things up online myself or purchasing a Montessori Math album? I really like the fact that it’s authentic Montessori but still somewhat guided. 3) Rightstart Math £420 – approx. price to take us up to fractions People seem to love this. Problems I’ve heard mentioned is that it jumps around too much, children have trouble recognizing that once you get to 10 on the abacus, you can go on to 11, requires playing games which is easy to neglect, and it doesn’t start working with large numbers until later (unlike Montessori). I would probably purchase my own versions of some of the materials (such as the hundred square, wooden number cards rather than paper). Aesthetics are super important to me (slight Waldorf leanings although I'm not a fan of fantasy before 5 so can't really claim it). 4) Miquon £48 for all 6 books I’m the least familiar with this method but would save me A LOT of money. However, I would worry that it doesn’t cover all the concepts (like time and geometry) in a kinaesthetic way. Happy to be corrected though. It also seems even less ‘open and go’ than the others. However, I appreciate that it emphasizes self-exploration which is something that is present in the traditional Montessori materials. A mum I know who is a maths wizz loves it, but I worry that because I’m less mathy I would find it confusing. Nice and aesthetic though 🙂 5) Shiller Math £338 for Kit 1 and fractions, Books only: £210 Montessori-based programme claiming to be open and go. I am skeptical. Similar accusations of hopping around to RightStart. I would also end up buying nicer versions of the manipulatives. Doesn’t seem to leave time for free exploration of the manipulatives and does lay it out nicely for the teacher. I am really hoping to stick with one curriculum until after fractions, at which point we will move to something like Kumon, Singapore or Saxon. I will also use the same method with future kids so the upfront cost is slightly softened by that. Obviously I need to pick one option and lean into it - they are all way too expensive to change my mind on. Any advice gratefully recieved! I have learned so much already just browsing you guys are real pros.

My ds has been loving the switch to ALEKS math (Algebra I), but now that he has "mastered 75% of content" I am wondering how we proceed. Does he take the exam to see if he is ready to move on to Alg. II? Do I just move him up to Alg. II? Does he stay in Alg. I until he masters 100%? Thanks!

Hello! Has anyone ever used Koobits before? It's an online math program. I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

I'm a year ahead in California's math system. As a freshman in high school, I've taken Math 2A(in the first semester, couldn't keep up with the workload and got an F) and I'm taking Math 2 for the second semester. If I were to stay in California, I would take Math 3 as a sophomore, Pre-Calc as a junior, and AP Stats or Calculus AB as a senior. However, I'm likely moving to Texas over the summer, and their math system follows a different curriculum. My question is, if I move to Texas, what math classes should I take for the remainder of my high school years? If I've mastered Math 2, should I stay on the accelerated track and take Algebra 2, then Pre-Calc, then AP Stats/Calculus AB? Or for my own benefit, should I move to the normal track, take Geometry as a sophomore, then Algebra 2, then Pre-Calc as a senior? I would really like to keep my accelerated track, because I want to reduce the amount of math I have to take in college. However, I'm afraid that skipping Geometry might put me at a disadvantage. Thoughts on how the California curriculum compares to the Texas one?

Good Afternoon Often toted as the “1960’s” natural extension to the Dolciani series is Limits; a transition to calculus (1966) by O. Lexton Buchanan May I ask if anyone who has experience using this text could recount there experiences. I am able to find true text still available but I have been unsuccessful in finding a description or a even a Table of contents. It’s the “transition to calculus” that gives me pause and questions. Is this best classified as a “preCalculus text”? Or given the era it was published in might it be better classified as introductory calculus? Thank you.

Greetings all. I haven't been here for awhile but I wanted to pop in and get some help. Here's my math history. I've been a big mep fan-girl and used it from y2 through gcse with my oldest. I've been working with it for my younger school aged children and am growing frustrated with it's weaknesses. It is an excellent program but I feel like it rushes into way too much abstract problem solving too early. There are too many exercise types and too much variety. My younger children are coming along through it but I'm finding it so teacher heavy because of all the variety. Now that I have so many littles I just can't spend 45 minutes a day with each child. I don't mind teaching but I need something that the children will understand to some extent what they're supposed to be doing when they face the days problem set. I really hate the look of R&S. It looks SO dry. I love math and I want a program that helps a child think and not just how to do the work. That said, I'm not sure grade 1 is the place to start this. Maybe getting some of the facts under their belt and then starting a conceptual program is the way to go. I'm undecided. Math-u-see doesn't really appeal to me either. I don't like doing a whole year of fractions. I can pull out manipulatives if I need them. Basically it looks cheap to me. As a side consideration, I would appreciate a program that is non-consumable if at all possible. I hate the waste and I have a lot of up and coming students. We're also considering missionary work in a very poor country so the fewer books we need to take the better an reordering might be difficult. I also have a younger child with significant delays. I've been thinking of doing something like Strayer-Upton just because it's a getter-done sort of program that we can do at his pace. I'm seriously considering Saxon but I'll probably switch back to MEP for middle school but maybe not. In summary: What I like about MEP: teaches mental math very effectively doesn't just coach children to use standard algorithms but helps them understand what they're actually doing doesn't just have pages full of drill conceptual free non-consumable metric (I'm in Canada) What I don't like about MEP: too teacher intense too abstract early on too much variety in the primary years; the children get confused Suggestions?

I'm looking for the confidence to purchase Saxon Algebra and use it without the DVDs. My oldest used VideoText Algebra and it was a wonderful fit but my son is having a difficult time with it. I would like to use Saxon as I think the Spiral method is a good fit for him, but many reviews seem to list the DVDs as if they are necessary. I would love to hear from someone (preferably with multiple children) who successfully taught their child with Saxon Math and did NOT use the DVDs or other Video teaching. Was it difficult and time consuming? How involved were you? Thanks in advance for answering my questions!

I'll be homeschooling for the first time this fall and am getting hung up on what Math curriculum to use. My son going into second grade did fine with Everyday Math in first grade, my son going into 5th grade struggled with 4th grade math, they used Zearn last year. I'm planning to homeschool my older son from now through the middle school years for sure. He has struggled quite a bit with school in general and has focus issues. We may send our younger son back to public school to finish out elementary. I like the looks of Math U See but am concerned it would be difficult for my younger son to return to school if we go that route. I'm considering doing Math U See for my older son and something else for my younger such as Singapore Math or Math Mammoth. I'd love to hear recommendations.

Curious to see if anyone has used these books for each grade? They look intriguing but I was curious to see if anyone has used them and how they went about it. Thanks!

I stumbled on an old post on how to schedule SU: see below very helpful! I'll post below...my question is did you all do all the pages and problems? I have been doing it more by concept based and my son has really caught on and flying through the first book mostly done and he is only finishing 3rd grade this year. I don't want to bore the child but I also know the importance of review. Whoever has used this text for your kids how did you go about it and how did it work for your kids? Thanks so much! Book One is for grades 3 and 4. Ch. 1 is a concise review of Grade 2. Ch. 2 is for grade 3 first half. Ch. 3 is for grade 3 second half. Ch. 4 is for grade 4 first half. Ch. 5 is for grade 4 second half. Book Two is for grades 5 and 6, but many schools would have delayed percents until Grade 7, or fell "behind" even earlier than that. Ch. 1 is for grade 5 first half Ch. 2 is for grade 5 second half Ch. 3 is for grade 6 first half Ch. 4 is for grade 6 second half. Book 3 is for grades 7 and 8, but many schools would have still been finishing up Book 2 for grade 7, especially if they delayed percents until 7th grade. Book 3 is mini chapters instead of large chapters. Schools would have had very individual ideas about which chapters to complete and skip.

Hi, could anyone help me understand the difference between algebra 2 + trig, precalc, and college algebra? I've seen people say that algebra 2 + trig and percalc are essentially the same thing, but I know that most highschoolers take both with a2+t one year and precalc the next. Then there is the fact that CLEP offers separate exams for College Algebra, and Precalculous, which further confuses me. If college algebra is not precalc, is it algebra 2, or something entirely different? The names may vary by region, we live in New York State if that helps.

My 8yo son is currently using Horizons 3rd grade math. We both like the worksheets and that it has built in review. He's moving through it fine, but I feel like we're reaching a point where he is looking for more of the "why" not just the "how". I'm not looking to abandon the curriculum entirely, but I'm looking for something to add to round out the conceptual side of math that I feel is lacking. I've seen a lot of people talking positively about RightStart, Singapore (I see there are 2 options, Dimensions Math and Primary Math - happy to hear about both of these), and Math in Focus and would love some feedback. In my mind, the ideal situation would be for him to complete 1 page of Horizons a day as review work (he really goes through them quickly) along with 1 lesson from something more in depth. I don't mind spending 30 or so minutes a day of active teaching time on math, so if something is more teacher-centric that's not a deal breaker. We tried Beast Academy and he was luke warm about it, and to be honest I was too. I think it's a great program, just not a good fit for us. I had seen in another post that someone was using a RightStart/Horizons/Singapore Challenging Word Problems combination which (without actually doing it) seems very well rounded. I'm open to any thoughts and suggestions! Thanks!

Does anyone know of good supplemental resources for teaching students how to unpack word problems? I am looking for something that would work with someone on the fifth to sixth grade level. Any websites or book recommendations would be wonderful!

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Looking for Jr. & High School Science curriculum recommendations for a gifted child who wants to either become a scientist or mathematician. Would like curriculum to be biblically sound and heavy on the math. Any recommendations?

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!