If Math Mammoth has worked well for you, please comment here!

[HappyGrace]

Thanks! I'd love to hear success stories about MM. Especially if you have used it more than one year, and especially for grades 3 and up. (but others are ok too!)

[foxbridgeacademy]

DS in 6th grade has used it for the last couple years. I like that it teaches to the student, I can clean while he works! We are about to move into Pre-Alg this year, just using MM to brush up a bit. I purchased the Lt. Blue (I think). He likes mastering all of something then moving on.

[5Wizards]

My DD has used MM 3-5 (and currently using 6). I feel that it is providing an excellent math education for her. The concepts are taught well, she understands what she's doing, and it is challenging. She has also done state testing for the past 2 years and has had great scores.

 

My next child has used 1st and is now on 2nd. We will continue with MM with her until the end of 6B as well. Both children will move onto pre-algebra after 6B.

 

I love MM.

[boscopup]

While we did switch away from it, we used it for 1A-4B, and it worked very well. My son learned, understood the concepts, learned his facts, all that jazz. :)

 

We only switched because while program A and program B both worked well, program A was a little more interesting to DS than program B and was just a better fit, but both technically worked fine, kwim?

[Wheres Toto]

My son has used MM2 and is currently doing MM3. I like that I can mix up the topics, it's easy to jump ahead, and the game suggestions.

 

I'm getting ready to try the K pages in the front of MM1 with my dd to see if she might be ready.

[hollyhock]

I've used levels 1-4 so far and are two chapters into 5. So far I've loved it and my kids have done well with it. I am still on the fence about levels 5 and 6. I'm wondering if they are going to be too difficult for my son but we are just going to keep trying right now. So far it's going ok.

[mrsbushman]

This is our 3rd year using it. I like it because my kids are on two different math levels and it simplifies our day. Also, I like that there is only on worktext and that I don't have to read separate instructions. As my kids have grown with it, they become more and more independent.

We've tried switching away from it a couple of times (usually to Rightstart) in the effort to find something more fun, but so far we've always come back because MM is so good at covering everything and its so easy for the teacher.

I find the best way for us to do MM is first thing in the morning when my kids have their strongest focus. We then play math games (both individually on the computer and board/card games as a family) to reinforce topics.

Recently my kids discovered Life of Fred through a homeschooling friend and we're going to do that too because they think it is so fun. However, I've learned my lesson and we will NOT give up MM, but simply fold in LOF to MM.

Hope this helps! I highly recommend MM.

[walkermamaof4]

Love it because ds can usually read the explanations and do it alone. Love the concepts it teaches. Just the right amount of work for my ds. He whizzed through 1-3 and has slowed a bit in 4. It was too challenging for my non-mathy dd who didn't start with it, so she uses something else. So I wouldn't say it will work for everyone, but certainly for a mathy kid. If Beast had all levels, we prefer it and will certainly buy Beast as it comes out if it has levels that will work for my youngest. I don't know if Beast will provide enough practice to cement the facts though, so may have to use both anyway.

[simplyme99]

I haven't used it ... this is great info though! Is it a good program for the struggling student?

[walkermamaof4]

simplyme -- it did not work well for my struggling student, only for my mathy one. but that is just one person's experience and ymmv!

[LisaKinVA]

I have one child finishing up MM6, one finishing MM5, and one in MM1. So far, it has worked. My child in MM5 will be moving into MM6 shortly. My child in MM1 has not had any issues with the presentation/format.

 

There have been a few issues here and there with a lack of clear instructions, but looking at the answer key, I could figure out what they were asking.

 

Nothing major. My children all seem to "get" math easily, though.

[Ummto4]

We've been using Math Mammoth since 2008 w/ school-age children which they started when they're first grade. Both my 10 and 8 yo children are using MM 5A right now, and we couldn't be happier.

 

Both of them are solid conceptually. They're capable of solving complex word problems on their own and can reason well enough to solve new problems without even being shown the 'standard way' of doing it.

 

Let me give you an example.

Last year, while in MM 4, I asked them to solve 1/5 + 1/7. Now, they were never shown and taught explicitly what to do with this type of problems. But they did know:

a. that it's necessary to make the denominator the same before adding up fractions (and they know why).

b. how to rename fractions.

c. multiplication facts.

They both could do that problem w/o me telling them what to do. I would consider that a success.

 

The beauty of MM is that it teaches different concepts so solidly and incrementally that students can often apply previously-taught concepts to advanced problems w/o being taught the algorithm/standard way of doing it.

 

Another example. My students can solve this type of questions: " If 2/5 of Andy's money is $200, how much money does Andy have ? " without being told the standard way of doing it, which is flipping the fraction to find the whole - so in this case it would be: 5/2 * 200 = 500. Instead, they solved it by finding the 1/5 (i.e. $100), then multiplying it by 5.

 

My children can also compare fractions w/ different denominators and numerators on their own w/o being shown the trick (butterfly trick) of doing it.

 

When teaching them the algorithm of long division and multiple column multiplication, I also found my students were able to reason how to do that the first time. I just guided them in 'that' direction.But, before teaching them the actual algorithm, I've already given the basis of the algorithm as taught in MM, e.g. getting the distributive property pat down, calculating reminder, multiplying whole tens/hundreds (tagging zero), etc.

 

All in all, with MM it's possible for students to discover the algorithm/standard way on their own or w/ guidance. W/o solid understanding, children won't be able to do that.

Edited September 17, 2012 by mom2moon2

[warneral]

my second and third graders really jumped in their understanding and mental math doing MM 2 and 3 last year. Tons of practice gives them the ability to memorize and understand.

[Ummto4]

I haven't used it ... this is great info though! Is it a good program for the struggling student?

 

My first child is not exactly a struggling student, but he's not what you would call 'mathy'. But MM has given him a thorough understanding of math that he can do complex problems painlessly. The program is v. incremental and heavy on practice, which you can skip or re-print as needed.

 

It's a semi-mastery program though, so cumulative reviews are only offered at the end of each chapter. You can do several chapters at once to give it more of a spiral feeling.

 

HTH

[4kids13971]

I have used it for 3rd and 5th and both my boys loved it. They can read it and understand it on their own and do the problems without much help from me.

[simplyme99]

simplyme -- it did not work well for my struggling student, only for my mathy one. but that is just one person's experience and ymmv!

Thank you for this ... I've heard good things about the program and watched a couple of the author's videos, but I do have a struggler!!

[Heidi]

We have completed grades 1, 2, and are working on 3 this year. I love it. I love how incremental it is, how it encourages the student to do mental math, to look at all the ways to solve a problem, how it explains the WHY.

 

Some concepts have been difficult to get through. I would not say this is an easy math curriculum for the non-mathy student, but it has made MY non-mathy dd8 a better math student because we have persevered. I do supplement it with daily math facts through Xtramath.com.

[crazyforlatin]

I haven't used it ... this is great info though! Is it a good program for the struggling student?

 

I have used MM1-5 with a child who usually grasps math concepts quickly (or is it that we used MM from the beginning which has helped DD to become mathy?) But I would also use MM with a child who may be struggling and needs a more incremental approach. MM's author has provided numerous pages of free math samples, so you could try it out first before buying the series.

 

One thing however is the font size and white space. In that sense, I would prefer Singapore, but these issues seem to bother me more than DD.

 

I did note that MM's incremental approach didn't seem as incremental in MM5. Or maybe I just prefer the way Singapore presents decimals. I think that's where the font size and color gave Singapore an advantage.

[Shellydon]

I love MM. I've used it for 2nd, 3rd and 4th so far. Starting 5th in a few weeks.

[HappyGrace]

Thank you so much-this is very helpful and encouraging-plz keep them coming!

 

mom2moon2-thanks for the details; that was great!!

[Farrar]

Good for one kid (he's starting his third year of it) and not the other. We have the dark blue series because I initially wanted to use it as a supplement, but we've broken up the sections more similarly to the light blue.

 

I think it works well for kids who need a little hand holding and scaffolding. It's so incremental and I really love that. I also love how it shows multiple ways and includes those intermediate steps. I like that it has lots of practice incorporated, which you can use or not use. I think it works really well to do the problems alongside your kid on the pages where they're just starting out a new topic. You talk out how you do it and take turns. There's plenty of problems so that works well for us.

 

I do think the font is too small in places. I know people have complained about the first grade materials - those were okay for us mostly, but now for third grade, doing three and four digit numbers is just impossible in places. Even I can't write small enough to make it work. I've had to copy the problems onto another paper, which is a PITA. So that's the one thing that worries me for fourth and fifth grade, honestly.

 

I also haven't loved the geometry in it and I like the way Miquon does fractions SO much better. But the money, the arithmetic, the measurement stuff, all great.

 

For my child who didn't do well with it, it was in part because of all those intermediate steps. They stressed him out. I think a kid who gets the math can find them confusing sometimes. Like, why am I doing it this way, I thought I understood it and now I think I don't. Also, he needed something that was much more spiral and didn't demand so much mastery before moving on. He just has a different style. So while I really like MM, I think it's not for everyone.

[robsiew]

We've been using MM for a couple years now. My boys all do very well with it. While none of them are independent, it makes it easy for me to teach and then set them loose on what they can do independently. I add in our MUS manipulatives when necessary for the younger two as they really match nicely with her drawings. I have one in 6A (I believe I started him in 4A) and he'll finish out the series. My other two are in 3A (almost done) and 2B (just started) and will also finish out the series. It's the best all around program I've found that's also easy to teach. I do not supplement at all, except for my youngest does LOF because he loves it, not because we really need it.

 

Just to be totally honest, my math HATING dd is not currently doing MM. It was just too much for her. She went back to MUS and is even struggling with her attitude toward that. She can do the math, she just hates it with a passion. MUS is most certainly a better fit for her though. She needs everything simplified and as concrete as possible.

 

ETA: The only improvement I could see right now is more space to do problems. I print out MM single sided so they can use the back of the page before it for scratch paper. There is A LOT on each page. When my boys were in Level 1 and the first part of Level 2 I printed more pages with bigger print for them. They just couldn't write in the small spaces. Even though there are a lot of problems, most of the time my boys do all the work. For one of my boys who struggles with writing I do some of the writing for him or we do it orally if there is too much on the page.

Edited September 18, 2012 by robsiew