Can you give me a list of independent math programs with pros/cons?

[TKDmom]

I have always used Singapore, and thought of changing to something else makes me cringe, but I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I cannot teach my dd math. I do fine with teaching my ds's. I like math. I thought math would be my easiest subject to teach. But the personality clash with my dd is intensified over math. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I have been known to throw the math book across the room out of frustration with her. :blushing:

 

So, I'm thinking about looking into independent math programs. Maybe it would help preserve our relationship if we didn't have to look at each other across a math book every day. She should be done with SM 3B this week, so it might be a good time to switch.

 

What have you used for dc to do math independently? And what are the pros and cons of different programs?

Edited January 18, 2011 by bonniebeth4

[angela in ohio]

The only math program that I have ever heard of that is designed for independent use is Teaching Textbooks. You could also do A Beka or BJU DVDs, but I don't know if they offer them for elementary for one subject only.

 

ETA: I forgot about Saxon with the DIVE! Your 9 year old could probably place at least into 5/4, where the DIVEs start.

Edited January 18, 2011 by angela in ohio

[Crimson Wife]

Math Mammoth is designed to be self-teaching. I do usually go over new material with my DD to make certain she understands, but it's way more independent a program than Singapore. And Maria Miller is so wonderful at explaining concepts to students and walking them through the material step-by-step-by-step. I get frustrated with SM myself because they toss the student into the deep end of the pool rather than taking them in gradually. My DD is bright, but she's not intuitively "mathy".

 

ALEKS and EPGY Open Enrollment are online programs. Professor B is online or CD-ROM. I don't have any personal experience with any of them.

 

Do a search for TT on this forum as there have been a LOT of negative reviews of that particular program.

[jen3kids]

Actually, with all 3 of my kids!!

 

I switched my dd (11) to Teaching Textbooks 7 in March 2010. Up until then, we had used Singapore through 4B, Miquon (early on), Horizons (hated it) and Jump Math (a Canadian program).

 

Dd would end up crying in nearly every lesson in Singapore, but did much better with Jump Math and really liked Teaching Textbooks 7. She completely TT7 before Christmas and is now doing Life of Fred Fractions for a change of pace. It is review for her, but she needs to have her math confidence 'built up' before we move to TT Pre-Algebra or Algebra.

 

Despite the many bad reviews, I think you'll find the same number of people who love Teaching Textbooks. I do think that it is a lot of review (dd skipped a few sections, just doing the Chapter Tests as a quick review), but my dd needed that. On the other hand, ds (9) hated it and is loving Jump Math 5.1. I usually picked the questions she had to do, rather than have her to do all of them.

 

It really depends on the kid. I had to take myself out of the math equation with my dd because I got so frustrated with her. She still gets frustrated with the math when she can't remember how to do something and she hates to make mistakes. She often won't try if she's the tiniest bit unsure of the way to do a problem. But, now I'm not there to see her get it wrong so it's a bit better. (And it wasn't like I beat her or berated her for getting things wrong - she just didn't want to disappoint me - gosh, you'd think I hounded the child non-stop!) She actually told me not to come down to the computer when I could hear her crying in frustration. She told me she'd call me when she needed help and had pulled herself together, and she did! It was much better for her.

[TKDmom]

Math Mammoth is designed to be self-teaching. I do usually go over new material with my DD to make certain she understands, but it's way more independent a program than Singapore. And Maria Miller is so wonderful at explaining concepts to students and walking them through the material step-by-step-by-step. I get frustrated with SM myself because they toss the student into the deep end of the pool rather than taking them in gradually. My DD is bright, but she's not intuitively "mathy".

 

ALEKS and EPGY Open Enrollment are online programs. Professor B is online or CD-ROM. I don't have any personal experience with any of them.

 

Do a search for TT on this forum as there have been a LOT of negative reviews of that particular program.

 

 

Thank you. I had a negative impression of TT, but I wasn't sure why. I think I just picked it up here and there on the boards.

 

I've looked at Math Mammoth (briefly) before, but I had no idea it was meant to be independent. I gathered that it was similar to Singapore, so I didn't really see the point of switching. I have the same problem with SM that you mentioned. And my dd sounds like yours. When we got to long division, it was such a jump for my dd. I had to switch over to Miquon for a month to solidify the idea of division. I'm off to research...:auto:

[TKDmom]

 

Despite the many bad reviews, I think you'll find the same number of people who love Teaching Textbooks. I do think that it is a lot of review (dd skipped a few sections, just doing the Chapter Tests as a quick review), but my dd needed that. On the other hand, ds (9) hated it and is loving Jump Math 5.1. I usually picked the questions she had to do, rather than have her to do all of them.

 

It really depends on the kid. I had to take myself out of the math equation with my dd because I got so frustrated with her. She still gets frustrated with the math when she can't remember how to do something and she hates to make mistakes. She often won't try if she's the tiniest bit unsure of the way to do a problem. But, now I'm not there to see her get it wrong so it's a bit better. (And it wasn't like I beat her or berated her for getting things wrong - she just didn't want to disappoint me - gosh, you'd think I hounded the child non-stop!) She actually told me not to come down to the computer when I could hear her crying in frustration. She told me she'd call me when she needed help and had pulled herself together, and she did! It was much better for her.

 

I'm glad to hear the positive review! My dd gets frustrated by too much review. She whines and groans if I try to make her do the review sections in SM, which are really minimal, IMO.

[angela&4boys]

Saxon:

 

Our 7th grader uses it independently. I purchased the DIVE cds but he prefers reading the lesson on his own (as designed) and is about half-way thru Saxon 8/7. He does need help occasionally, but does about 95% of it on his own.

 

Pros: independent, straight-forward, incremental, thorough, has several additional available cd-rom or dvd options

 

Cons: might be boring for some dc, some dc may need more practice of the new concept (a complaint I've heard before), and it is not liberal with visuals for the middle grades (the reason I won't use it for our son with an LD)

[boscopup]

While Math Mammoth is similar in concept to Singapore (the methods used and taught), the teaching is all in the text, so the student can read it for themselves. I still do some brief teaching for my first grader, but when he gets proficient at reading and understanding such things on his own, all the information is there for him to do it independently.

 

Print out some sample pages and try them out. There are several pages available to try, and you can then see if that method would work or if you need a different program like TT.

[HappyCamper]

I wanted to use Singapore with my daughter, but had a hard time with it. We were both frustrated. We switched to Math-U-See and it has worked well. Instead of me explaining a concept, we watch the video together. She also does Math Whizz (on-line), which is completely independent of me.

[mo2]

If your student can read, then MM can be used independently. I am using it with a struggling reader, so I still have to read the instructions to her, which means I still have to sit with her pretty much all the time. I'm thinking of switching to TT so that she can do it independently and I can use that time to work on stuff with the other kids (still being close by for questions that may arise, though).

 

Actually, I should say that I have already decided to switch to TT, I'm just waiting for the $$ to become available in the budget! Cathy Duffy gives a really good review of TT, if you check her site.

[PeterPan]

One, it's the age. How you decide to handle that is a whole separate question. We've had our fair share of let mommy teach you, discipline talks, so I feel with you. Two, yes Math Mammoth might work. The first page of the lesson has instruction, so even if you need to help her, it would be just with the first page. Once she gets used to how MM explains things, she may not need you at all. Three, a placement test might be in order. If she has been struggling, maybe going back and doing some concepts over would solidify things. We tend to think our awesome curriculum choices will result in things being learned, but sometimes they just need to see things a few different ways over time to get it to stick. It's not that the next curriculum is better but that they needed to see it again.

[TKDmom]

Three, a placement test might be in order. If she has been struggling, maybe going back and doing some concepts over would solidify things. We tend to think our awesome curriculum choices will result in things being learned, but sometimes they just need to see things a few different ways over time to get it to stick. It's not that the next curriculum is better but that they needed to see it again.

 

Good point. I decided to spend our math time today (and maybe for most of the week) administering a math mammoth placement test. I figure it will alert me to problems if she has gaps in areas that we've already covered. I really like how MM has the blue series by topic, so we can back up and review specific topics if needed.

 

And as far as the age....:svengo:I really thought I had a few more years before she knew everything. I suppose it will only get worse. <sigh> I need to learn to let go and bite my tongue a little more often. Math just isn't the place for me to do that.

[Princess Peach]

I'll give another positive review for TT. My 11 yo is currently using TT7 and we love it. It explains things really well and goes over the problems he misses. I also love that it automatically grades it for me. I am going to use it for my DD next year, too.

[TKDmom]

I'll give another positive review for TT. My 11 yo is currently using TT7 and we love it. It explains things really well and goes over the problems he misses. I also love that it automatically grades it for me. I am going to use it for my DD next year, too.

 

So is it completely on the computer? I haven't really looked into it yet--I always thought it was a DVD program with a workbook.

[Ummsamiyah]

I have to give another positive review for TT.

My DS is using it for level 4. (I actually bought a PC only version by accident for DD so we have been using LOF primarily with a supplement workbook from BN so she is at least doing SOMETHING.) But both kiddoes love TT. it is completely independent and completely on the CD-roms sent with the program. We have the textbook that goes along with it, in fact, when DS needs to work out a problem he does it in the textbook. I know some people who have the CD's only and work problems out on whiteboards. My people like having books to work from though.

[Targhee]

Have you looked at Life of Fred?

[TKDmom]

Have you looked at Life of Fred?

 

Yes! I have the first 2 books, and I'm chomping at the bit to use them. But I keep reading posts that indicate my dd needs to get a little further along before she's ready for them. I may start using LoF on Fridays just to inject a little more fun into our week.

 

I went ahead and bought MM. Looking through 4a, it looks very rigorous. If it ends up being too frustrating for her, I will keep TT in mind. Thanks everyone!