We are guilty (well... I'm guilty 🤭) of jumping around between math curriculums. My daughters struggle.... it was all fine until Saxon 5/4...we went all the way to 7/6 with my oldest, but the amount of problems and the time it took had us all in tears. But throughout the years we've tried Calvert, a little Singapore, Teaching Textbooks, FLVS, Nicole the Math Lady, Study. Com, Math Mammoth, and now we've finally stuck with CTC Math. 😮💨I'm so ashamed.
@@ashgarstin4307 I like that it's self graded, straight to the point, video lessons, you can print out if you want, you can assign lessons...I like it for middle school. I think earlier grades should have more hands on learning. That's just my personal opinion
@@peachy_reina I have one in 4th, one in 3rd and one in Kindergarten. I wonder if I only did it with my oldest, if the others could benefit from using it for extra practice.
I'm starting to see that the Simply Good and Beautiful math is such a tight spiral curriculum that you don't really get a chance to learn a topic. It skips around so much. That was a good point about it being like summer worksheets. I actually think it works well as a break from your regular curricula for a couple weeks, to switch things up midyear maybe. Or summer skills work to keep from backsliding. No need to buy the whole thing. I pick my favorite lessons on the free pdf and print them off for winter break, random breaks, etc. We homeschool year round and we find we need two different types of breaks: real breaks from all schoolwork, and sometimes just shortened days with different or easier curricula. We use the Math with Confidence series as our main math and we love it!
I keep looking into math with confidence! My son is so attached to the good and the beautiful. He really loves the drawn out stories and I guess how it explains things to him. We’ve never really tried anything else. I’m really really thinking about math with confidence…ugh! The struggle lol
What you said about the good and the beautiful IS SPOT ON!!! I’m a former certified public school teacher turned homeschooling my 3 years ago and I can truly say we did TGTB K and it felt like they threw everything but the kitchen sink in at the end! I knew for a fact I was not doing TGTB for -1st grade it had no logical flow at all!
Thanks for sharing the journey! 😊 Just wanted to mention, Abeka actually uses a lot of manipulatives, helps, hints, and games but they are in the curriculum guide. If you just do the workbooks, it’s only about 1/2 of the program, and can be a reason students struggle to keep the pace. We actually use Saxon after grade 3 Abeka. And LOVE Nicole the Math Lady! In high school we are using Penn Foster online high school which is a Godsend to anyone with a high schooler. Happy Homeschooling!
I agree with TGTB. I wanted it to work so bad but it was way too bouncy. My girls would do great on the lessons but once they took the unit assessment, they couldn’t remember anything. We have switched to CTC math now, and I’m liking it so far
Brittany, I’m only two minutes into your video but I have to tell you….this couldn’t come at a better time! Thank you for making this! My kids are currently using Math Mammoth and I love it, it is so solid, but they are beginning to hate math. It may just be a case of the Februaries, so I will wait till March to see if this continues…but I really want my kids to at least tolerate their math curriculum. So thank you for making this so that the rest of us can have a glimpse inside a variety of curricula!
This just helped solidify how I'm feeling about TGTB! I felt crazy because we have so many people around us who love it, but I'm not seeing the benefits in my boys. They're not retaining anything because their not given the opportunity to retain anything because it jumps so fast with no intentionality!
I’ve used TGTB for my daughter k-4th now. I love the spiral math as it helps my child retain what she learns. In that way it reminds me of Saxon. Also because my daughters get either bored or overwhelmed quickly the jumping around because it keeps the math fresh. But I understand that this does not work for everyone. I wish I had this math when I was a kid!
Same here. I use TGTB for the same reason. My daughter doesn’t like to stay on the same concept too long. And I feel it’s pretty advanced once you get to 5th grade. I notice all the math curriculum options are so different in how they level their books. But I’m happy with this one.
I almost feel my son will be behind in math if we stick with the good and the beauitful. He also likes that the book jumps around because he gets bored easily and I'm nervous if we switch he will dislike the other kind of math that's too long with too many problems even though it flows better. 😅
This was really informative. my oldest is in pre-K. This was helpful to hear all the explanations and get a good perspective of how far you can go in a certain curriculum, and also that it’s OK to switch if it’s not working for us!
thanks for this my baby tested between levels on math u see and im going to the lower level. Were leaving dimensions btw. thanks for this video veryyyyy helpful! you seem so proud of your baby girl, which you should be!!!
Thank you so much for this! We are adopting a seven-year-old with medical and learning needs from Bulgaria and plan on homeschooling him when he gets here! My husband and I were both homeschooled for most of our school years and graduated college summa cum laude. My husband started working with his grandpa who’s a general contractor in 10th grade and found a talent and is now a superintendent of commercial construction at only 25❤️ He’s a self-starter and very driven and a compassionate natural leader and I really think homeschooling helped develop all of that in him so I wanted to do the same for our kids!
I’m grateful for your video! I also purchased The Good and the beautiful Math curriculum, because my son is very visual. But I noticed the same problem, it jumps from one topic to another. I was doing research about other math programs, and your video helped me a lot! 🙏🙏🙏
We are budget homeschoolers otherwise I think we would have jumped from many curriculums too. We've been doing the Easy Peasy because it is practically free. We buy the offline version of the course but it's less than $20 for a book. However, it spirals so quickly that it feels like it is designed for very gifted math students. It moves on before my child can figure out a concept. And it doesn't return to an old concept (the spiral) until it has been long forgotten. We were given a free Saxon textbook so we are going to try it out. Our friend had jumped around books and said her kids loved math after switching to Saxon so I am hoping it helps. Math has been enough of a struggle that it makes me want to throw in the towel for homeschool all together. My youngest is excelling in all the other subjects but is struggling with very basic math concepts. My oldest is special needs so it's hard assessing a curriculum based on results. I like the looks of Math U See but it is way out of our price range. Even with Saxon (if we end up liking it) I would have to stick with just the student textbook. You can find lessons on RUclips and free drill sheets online if needed. (In Canada, we are not required to do testing for the younger grades). We are doing math through the summer this year to catch up and also get a head start on next year's book. I do like that Saxon is starting with a basic review of concepts which should help with confidence.
From one homeschooling mama to another, we have been utilizing Xtra Math for a while now and it has been a game changer for math fluency for my kids! It's not a curriculum. Just an online thing they can do in about 10 minutes to help with fluency. And it's completely free! It's something I wish all homeschoolers knew about !❤
This was very helpful. Math with confidence is not working for my 1st grader, but the idea of switching mid year is nerve wracking! Ive been eyeing math you see for the mastery aspect.
I switched to MWC from TGTB for my 1st grader too. I was soooo wanting to enjoy MWC, but I’m not finding my groove with it. Plus, my 1st grader found her old TGTB math on the shelf & wanted to start it up again, it’s really pretty. With all that said, I’m going to intermix both since I already have them. I’ll pick & choose what to focus on & so forth. I really just need to get my kiddo on her way to 3rd grade so she can start Teaching Textbooks. My 4th grader does TT on the computer & the lil one wants to partake too, she can’t wait. My 4th grader is thriving with it. Hubby will work while she’s doing her math & if she misses the same question twice, he’ll step in & breakdown the lesson more.
This is so helpful. My daughter is in ABEKA 1, we started with Masterbooks grade 1 and WOW! I Also purchased Dimensions for her 2nd grade year. The geometry components, the mental math aspects you tou hed on, your reasoning, and the process for switching are all so so so helpful! I will definitely keep MUS in my mind as we progress. My daughter is needing a lot of hand holding with ABEKA as we navigate the second half, just like you described. But i also REALLY appreciate the incremental way they introduce information. It has been a fine 1st grade math, but mastery and explanation is definitely needed moving forward to be able to understand the higher math. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!
Love how detailed this was. As someone who has tried sooo many math curricula it was so good to see the reasons why some don’t work and why. Thank you. We also ended up sticking with Math u See!
Ohhh my goodness you were sooooo thorough!! Thank you!! I was doing the Horizons full curriculum from 1st-3rd grade and while I feel she was learning some advanced math, there was no real help how to teach it. She’s so smart but we both argued and struggled hard during math. Many tears. For some reason, horizons doesn’t have a full fourth grade curriculum that I can find anywhere. So I am in the market for a new math curriculum. I came across the Good and the Beautiful and I felt like it would take a lot of stress off of both of us and we would have a good school year with math, but after seeing your thorough review, I totally see why it would be much easier for us because I do feel like she would lose her advanced progress that she is at now and just get by in math. But I’m also adding my son to homeschool this year as well so now I’m wondering if I should just stick with the Good and the Beautiful math curriculum and add an extra book of math to her curriculum. Ugh. But thank you so much! You helped me tremendously because we all want our kids to succeed and be at their best. Big hugs
Thank you so much for taking time to make this video! Mums like you are my hero - all the time you put into researching, and then sharing it with us! Thank you Brittany
Math has always been our sore spot. We had gone through Abeka, apologia, Tgtb, Ray's arithmetic and simply Charlotte Mason 😬🤦. Finally found Beauty and Truth Math guides that go with Strayer Upton. Oh these are the best for us! Short, thorough, and Mastery approach. It's wonderful lol.
Wow - what a rockstar homeschooling mama you are!!!! Thank you so very much for creating this video. We have some shared experiences and your insight into these options is incredibly helpful. ❤thank you and all the best to you on your journey.
This was incredibly helpful. We are ending our second year of homeschool. My daughter will be going into fourth grade and we have used the good and the beautiful for both years. It jumps way too much but I love that she is learning so many concepts, but there are 3-4 pages a day of randomness. It's becoming the dreaded course in our homeschool. So, THANK YOU!
We are doing Beast Academy for my 9, 7, and 5 year olds and I love it so far! It’s very linear and independent, although I prefer to monitor and be around for questions and check in etc., and it provides me as the parent data to keep up with where they are and if they’re struggling with a particular concept. They have to score high enough to be allowed to move on to a new lesson. There are only 5 levels, I believe, so at some point we’ll have to move to something else, but I really like it so far.
Thank you so much for this! My son gets very frustrated with long lessons too and working independently on workbooks is tough. I really needed these reviews.
I just watched your video and I appreciate you so much! I have been in the same situation with math curriculum for the past 4 years. You do a wonderful job of explaining everything. Your family is so blessed to have you. I appreciate your review of all of these curriculums. Math U See seems like it may be a great fit for my son. Thank you!
Math is the only thing that has been an easy choice for us! We started homeschooling with TGTB old math K and then switched to Math U See and have stuck with it since.
I definitely had to pay attention during a few parts because they want it a few different ways to teach the child. But now that we are in division it hasn’t asked for the expanded version. We are moving quickly through division because the multiplication was so solid it’s all just clicked and been easy.
Thank you so much for your review! This was very helpful! It really is hard to choose or settle on a curriculum until you try it. We’re blessed that we only tried 2 and TGTB was the right fit for my daughter. I started with Master Books and it just wasn’t enough review. I got IXL online to supplement Master Books but that was too much information at once so I searched for more and found TGTB. But now that I look at your video my younger daughter might like the same concept approach. Her learning style is much different than my oldest.
I'am so grateful to have found your channel!!!! Almost wrapping up of 1st year of homeschooling with my 3rd grader and went for TGATB, but i didn't feel like it helped him advance in math, it does have too much jumping around and not some much "push" for multiplication and he is still struggling. now i feel like if i switch to another curriculum it might stress him out since math is not his strongest or favorite subjects. BUT im ready for the change, so thank you , thank you for this review ! wrote all my notes on each one and will come to a pick soon i hope :)
Oh my goodness - Thank you so much for this. It was in-depth but not drawn out. I loved that you showed the books so we could see inside. My daughter has lots of learning difficulties and we tried TGATB and it just wasn't hitting - it seemed childish (she is older but needs to go back to the basics). Plus, I love how you switched when needed - which I have been having a hard time doing because I felt I failed her. I'm stuck between Saxon and MUS - and think we will start the very basics with Saxon and then move to MUS when she needs to. Thank you again!
Have you used a BJU Press before? Warning it’s a bit expensive for a math curriculum and very parent dependent. They do have a video option however it’s expensive. It takes about 20-30 minutes to teach the lesson. Then they do two pages a day one to focus on the new weekly topic, and a review page. Seems to be sweet spot for us. We use the colorful 4th addition! My kids didn’t like math and had a lot of emotions in the past. Thankfully now my kids seem to enjoy math. They are excited about learning new concepts. Vs feeling stuck and overwhelmed. If you ever need a different curriculum I recommend looking into it. To see if it’s a right fit. However I agree if it’s not broken don’t fix it! Happy homeschooling!!
We’ve been using Singapore dimensions since the beginning. Multiple times a year I question my decision. I haven’t switched but I’m always on the verge. I feel like all my kids struggle to master the concepts. 🤷🏻♀️
I love your videos. Thank you! My oldest is no longer homeschooled but is going backwards in public school math the last 2 years. She’s in 5th grade, but I’ve been working with her more at home lately and she’s still struggling with some 3rd and 4th grade concepts. I’ve bought a ton of Math Mammoth PDFs but they are so challenging for her and there’s just too much to get through so I’m overwhelmed. I think I’m going to try the 4th grade Math with Confidence with her when it comes out this summer, but now you have me wondering if MUS would be better. If I could go back and do it all over again-now that I see how much she struggles-I’d choose MUS. (We did use one level of it in 2nd.)
We had the exact same experience this past year with Saxon 5/4 for my 4th grader! It was our first year for Saxon. I am researching other options for next school year.
Wanted to share 😊 We've been using Abeka for Math these past 4 years. My daughter is very math minded, she wants math straight to the point, so its worked out for us. It wouldnt work for my second child long term, unless we take it extra slow. I am not math minded and math was my worst subject (even in college) so I have to outsource math, and we are going to Teaching Textbooks with hands on paper practice added. I wish I had the confidence to teach her myself!
I am an adult with math related dyslexia. Even though I graduated from high school. It still bothers me that I don't understand math at all. Thinking of ordering Math U See.
This was great to hear! I use Singapore dimensions with my kids along with kumon to master facts. I’m you found a curriculum that works for you all! Would love to also see a video on how you landed on oak meadow and what language arts you’ve used before you landed on oak meadow. Thanks for all your videos!
I did a lot of research before starting homeschool. When my son was in first grade and my daughter was in kindergarten I started homeschooling and used Singapore dimensions. Oooh I loved it. Math is my strongest subject and Singapore felt like looking at my brain on a page. Unfortunately my son did not jive with it. I paused after the first semester and went through both addition and subtraction math facts that stick. My daughter did well with kindergarten so we completed the K curriculum. I’m hanging on to it for my two youngest. I switched my son mid year to Math Mammoth. What really attracted me to it was the price. And at the time I could buy the entire curriculum (grade 1-7) as a digital version for like $120. So I took a gamble and went for it. My son did much better with the Math Mammoth book. And this year he’s doing the second grade books and my daughter is doing the first grade level. Every once in a while I question whether something shinier would be better. But for now I have no plans to change. I compared the scope and sequence to another curriculum and found MM taught much more. I WISH(!) I could have stuck with Singapore. But I didn’t want to juggle multiple curriculums and it definitely would have added up price wise.
Horizons and Master class books are pretty good as well, horizons is very repetitive where masterclass is not and are on opposite ends of each other, I’m still looking for something in the middle. I’ll look some of your suggestions up, thank you.
I couldn’t watch all of this right now but I will say that math is the thing I am concerned about when it gets to a higher level. We were using Learn Math Fast. It came to a hault and we are in the red book for Strayer Upton. I am not a fan of The Good and the Beautiful math but it is free. My son did that with a random fraction and money workbook. He has thrived off of it. I think he is doing well because last year I failed my daughter in math and we redid EVERYTHING. She is about at level now but thrived on repetitive drills on the white board. He is the middle child so he absorbed more than I thought he would. I don’t know what to do when it becomes more complicated but will cross that road when we get there. The Strayer Upton and the Learn Math Fast caught us back up to grade level for my eldest though.
From doing so many switches, I've decided to try Learn Math Fast for my 5th and 7th grade children. Do you find it to be user friendly? Ca it be done fairly independently?
@@peachy_reinaI only did the first book and still have the second one to look at. I think it depends on the child and how firm his/her foundation is at that point. If your children are weak in math I recommend on starting with book one and seeing where their weaknesses are at. Then if you like that approach to move forward. I used it to find where her weaknesses were at and it worked well for that. I stopped because some concepts went too fast and I didn’t want to keep repeating the same problems. (Ex: we did 1x5, 60x12 then they threw 1005x2863 ).That last problem was where my problems started. With my Strayer and Upton they review sections. (Ex adding, subtraction multiplication, division then repeat with bigger numbers and concepts such as borrowing and remainders etc). My daughter is more able to do independent work that way. I think if your children have weak spots that are not addressed by you first then Learn Math Fast may have the same pitfalls and won’t be independent. Just my limited experience though and I don’t know how strong your kids are in math. Hope this isn’t confusing.
My BIGGEST issue with Dimensions is how many errors their Instructor’s Guide Answer Keys have. I should not have to math check a curriculum’s answers. I have come across at least 10 wrong answers on both their 1A/B and 3A/B. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and is concerning for higher level math.
We are using singapores Earlybird math and it’s so good. I’m hoping Singapore primary works out well. My son loves to get straight to the point but also loves some hands on. I’m feeling hopeful because he loves math now. We tried math with confidence and we both hated it.
I see you mentioned you used math you see the longest, but would have stuck with Singapore math. I have. First grader and torn between the two , which would you recommend most ?
Hello Brittany, Thank you for consistently providing excellent videos. I thoroughly enjoy each one and have gained valuable insights from your videos. I'm currently contemplating transitioning my fifth grader from Singapore Dimensions to Math U See for the upcoming academic year. It seems she'll likely be placed in the Zeta level. I understand that Math U See relies heavily on manipulatives, and as newcomers to the curriculum, we'd need to invest in both the Integer Block Kit ($91) and the Decimal Insert ($34). Could you please advise on how frequently and to what extent these manipulatives are utilized at the Zeta level? Additionally, based on your experience, would you recommend purchasing them? Thank you for your help, Brittany!
With our three kids, we have done Singapore Primary Standard and Beast Academy/Art of Problem Solving for the 7 years since our oldest began school. We homeschool year round and so have used other things for particular extra practice or for PreK/K as time allowed - Miquon is excellent, Math Mammoth is good, and CLE Math has solid/convenient math fact drill practice so that I’ve had all of my kids do CLE Math 1 before beginning Beast Academy. We chose Singapore and AOPS/Beast Academy because providing a strong conceptual math education is one of our top reasons for homeschooling.
Thank you for this video! I was debating for a switch between dimensions and math u see and your video was very helpful. I do have one question - did you take the test again after your daughter switched to math-u-see? You had mentioned on your video that after taking the test you realized that she was behind...so after doing Math-u-see did you take any tests?
Tey khan if the child is grade 3+ not the game for kids the adult one it has math my grade level and its awesome i use it as a supplement to achive mastery bit it would work standalone and its free
I used RS with my oldest 4 kids. It’s great! Conceptual presentation and mental math practice in every lesson. It requires a lot of involvement from the teacher, like Singapore. The programs use different manipulatives to illustrate the same concepts. I don’t see why you’d need both programs. One or the other would be plenty.
![[Limbus Company - PV] Chapter.7 - Oblivion](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VUpkXPkvoxU/mqdefault.jpg)
We are guilty (well... I'm guilty 🤭) of jumping around between math curriculums. My daughters struggle.... it was all fine until Saxon 5/4...we went all the way to 7/6 with my oldest, but the amount of problems and the time it took had us all in tears. But throughout the years we've tried Calvert, a little Singapore, Teaching Textbooks, FLVS, Nicole the Math Lady, Study. Com, Math Mammoth, and now we've finally stuck with CTC Math. 😮💨I'm so ashamed.
What do you like about CTC math?
@@ashgarstin4307 I like that it's self graded, straight to the point, video lessons, you can print out if you want, you can assign lessons...I like it for middle school. I think earlier grades should have more hands on learning. That's just my personal opinion
@@peachy_reina thank you! CTC was one that we were looking at, but we are still in upper elementary.
@@ashgarstin4307 my 5th, 6th, and 7th graders use it. What grades are your children in?
@@peachy_reina I have one in 4th, one in 3rd and one in Kindergarten. I wonder if I only did it with my oldest, if the others could benefit from using it for extra practice.
I'm starting to see that the Simply Good and Beautiful math is such a tight spiral curriculum that you don't really get a chance to learn a topic. It skips around so much. That was a good point about it being like summer worksheets. I actually think it works well as a break from your regular curricula for a couple weeks, to switch things up midyear maybe. Or summer skills work to keep from backsliding. No need to buy the whole thing. I pick my favorite lessons on the free pdf and print them off for winter break, random breaks, etc. We homeschool year round and we find we need two different types of breaks: real breaks from all schoolwork, and sometimes just shortened days with different or easier curricula.
We use the Math with Confidence series as our main math and we love it!
Math with Confidence is supposed to be great. Really rigorous and fun.
I keep looking into math with confidence! My son is so attached to the good and the beautiful. He really loves the drawn out stories and I guess how it explains things to him. We’ve never really tried anything else. I’m really really thinking about math with confidence…ugh! The struggle lol
Do it you won’t regret it! We switched to math with confidence from the good and the beautiful best choice ever!
What you said about the good and the beautiful IS SPOT ON!!! I’m a former certified public school teacher turned homeschooling my 3 years ago and I can truly say we did TGTB K and it felt like they threw everything but the kitchen sink in at the end! I knew for a fact I was not doing TGTB for -1st grade it had no logical flow at all!
Thanks for sharing the journey! 😊
Just wanted to mention, Abeka actually uses a lot of manipulatives, helps, hints, and games but they are in the curriculum guide. If you just do the workbooks, it’s only about 1/2 of the program, and can be a reason students struggle to keep the pace.
We actually use Saxon after grade 3 Abeka. And LOVE Nicole the Math Lady! In high school we are using Penn Foster online high school which is a Godsend to anyone with a high schooler.
Happy Homeschooling!
Nicole the Math Lady always coming in clutch
I agree with TGTB. I wanted it to work so bad but it was way too bouncy. My girls would do great on the lessons but once they took the unit assessment, they couldn’t remember anything. We have switched to CTC math now, and I’m liking it so far
Brittany, I’m only two minutes into your video but I have to tell you….this couldn’t come at a better time! Thank you for making this! My kids are currently using Math Mammoth and I love it, it is so solid, but they are beginning to hate math. It may just be a case of the Februaries, so I will wait till March to see if this continues…but I really want my kids to at least tolerate their math curriculum. So thank you for making this so that the rest of us can have a glimpse inside a variety of curricula!
This just helped solidify how I'm feeling about TGTB! I felt crazy because we have so many people around us who love it, but I'm not seeing the benefits in my boys. They're not retaining anything because their not given the opportunity to retain anything because it jumps so fast with no intentionality!
I’ve used TGTB for my daughter k-4th now. I love the spiral math as it helps my child retain what she learns. In that way it reminds me of Saxon. Also because my daughters get either bored or overwhelmed quickly the jumping around because it keeps the math fresh. But I understand that this does not work for everyone. I wish I had this math when I was a kid!
Same here. I use TGTB for the same reason. My daughter doesn’t like to stay on the same concept too long. And I feel it’s pretty advanced once you get to 5th grade. I notice all the math curriculum options are so different in how they level their books. But I’m happy with this one.
I almost feel my son will be behind in math if we stick with the good and the beauitful. He also likes that the book jumps around because he gets bored easily and I'm nervous if we switch he will dislike the other kind of math that's too long with too many problems even though it flows better. 😅
This was really informative. my oldest is in pre-K. This was helpful to hear all the explanations and get a good perspective of how far you can go in a certain curriculum, and also that it’s OK to switch if it’s not working for us!
thanks for this my baby tested between levels on math u see and im going to the lower level. Were leaving dimensions btw. thanks for this video veryyyyy helpful! you seem so proud of your baby girl, which you should be!!!
Thank you so much for this! We are adopting a seven-year-old with medical and learning needs from Bulgaria and plan on homeschooling him when he gets here! My husband and I were both homeschooled for most of our school years and graduated college summa cum laude. My husband started working with his grandpa who’s a general contractor in 10th grade and found a talent and is now a superintendent of commercial construction at only 25❤️ He’s a self-starter and very driven and a compassionate natural leader and I really think homeschooling helped develop all of that in him so I wanted to do the same for our kids!
I’m grateful for your video! I also purchased The Good and the beautiful
Math curriculum, because my son is very visual. But I noticed the same problem, it jumps from one topic to another. I was doing research about other math programs, and your video helped me a lot! 🙏🙏🙏
We are budget homeschoolers otherwise I think we would have jumped from many curriculums too. We've been doing the Easy Peasy because it is practically free. We buy the offline version of the course but it's less than $20 for a book. However, it spirals so quickly that it feels like it is designed for very gifted math students. It moves on before my child can figure out a concept. And it doesn't return to an old concept (the spiral) until it has been long forgotten. We were given a free Saxon textbook so we are going to try it out. Our friend had jumped around books and said her kids loved math after switching to Saxon so I am hoping it helps. Math has been enough of a struggle that it makes me want to throw in the towel for homeschool all together. My youngest is excelling in all the other subjects but is struggling with very basic math concepts. My oldest is special needs so it's hard assessing a curriculum based on results. I like the looks of Math U See but it is way out of our price range. Even with Saxon (if we end up liking it) I would have to stick with just the student textbook. You can find lessons on RUclips and free drill sheets online if needed. (In Canada, we are not required to do testing for the younger grades).
We are doing math through the summer this year to catch up and also get a head start on next year's book. I do like that Saxon is starting with a basic review of concepts which should help with confidence.
From one homeschooling mama to another, we have been utilizing Xtra Math for a while now and it has been a game changer for math fluency for my kids! It's not a curriculum. Just an online thing they can do in about 10 minutes to help with fluency. And it's completely free! It's something I wish all homeschoolers knew about !❤
This was very helpful. Math with confidence is not working for my 1st grader, but the idea of switching mid year is nerve wracking! Ive been eyeing math you see for the mastery aspect.
I switched to MWC from TGTB for my 1st grader too.
I was soooo wanting to enjoy MWC, but I’m not finding my groove with it. Plus, my 1st grader found her old TGTB math on the shelf & wanted to start it up again, it’s really pretty.
With all that said, I’m going to intermix both since I already have them. I’ll pick
& choose what to focus on & so forth.
I really just need to get my kiddo on her way to 3rd grade so she can start Teaching Textbooks.
My 4th grader does TT on the computer & the lil one wants to partake too, she can’t wait. My 4th grader is thriving with it. Hubby will work while she’s doing her math & if she misses the same question twice, he’ll step in & breakdown the lesson more.
This is so helpful. My daughter is in ABEKA 1, we started with Masterbooks grade 1 and WOW! I Also purchased Dimensions for her 2nd grade year. The geometry components, the mental math aspects you tou hed on, your reasoning, and the process for switching are all so so so helpful! I will definitely keep MUS in my mind as we progress.
My daughter is needing a lot of hand holding with ABEKA as we navigate the second half, just like you described. But i also REALLY appreciate the incremental way they introduce information. It has been a fine 1st grade math, but mastery and explanation is definitely needed moving forward to be able to understand the higher math. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!
Love how detailed this was. As someone who has tried sooo many math curricula it was so good to see the reasons why some don’t work and why. Thank you. We also ended up sticking with Math u See!
Ohhh my goodness you were sooooo thorough!! Thank you!! I was doing the Horizons full curriculum from 1st-3rd grade and while I feel she was learning some advanced math, there was no real help how to teach it. She’s so smart but we both argued and struggled hard during math. Many tears. For some reason, horizons doesn’t have a full fourth grade curriculum that I can find anywhere. So I am in the market for a new math curriculum. I came across the Good and the Beautiful and I felt like it would take a lot of stress off of both of us and we would have a good school year with math, but after seeing your thorough review, I totally see why it would be much easier for us because I do feel like she would lose her advanced progress that she is at now and just get by in math. But I’m also adding my son to homeschool this year as well so now I’m wondering if I should just stick with the Good and the Beautiful math curriculum and add an extra book of math to her curriculum. Ugh. But thank you so much! You helped me tremendously because we all want our kids to succeed and be at their best. Big hugs
I loved hearing all about your math journey with your oldest daughter! I have just started Math U See with my kids too! We love it!
Thank you so much for taking time to make this video! Mums like you are my hero - all the time you put into researching, and then sharing it with us! Thank you Brittany
Math has always been our sore spot. We had gone through Abeka, apologia, Tgtb, Ray's arithmetic and simply Charlotte Mason 😬🤦. Finally found Beauty and Truth Math guides that go with Strayer Upton. Oh these are the best for us! Short, thorough, and Mastery approach. It's wonderful lol.
Wow - what a rockstar homeschooling mama you are!!!!
Thank you so very much for creating this video. We have some shared experiences and your insight into these options is incredibly helpful. ❤thank you and all the best to you on your journey.
This was incredibly helpful. We are ending our second year of homeschool. My daughter will be going into fourth grade and we have used the good and the beautiful for both years. It jumps way too much but I love that she is learning so many concepts, but there are 3-4 pages a day of randomness. It's becoming the dreaded course in our homeschool. So, THANK YOU!
We are doing Beast Academy for my 9, 7, and 5 year olds and I love it so far! It’s very linear and independent, although I prefer to monitor and be around for questions and check in etc., and it provides me as the parent data to keep up with where they are and if they’re struggling with a particular concept. They have to score high enough to be allowed to move on to a new lesson. There are only 5 levels, I believe, so at some point we’ll have to move to something else, but I really like it so far.
Thank you so much for this! My son gets very frustrated with long lessons too and working independently on workbooks is tough. I really needed these reviews.
I just watched your video and I appreciate you so much! I have been in the same situation with math curriculum for the past 4 years. You do a wonderful job of explaining everything. Your family is so blessed to have you. I appreciate your review of all of these curriculums. Math U See seems like it may be a great fit for my son. Thank you!
This is sooo helpful! I find your reviews and comparisons and examples very useful! Thank you so much!
Math is the only thing that has been an easy choice for us! We started homeschooling with TGTB old math K and then switched to Math U See and have stuck with it since.
Do you find them teaching multiplication different or hard in Math-U-see?
I definitely had to pay attention during a few parts because they want it a few different ways to teach the child. But now that we are in division it hasn’t asked for the expanded version. We are moving quickly through division because the multiplication was so solid it’s all just clicked and been easy.
@@CharissaGarside-qi3gc good to know! Thank you
Thank you so much for your review! This was very helpful! It really is hard to choose or settle on a curriculum until you try it. We’re blessed that we only tried 2 and TGTB was the right fit for my daughter. I started with Master Books and it just wasn’t enough review. I got IXL online to supplement Master Books but that was too much information at once so I searched for more and found TGTB. But now that I look at your video my younger daughter might like the same concept approach. Her learning style is much different than my oldest.
Thank you for making this!! So so helpful!
I'am so grateful to have found your channel!!!! Almost wrapping up of 1st year of homeschooling with my 3rd grader and went for TGATB, but i didn't feel like it helped him advance in math, it does have too much jumping around and not some much "push" for multiplication and he is still struggling. now i feel like if i switch to another curriculum it might stress him out since math is not his strongest or favorite subjects. BUT im ready for the change, so thank you , thank you for this review ! wrote all my notes on each one and will come to a pick soon i hope :)
From the bottom of my heart ❤️ thank you so much for this review!!
Abeka is a great curriculum and you can slow it down. Adjust it to your child's needs.
Thank you for this. The new school year is about to start here in Australia and I wasn't 100% set on continuing with tgatb.
Oh my goodness - Thank you so much for this. It was in-depth but not drawn out. I loved that you showed the books so we could see inside. My daughter has lots of learning difficulties and we tried TGATB and it just wasn't hitting - it seemed childish (she is older but needs to go back to the basics). Plus, I love how you switched when needed - which I have been having a hard time doing because I felt I failed her. I'm stuck between Saxon and MUS - and think we will start the very basics with Saxon and then move to MUS when she needs to. Thank you again!
Have you used a BJU Press before? Warning it’s a bit expensive for a math curriculum and very parent dependent. They do have a video option however it’s expensive. It takes about 20-30 minutes to teach the lesson. Then they do two pages a day one to focus on the new weekly topic, and a review page. Seems to be sweet spot for us. We use the colorful 4th addition!
My kids didn’t like math and had a lot of emotions in the past. Thankfully now my kids seem to enjoy math. They are excited about learning new concepts. Vs feeling stuck and overwhelmed. If you ever need a different curriculum I recommend looking into it. To see if it’s a right fit. However I agree if it’s not broken don’t fix it! Happy homeschooling!!
We’ve been using Singapore dimensions since the beginning. Multiple times a year I question my decision. I haven’t switched but I’m always on the verge. I feel like all my kids struggle to master the concepts. 🤷🏻♀️
I love your videos. Thank you! My oldest is no longer homeschooled but is going backwards in public school math the last 2 years. She’s in 5th grade, but I’ve been working with her more at home lately and she’s still struggling with some 3rd and 4th grade concepts. I’ve bought a ton of Math Mammoth PDFs but they are so challenging for her and there’s just too much to get through so I’m overwhelmed. I think I’m going to try the 4th grade Math with Confidence with her when it comes out this summer, but now you have me wondering if MUS would be better. If I could go back and do it all over again-now that I see how much she struggles-I’d choose MUS. (We did use one level of it in 2nd.)
I have been looking forward to this video and you delivered! Thank you it was extremely helpful ❤.
AGREED!!! YOU ALWAYS DELIVER WITH YOUR UPDATES! SO THOROUGH!!!
I also had an exclusively breastfeeding 6 month old and 2 year old when I began homeschooling in the fall of 2020!! Gosh it was SO challenging! 😅
Thanks for the video - we winded up with Singapore math - I love this one 😊
We had the exact same experience this past year with Saxon 5/4 for my 4th grader! It was our first year for Saxon. I am researching other options for next school year.
Wanted to share 😊 We've been using Abeka for Math these past 4 years. My daughter is very math minded, she wants math straight to the point, so its worked out for us. It wouldnt work for my second child long term, unless we take it extra slow. I am not math minded and math was my worst subject (even in college) so I have to outsource math, and we are going to Teaching Textbooks with hands on paper practice added. I wish I had the confidence to teach her myself!
I am an adult with math related dyslexia. Even though I graduated from high school. It still bothers me that I don't understand math at all. Thinking of ordering Math U See.
Have you tried Khan Academy? Or IXL Learning?
Khan Academy I have been using. IXL I have not used. So thank you for your help.
This was great to hear! I use Singapore dimensions with my kids along with kumon to master facts. I’m you found a curriculum that works for you all!
Would love to also see a video on how you landed on oak meadow and what language arts you’ve used before you landed on oak meadow. Thanks for all your videos!
Love your reviews. They are so thorough and very helpful!!!! Thank you!
I did a lot of research before starting homeschool. When my son was in first grade and my daughter was in kindergarten I started homeschooling and used Singapore dimensions. Oooh I loved it. Math is my strongest subject and Singapore felt like looking at my brain on a page. Unfortunately my son did not jive with it. I paused after the first semester and went through both addition and subtraction math facts that stick. My daughter did well with kindergarten so we completed the K curriculum. I’m hanging on to it for my two youngest.
I switched my son mid year to Math Mammoth. What really attracted me to it was the price. And at the time I could buy the entire curriculum (grade 1-7) as a digital version for like $120. So I took a gamble and went for it. My son did much better with the Math Mammoth book. And this year he’s doing the second grade books and my daughter is doing the first grade level. Every once in a while I question whether something shinier would be better. But for now I have no plans to change. I compared the scope and sequence to another curriculum and found MM taught much more.
I WISH(!) I could have stuck with Singapore. But I didn’t want to juggle multiple curriculums and it definitely would have added up price wise.
We went through the exact same experience… same curriculum, same issues, same year and ended with the same program :))
This was so helpful. Thank you!
Horizons and Master class books are pretty good as well, horizons is very repetitive where masterclass is not and are on opposite ends of each other, I’m still looking for something in the middle. I’ll look some of your suggestions up, thank you.
Excellent review and explanation! Thank you!
I couldn’t watch all of this right now but I will say that math is the thing I am concerned about when it gets to a higher level. We were using Learn Math Fast. It came to a hault and we are in the red book for Strayer Upton. I am not a fan of The Good and the Beautiful math but it is free. My son did that with a random fraction and money workbook. He has thrived off of it. I think he is doing well because last year I failed my daughter in math and we redid EVERYTHING. She is about at level now but thrived on repetitive drills on the white board. He is the middle child so he absorbed more than I thought he would. I don’t know what to do when it becomes more complicated but will cross that road when we get there. The Strayer Upton and the Learn Math Fast caught us back up to grade level for my eldest though.
From doing so many switches, I've decided to try Learn Math Fast for my 5th and 7th grade children. Do you find it to be user friendly? Ca it be done fairly independently?
@@peachy_reinaI only did the first book and still have the second one to look at. I think it depends on the child and how firm his/her foundation is at that point. If your children are weak in math I recommend on starting with book one and seeing where their weaknesses are at. Then if you like that approach to move forward. I used it to find where her weaknesses were at and it worked well for that. I stopped because some concepts went too fast and I didn’t want to keep repeating the same problems. (Ex: we did 1x5, 60x12 then they threw 1005x2863 ).That last problem was where my problems started. With my Strayer and Upton they review sections. (Ex adding, subtraction multiplication, division then repeat with bigger numbers and concepts such as borrowing and remainders etc). My daughter is more able to do independent work that way. I think if your children have weak spots that are not addressed by you first then Learn Math Fast may have the same pitfalls and won’t be independent. Just my limited experience though and I don’t know how strong your kids are in math. Hope this isn’t confusing.
My BIGGEST issue with Dimensions is how many errors their Instructor’s Guide Answer Keys have. I should not have to math check a curriculum’s answers. I have come across at least 10 wrong answers on both their 1A/B and 3A/B. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and is concerning for higher level math.
We are using singapores Earlybird math and it’s so good. I’m hoping Singapore primary works out well. My son loves to get straight to the point but also loves some hands on. I’m feeling hopeful because he loves math now. We tried math with confidence and we both hated it.
Thank you for this review.
I see you mentioned you used math you see the longest, but would have stuck with Singapore math. I have. First grader and torn between the two , which would you recommend most ?
Hello Brittany,
Thank you for consistently providing excellent videos. I thoroughly enjoy each one and have gained valuable insights from your videos.
I'm currently contemplating transitioning my fifth grader from Singapore Dimensions to Math U See for the upcoming academic year. It seems she'll likely be placed in the Zeta level. I understand that Math U See relies heavily on manipulatives, and as newcomers to the curriculum, we'd need to invest in both the Integer Block Kit ($91) and the Decimal Insert ($34).
Could you please advise on how frequently and to what extent these manipulatives are utilized at the Zeta level? Additionally, based on your experience, would you recommend purchasing them?
Thank you for your help, Brittany!
With our three kids, we have done Singapore Primary Standard and Beast Academy/Art of Problem Solving for the 7 years since our oldest began school. We homeschool year round and so have used other things for particular extra practice or for PreK/K as time allowed - Miquon is excellent, Math Mammoth is good, and CLE Math has solid/convenient math fact drill practice so that I’ve had all of my kids do CLE Math 1 before beginning Beast Academy. We chose Singapore and AOPS/Beast Academy because providing a strong conceptual math education is one of our top reasons for homeschooling.
Thank you for this video! I was debating for a switch between dimensions and math u see and your video was very helpful. I do have one question - did you take the test again after your daughter switched to math-u-see? You had mentioned on your video that after taking the test you realized that she was behind...so after doing Math-u-see did you take any tests?
Genuine question, do you have them write in the workbooks or do you photocopy them so you can use the same workbook for the next kiddo?
Thank you!
Hi! How do you combined math u see with math with confidence? Thanks!
Is there videos that teach Math u see?
Tey khan if the child is grade 3+ not the game for kids the adult one it has math my grade level and its awesome i use it as a supplement to achive mastery bit it would work standalone and its free
With a kid struggling with multiplication memorization, would you say Saxon math or math you see is more helpful 🤔?
Have them try out the Multiplication Facts that Stick by Kate Snow. That worked wonders for my boy.
We loved adding times tales for memorization of times tables. We use math u see .
Does anyone have experience with Right Start Math? Thinking of mixing with Singapore. I dont mind the teacher intensive nature.
I love right start! Definitely teacher lead. Lessons are long so I split them up.
I used RS with my oldest 4 kids. It’s great! Conceptual presentation and mental math practice in every lesson. It requires a lot of involvement from the teacher, like Singapore. The programs use different manipulatives to illustrate the same concepts. I don’t see why you’d need both programs. One or the other would be plenty.
@@kirkdickson8878 thanks for this insight!