Homeschool Math Curricula We Have Tried - Our Experience - What Worked and What Didn't
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 19 фев 2024
- I have had so many requests for this video. I know it has a lot of info, but I will try to outline what it contains if you are interested in skipping to certain parts. The following list is the math curricula I will discuss in this video, and it will appear in the order it is shared:
Horizons
Christian Light
Math With Confidence
Apologia
Math Mammoth
BJU Press
As always, I share all of this only as an experience and not as expert advice. I hope the information is helpful to you.
Here are some other videos I have published about the curricula mentioned:
SHORTEN HORIZONS LESSON:
• Horizons Math - Editin...
CHRISTIAN LIGHT CURRICULUM LOOK THROUGH
• Homeschool Math Curric...
WHY WE LEFT HORIZONS
• Horizons K - Why We St...
AND...
• Homeschool Math Curric...
MATH WITH CONFIDENCE:
• Math with Confidence -...
APOLOGIA
• Apologia Math - Short ...
These are just a handful of videos I have related to math curricula I have used. Be sure to browse through my channel if you're interested in more look throughs or more of our experiences.
#Homeschoolmath #mathcurriculum #homeschoolcurriculum
This video/comments may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!
Thank you for sharing 😊 you are so genuine and i love your videos 🙏
Thank you so much! I’m so glad they are helpful! ❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! I absolutely love the spiral mastery that BJU uses; it's the best of all the worlds, and a "feast" of ways to choose to make it work for the individual student.
I agree! We have loved it! I’m looking forward to continue using it next year as well!
I loved this video!! And it reminded me how long I’ve been following you! Haha! I’m currently still loving CLE with my first grader. I actually do something similar to your lessons with BJU.
I do the first part with her, and when she gets to the review, we stop and she does it the next day for her independent work. We go over it together before starting the next lesson that day. It’s working great…for now! Haha. Looking forward to more of your videos. ❤
That is so great!! I love that idea for CLE. I wish I would’ve thought of splitting lessons sooner. It’s been so much nicer! And yes! You’ve been such a great friend through all of this! Lol you’ve seen all my wacky ups and downs with curriculum choices 😂😂 so glad to have connected with you. Now I just desperately want to find a way to go to your workout class!! Let’s make that happen 😜 it’s too much fun! ❤️
Thank you for this video. We are on quite the math journey ourselves and right now I'm patching from different curriculums.
You’re welcome! Finding a good fit is quite the trial and error process. And even though I feel odd trying so many, I’ve enjoyed learning so much about math and am thankful to find a good fit for my kiddos ❤️
This sounds so like our journey, except sub Apologia for the TGTb. Right now we have landed on MWC for younger kids, and Saxon for older kids. This was a great video, thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. We’ve worked hard to find a good fit. I love MWC! So I’m sticking with that for my younger ones. Really hoping we can stick with our choice for my oldest for a while! So far so good! 😉
Yippy!! I’m glad to hear that you found something that fits your homeschool. Yesterday, I pulled out math mammoth out of our routine. Now, we are back to using MWC K,1,and 2! I homeschool 3 boys ages 8,7,6 and 15 year old daughter (dually enrolled student in public and virtual). We’ve been there 😊 so thank you so much for sharing your journey and resources ❤.
Thank you!! We LOVE MWC right now. It’s been such a great fit. I’m loving that I’ll be starting at K with my 5yo. So glad this was helpful! I probably could’ve talked even more 😂 but whew! That was a lot. 😜
@@simplylearningtogether651 😂 I enjoyed it!
I feel you I’ve tried so many and feel the guilt of moving to something else, I’m currently using CLE but my kiddo isn’t a fan bc how long the lessons are! I also agree it teaches something new daily and some topics are harder for them to grasp. I cross out a lot but it’s still so many problems thanks for sharing I’m now looking into bju because of you thanks for sharing ❤☺️
I'm so glad it was helpful to you. I should've mentioned this in the video, but there will never be a perfect curriculum. I have to remind myself of that all the time. I do try to give each one we try plenty of time and patience as we work through it. I hope you too are able to find a good fit for your kiddo :)
This is the first video I have seen from your channel but….math! This was full of meat and a fat. Loved it. Relateable. Laughed. Thank you !
Oh yay! Thank you for that! Math is a doozy isn’t it?! 🤪 so glad you’re here!!
I’m embarrassed to say I fell into the trap of buying all of our subjects from one company our first year of homeschool. It. Was. Horrible. The worst, most disorganized, and insufficient math curriculum I’ve ever seen. From all the research I’ve done since then I can say that and not think I’m being too extra or dramatic lol. We didn’t even make it past four days into our school year with that one. Like it got tossed in the recycling bin before close of business. Because of that I had to think quick and get something so we could move on with our school year and that’s where MWC 2 came in. We instantly fell in love. MWC is our jam and I don’t foresee us using anything else until Kate Snow stops creating levels. I think you’ll absolutely love MWC 3. It’s more streamlined and the manipulatives are scaled back 🙌🏻. And it just has such a good flow. We love it so much!
Yay!!! I love this! We love MWC!! I so badly wish my oldest could’ve had time with it, but those levels weren’t ready yet. I will say though that she did the Facts that stick and it really works!! So I’m for sure grateful that she could use that supplemental program alongside the other work she has done. I’ve heard so much good about MWC3 and I’m excited to start it up with my daughter. I’m so thankful I found something that works so well for her ❤️❤️
I’m curious what you used that was that bad?
@@captain7471 I wouldn’t say any of the curricula were bad. At some point they worked for us. The video was more about discussing the pros and cons as we try to find a good fit. As always what works for us may be different for others. And out of all the ones we tried there are some that I personally wouldn’t use again based on our experiences.
This was so interesting!
❤️❤️ it’s been an interesting ride! Lol thankful we are in a good groove right now.
Passionate fans of MWC over here as well! We use the same method with Math With Confidence as you do with BJU -- math lesson with mom then student does the practice worksheets on her own the next morning. By the way, I think that MWC 3rd grade is even better than first or second, so you have something to look forward to. God bless!
Oh I’m so excited to hear this. Thank you!! We love MWC!! And I’m so looking forward to level 3. I love that you break the lesson up too. I’m thinking I’ll try that out with my younger daughter next year as well.
All the best to you! God bless!@@simplylearningtogether651
We love mwc confidence too. We switched from cle and good and beautiful to that! It’s super gentle but I also see how my daughter knows a lot already. She has zero frustration with this one and it’s not an overload of book work. Which really it shouldn’t be an overload because it’s not public school work!
I agree with you - it's gentle but it's obviously doing some big things. The ten frame visuals and all of the games have been such a tremendous help in our our house!
Loved hearing your journey! I’ve done the same thing with LA. Math we’ve only switched once. Started out with TGTB and then switched my older kids to Apologia and my younger ones to MWC. Which has been a wonderful fit for them all. My kids are not advanced/math minded so Apologia along with the review worksheets has been perfect for them. I plan on going through some Beast Academy over the summer/once they are done to just review concepts. Maybe I should do multiplication facts that stick as well! Thank you for sharing! ❤
Beast Academy is great! One of my kids uses that as extra review right now. I didn’t even mention that 😂 but it’s just supplemental at this point. She really enjoys it!
@@simplylearningtogether651 yeah it will just be supplement/review for my kids as well. I’m just hoping it’s fun enough for them that they won’t complain or feel like they are ‘doing school’
@@homeschoollifemom my daughter loves it! She has been doing it since January 1 and hasn’t complained yet! The guy that does the videos is easy to watch and the activities are challenging but fun! I hope your kids love it as much as we do!
For Beast Academy, do you use the actual math program for supplemental or their puzzle book? We are using the 2nd grade/ level puzzle book and my son is enjoying it!
@@laurapinkham3488 we use the videos and activities online. We do not use the book.
Yes please do a video on bju press math plz!
Glad there’s interest! I will work on one very soon. Thank you for your feedback!
This is super helpful! However, now you have me down the rabbit hole to look into BJU!! 😂
😂😂 oh no! lol I’m the same way though. I see/hear something and I love to know more!
So happy you found one that works!! Yayay! Definitely let us know how it plays out for the rest of the year and coming 5th grade!!
If you check their site they have lien you said their “ worktext “ for lessons which u have then the student activities book which you have, but they also have the assessments along with test, if you wanted to test her!! bJU is great bc they provide that stuff! So amazing I’m happy for you guys (:
But I have to ask though I know you are knew but if you find the answer before me what is the difference of all the 4th edition version and the 3rd edition?
Thank you for the encouragement! I wish I could say but I’m not sure about the different editions. I’m very new to the curriculum so I haven’t experienced any changes like that yet.
This sounds a lot like our wobbly path in math curriculums 😆😆 we haven't used all of the same specifically as your family, but certainly have swapped more than I would have ideally liked to! I looked at BJU but the length of the videos was a quick NO, but I hadn't thought of it with the teacher guide instead! 🤔 Hopefully we can stick with what we have going on now, but it's getting rough for one of my kiddos recently, so we'll see if we can supplement through this spot amd keep going, or if we'll need a new approach. :)
I completely relate. It’s hard to find a good fit. We actually don’t use the videos from BJU which makes it a lot easier to balance the time. I think with every one we’ve tried we have to adjust a little here and there to make it work. I’m just glad to have found something that works. The start of this year was tough! I hope you are able to find what works best for your family! ❤️
We use Apologia and love it. I was questioning whether it was enough until I gave my son Math Mammoth to do and he flew through Math Mammoth. So now I'm confident that Apologia is doing its job. My son wants to do both Apologia and Math Mammoth. This is coming from a kid who hated math prior to switching to Apologia. Lol! Anyways, we're doing two maths and ONLY because he requested it.
That is so awesome!! We used Apologia and Math Mammoth together for a few months. It was a good fit at the time! They pair nicely! ❤️
Looking forward to seeing more about BJU.
Thanks! Hoping to share more soon.
I like them for upper science ( Biology, chemistry and physics) for younger children I prefer Master books. Christian light for reading and language arts, I like beast academy and aops for math
@@jpsphoto-vision8803 which one for upper science? I wasn’t sure which curricula you were referring to. Thanks for sharing!
@@simplylearningtogether651 sorry BJU
Oh man! I've been dealing with this with math too! Started with TGATB, wanted to do math with confidence but my son's level isn't out yet, so moved to Apologia and love the hands on aspect...however the way they teach multiplication of two digit numbers was frustrating plus I feel like it's a bit to easy for my son who is great at math... so now I'm debating on switching to CLE but would miss the hands on game aspect that Apologia has...the struggle is real.
Yes! I relate to this so much! We have used CLE in the past, and I agree it does lack the hands-on approach. I've learned that nothing will be perfect, but some programs really do fit our family better than others, and I hope you are able to find that good fit for yours as well! For me, that meant trying out more than I wanted lol But I'm glad we did!
Math is the tricky one for me to decide on curriculum! I started with Apologia but with having 3 month old twins at the time the projects and activities were too much. I switched to CLE 1 and it was good but it got so monotonous that math was always so dreaded by us both. Maybe it was too much review? But I went back to Apologia after my time opened up a bit and I found all the extras you can use that they have online. So many extra resources and extra worksheets to help teach and review was so good. And I love that I can print the sheets instead of rip them out of the back! I'm just worried if the stuff will stick because its mastery and not spiral. I'm used to spiral and spiral methods make more sense to me, but we will see! I've been curious about BJU! I bought the Kindergarten curriculum but it was too hard for my daughter at the time when she had just turned 5...I have the Kindergarten Math and was thinking, hmmm would BJU be better? But Apologia is working for us now (at least for now it is! We'll see at the end of the year if we will continue). Math is the hard one for me to choose! I loved seeing what worked and what didn't and why for you, its helpful!
I've also been so tempted to try MWC - it looks really good!
I’m so glad the video was helpful. I completely relate to wanting to try things and find the right fit. All the math programs we tried really were great ones! Apologia is wonderful and if it’s working, stick with it! ❤️ no curriculum will ever be perfect. Don’t forget that even though Apologia doesn’t spiral, a lot of the work will be repeated again the following year. So it will come around again.
@@reneenewcomb8344 I was in this same boat. I actually tried Addition Facts that stick first! It’s by the same author. The activities will give you a good feel for the way the math is taught in MWC and it’s a great way to test it out without committing to the curriculum. Plus! It really does work. It helped my kids memorize there facts in a fun way.
The Math curriculum struggle is real! My twins will be going into 6th grade. We did Masterbooks for Levels 1-4 but I can't remember when we also did TGTB with them....I think we started TGTB in Level 2 and did Masterbooks to finish the year/in the summer. We made it to TGTB Level 5 but levels 4 and 5 were a struggle for sure. Then we did Apologia Level 5 and they whizzed through that. I didn't want to bother to set up/do all the activities so we skipped a lot of those. They're currently almost done book 1 of Horizons 5 and they don't mind it which surprises me because it looks rough to me. I am not sure what I'm going to do with them for 6th grade...they're not my math kids. My youngest will be going into 3rd grade and she is my Math kid. We did TGTB Level 1 in 1st grade and she liked it. I didn't continue after her sisters' experience with it. We did MWC Level 2 and she did not like it. She didn't like the 10 frames and manipulatives at all. We finished it though. Then she did Apologia Grade 3 and liked it but I don't feel it was enough for her. She was working through Horizons 3 book 1 the end of this school year and HATED that. I printed some TGTB Level 3 to try and she liked it so maybe we'll do that this coming school year. I just ordered a Beast Academy book to try this summer. Sorry for my rant but I beyond get your struggle to find the right curriculum.
Rant away! I get it! It’s so hard to find something that feels good for not only our kiddo but also for us to teach! Then throw in the fact that every kid learns differently 😉 it’s definitely tricky. I’m just so thankful we can take the time to pick and choose a good fit. I hope you’re able to find a good one this year!! ❤️
I also switched my 1st grader to CLE Math 1 because it is so gentle and slow (it's too gentle and sloooow for me, but it's giving her confidence). Funny enough, I was also planning to switch to Apologia Math for next year, but am reconsidering after seeing your video.
How funny! Yes, I loved CLE Math 1 when we used it. It was just what we needed at the time. Apologia Math is not a bad program, so don't let me steer you away! I didn't mention this, but they do provide activities for the lesson that are hands on and fun. The downside is just always being prepared to assess your child to see if more practice is needed. And don't skip the skills review they suggest! I have the hardest time finding it in their resources, but apparently it's there. I've learned over the years that constant review at this age is very helpful!
We love Apologia math! I agree that it is not a good fit for an advanced math minded kid. But for my kids its perfect. As mentioned the skills worksheets are kinda hard to find. I printed them off for the whole year and then I don’t have to think about it again. My younger kids use MWC and I love that as well and plan to use it with my younger kids until we run out of grade levels. The teacher portion can get very long and boring for my 1st grader so I do cut back and only do the things she needs practice on/or make the teaching more concise and to the point and that has helped it continue to be a good fit for her. She absolutely loves the workbook pages in MWC!
@@homeschoollifemom such a good idea to find them and print them in advance! I also completely agree that Apologia can be really great for certain kiddos ❤️ and I love that you’re also using MWC too! We love that program!
@@beachgurl788 at the first grade level, both will be teacher involved however Apologia activities feel a lot more optional and bonus whereas MWC is very necessary to follow the teacher guide how it is. (This is based on my experience. I actually own Apologia 1 as well) the lessons are very short though so be sure to look into the suggested extra practice and resources that are mentioned in the Apologia guide.
Honestly both are great programs! But Apologia lessons are much shorter. I hope that helps.
@@beachgurl788 I haven't used it yet, but I believe that Apologia is likely less teacher intensive than Math With Confidence.
It feels like all the math curriculums start agonizingly slowly, and then at some point you flip a page, and then everything from that point forward is moving too fast. It's like they got 3/4 of the way through the book, and then realized they were only a third of the way a third of the way through the scope and sequence they had promised, so they just ram a lot into the last quarter of the book. Then you're scrambling to try to fill in gaps that never should have been there.
I haven’t experienced this as much but I do feel like the spiral review really helps. The one year I switched to mastery I regretted it. I think that’s why I’ve enjoyed BJU with my oldest. It’s a good mix of both.
I’ve heard that Beast Academy is great for advanced math learners. I didn’t like it for my kids because it was too hard. It plays on each concept. New to your channel so I have no idea what approach’s you use but I have heard many many times that advanced learners do extremely well with it.
I can see that. I can’t remember if I mentioned Beast Academy in this video or not. I actually use it as review practice for one of my kiddos right now. She enjoys the way it’s presented but I agree that it can be challenging at times. I’m not sure we will continue with it after the summer. It’s just been a for-fun-extra-practice sort of thing, but I would say I agree with you. A math-minded child may do very well with it!
This sounds like me. We have tried 5 different math programs. My entering 4th grader is struggling and I am still looking for a program that works for her. Now we are using Plain and Not So Plain , free math curriculum printable from the their website for 4 th grade. She loves it so far. If she needs to have a “ lesson” we find it on Khan Academy .
I have used Khan Academy to supplement in the past. It's been a helpful resource! I have never heard of Plain and Not So Plain. Thank you for sharing that. I love learning about new curriculum!
Plain and Not So Plain has a whole homeschool program for LA and Math free for the printing from K-8 th grade. It is black and white and basic. It was crested for her own kids, by her. My daughter uses the math and spelling, and we may add the Grammar next year. Right now she is doing the Good and the Beautiful 3 and she is enjoying it.
@@kathleensayegh4185 I’ll have to check it out. Thank you!
Thanks for this video and I really appreciate you taking the time😊. We have used Horizons kindergarten through 2nd grade currently. I do take out some problems and I do wish there was more of an explanation in the student book/teacher's book for the new concept. I would love a page for the new concept/ practice and then a page of review, and that's it. Do you feel like BJU has similar scope and sequence as horizons? I hate to make a switch until it's absolutely necessary.
I’m not certain about the scope and sequence. I would say that BJU does a great job breaking down concepts and providing the practice. It’s not as fast-paced as Horizons. In my opinion the skills taught in BJU are on target for the grade level. BJU also feels a lot more organized to me. I know exactly what the chapter is covering. I kind of went off on a tangent there. Did I answer your question? ❤️ I hope my response helped!
Also - I completely agree with what you said. If it’s working, stick with it! I remind myself of that all the time. I’m so glad you said that.
Yes, it definitely made sense. Thanks so much!!!
Omg the panic buying is so real. We started getting through our All About Reading lessons really quickly so I went and purchased Abeka language arts.
Haha yes I can relate. I’ve made a panic purchase a time or two 😬😂
Hi! I’m actually at a turning point for our homeschool and would like your advice. I’m new to your channel. We have been using box curriculum for several years. It is becoming too boring and too difficult to try and school multiple ages and levels. We decided to simplify their learning and school them together (age 5 and 8.5). How do you decide your plan for unit studies? Do you have a curriculum map or a way to progress through material? I need to decide what to teach next. What flows. Do you have any advice on choosing topics? Thanks!!
I’d love to help! I try to do as much together as a family as we can. This has simplified things so much. For history we just follow the timeline of history. We started with ancient times and work our way through. We are currently working on American History through Picture Books and it’s been so wonderful! Science has been more sporadic for me. We have mostly picked things that follow our interest. However I just recently purchased a curriculum we can all do together. We have only done a few lessons but it’s been really fun. It’s called Berean Builders. I recently made a video about it. I’m no expert but I do believe in simplifying and this has been the best way for us to do that.
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/American-History-through-Picture-Books-10596748
One more thought - for language arts consider reading a novel together! I'm doing this with my girls now. Add in something simple for grammar. These were a lot of random thoughts. Hope they were helpful!
Just curious, have you ever tried Saxon or The Good and the Beautiful math?
I have not. I’ve looked into both but never followed through because I didn’t feel like it was what I was looking for.
2nd grade in public school near us I recently learned they are doing multiplication and division… 🤔
Ya it’s crazy - I know some kids are capable! I’m just glad to be able to go at my own child’s pace and start it when they’re ready! ❤️ I have one that did it in second no problem. I have another that it may take a little longer. Thankful for flexibility!
@@simplylearningtogether651 this is so true. My oldest (12) is finally grasping multiplication and is actually doing well. We thought we would never see this day!!
@@adventureswiththemacs8066 yay!! So exciting!! They get there on their time. Reminding myself of this too 😜
GIRL....I am the queen of insecurity when it comes to math curriculum. I have been on the struggle bus with math, with my oldest (currently in 7th grade) since day one. I have made so many "mistakes" choosing math curriculum for her. We have used Horizons, Learn Math Fast, Teaching Textbooks, The Good and the Beautiful, and Saxon. We are currently using Saxon. She hates math and I think, that it's because I have played musical math curriculum with her. I go back and forth trying to figure out if spiral is better for her or mastery? She lacks confidence in math, it frustrates her, her attitude is horrible when she has to do math. I have come to realize that she needs me to hold her hand through a lesson. There are days where I would rather just skip math with her simply because I know it's going to be a struggle. If she gets a problem wrong, the world ends! Her confidence plumets, her attitude grows. I have to take a deep breath. There are days when the spiral method is exhausting, review problem after review problem. Then there are days where she NEEDS the review. I still feel like I'm trying to find the right math for her, not the perfect math, but the right math for HER. I think she needs a practical math, straightforward, no fluff, simple, short, to the point!
Thanks for the video. Sorry if I went on and on, but this hit home.
No need to apologize. I get it. We always just want to do what’s best for our kids. ❤️ i also get the struggle with mastery vs spiral. I’ve gone back and forth with that too. Have you looked at Dennison? Probably the worst thing for me to throw another math curriculum at you! 😂 but I am in a Math with Confidence FB group and the moms rave about that curriculum starting in 7th grade. Ignore me if my suggestion causes overwhelm 😬 I hope you’re able to find a good fit!
@simplylearningtogether651 Thanks for the reply. I've heard tons about Denison math, all positive. I have 2 issues. One, my kiddo dislikes math on the computer. Hates it! Two, she's behind in math, probably from me playing musical math curriculum. I would say she's probably on a 5th grade level. I did pull some ideas from your video. I think I may shake things up a bit and slow way down. Instead of doing a lesson a day, maybe do a lesson every other day. Intro the lesson to her on Monday and then on Tuesday, do a brief review, and then work on the problems together. Repeat Wed and Thursday. Just a thought.
@@bethanylowe7864 I’m glad you were able to get some ideas! It’s such a blessing to be able to adjust to the needs of our children and go at their pace! Sounds like you have a great plan in place!
Your daughter sounds like my son. He would be in tears over math and thought he was dumb. I'm telling you Denison math is the BEST math curriculum ever! The very first lesson Mr Denison talks to the student about being brain positive. If she can multiply and divide she'll be able to do the pre algebra. That's what my son did this year. He has gotten 💯 on every test and we only have one chapter left. Just the video is on the computer, my son does it on his Kindle. All the math is done in the workbook. They check their answers and all the solutions are worked out in the solutions manual and also in videos if she needed extra help. This has been an answered prayer for our family ! My daughter can't wait to start it next year, because she hears her brothers lessons, and Mr Denison is so funny and has great songs to learn the concepts. Honestly it's the worth every cent to have my son do it independently, with no whining, and enjoy it! I urge you to try it!
@@heatherzaidel9366 This is so good to hear! I have heard amazing things about Denison. I have it in the back of my mind for a possible future pick. My kids are too young right now, but I can't wait to look more into it.
Is bju spiral or mastery
It is spiral but in my opinion you only get the benefit of the spiral review using the Activity Book. There is very little review in the Work Text.
Is BJU a spiraling method or mastery? Would you recommend that for early grades?
I am unfamiliar with the early grades so I can’t answer that with certainty. We love Math with Confidence for early elementary! BJU Press is spiral but from my experience you only get the spiral practice if you do the work in the Activity Book. there is very little review in the Work- Text. I’m not sure if I’m understanding your question correctly. But in case you’re asking about the method - I do believe spiral can be beneficial for early grades. It is my preferred method for math.
Have you ever tried math I see
No, I have not tried that one. I’ve heard great things about it though!
Why didn’t you consider mwc for your oldest?
@@BearBettermentSchool she is at the end of her 4th grade year. MWC only goes up to 3rd right now. So she’s just one year ahead 😩