Share some of your homeschool math success stories with our community, and get a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card. Our winner will be randomly drawn from posts that get at least two "Likes" on any of our Teaching Tips or Success Stories pages.What were you and your child doing when the light bulb finally flashed on? How did she react? Has it made a lasting difference for her and you?We will do the drawing at the beginning of each month for posts in the prior month, and announce the winners on our Facebook wall and in the Co-op newsletter. Your posts will remain on this page to provide ideas and inspiration to other homeschool math teachers! (Need help?)
Trickomatics has not fulfilled my purchase. I am out 50 bucks and have not been able to get any reply from the company. Please be wary about purchasing their product. I see this second time around they are not just mailing the product directly but supplying some kind of fullfillment code through the coop. Perhaps someone one messed up in their mailing department and they are getting a few other people who haven't had their order fulfilled and decided to handle things differently. Maybe some of you can "like" me and give me a chance to win 50 bucks from Amazon to at least get my money back. ;-)
I love our homeschool experience, but have always dreaded and quite frankly hated teaching math. I've never had a "head for math". In March I decided to give TenMarks a try for both my 4th and 10th grade homeschoolers. I am delighted with the decision! TenMarks has been one of the best decisions I've made curriculum wise in all the years we've been homeschooling and I will definitely stay with them. The tutor aspect helps tremendously, and I love the way it grades and sends assignments. This takes a huge load off of me, and the kids know exactly what they need to do daily. Thanks TenMarks!
I would call myself a math-a-phobe and had difficulty in finding what would help my daughter really "get" math (when I don't). Avoiding textbooks like the plague (as I remember them to be) we tried some really wonderful curricula: Singapore, Math on the Level, and Teaching Textbooks. Some were great for me, not so much for her. Teaching Textbooks was working but a bit expensive, and didn't really help to remediate some foundational skills that were a bit shaky. We discovered the "Life of Fred" series by Dr. Stan Schmidt. What a gem! Through these entertaining stories, she understands the purpose of the math and can apply it in real life. It motivated her to go back on her own and brush up on some basic skills that she shunned for so long - because she is so determined to move on to the next book. Not only does she laugh out loud while solving problems, she now considers math her favorite subject - and a hobby. She has also been know to choose "Fred Math" for her bedtime reading. It has taught both of us how math works in daily life and that the understanding of other disciplines depend on a true understanding of mathematics (how clever to use Biology and Economics to teach pre-algebra to sixth and seventh graders). Giving this math a try? Hands-down best $19 ever spent on homeschooling!
I am a big believer in keeping math real and applicable to my kids' daily lives. I have a jar that has been accumulating spare change for years, and my first-grade son always wants to get his hands in it. Just a few weeks ago, I let him have a week free from worksheet math to count the change. Using an abacus and a sheet of paper, he added up all $200+ of that money! He never got tired of it, even though he worked for hours a day. He now has a great understanding of the value of those coins and how many make a dollar, ten dollars, one hundred dollars.
By the way, teaching him to use an abacus has been one of the best things we have done all year. Not only does he have an inherent understanding of digit placement (ones, tens, hundreds), but the manipulation of groups has really solidified his ability to make 10 in his head. I hope that helps someone who might be just starting out with foundational math!
With our oldest, the love of math did not develop despite our best efforts with different manipulatives, curricula, games, or activities. However, while in the 9th grade, he started working at a local horse farm as a volunteer. One day, he came home, explaining to me how he had calculated the volume of the hay barn based on his calculations of the size of hay bales and how many bales he's stacked that day. As time went on, he was also talking about area of arenas, circumference, diameter, and radius of the round pen based on the length of his lead rope... all other things he could find to do mental math while he trained his project horse. I sat in amazement as my previously math hating son suddenly could apply years of struggles when it was something he was interested in!
Now, that same son encourages his younger siblings to learn their math lessons, to "show their work" and not to be stubborn about it...and to figure out mental games to things they interested in to "apply their mathematical knowledge." It makes me laugh with JOY to hear how a horse could change even a boy's math perspective.
BreadbakingMama: BTW...this same son also need vision therapy...a barrier to his learning. Vision therapy happened just before or as he started at the farm.
BreadbakingMama: Write something...He doing college level Algebra 2 and preparing to take a college level Calculus class, as well as take CLEP exams for college credit.
My daughter struggled for years with math due to dyslexia. She caught up with basic math skills by middle school but was having difficulty with pre-algebra. She got extra help at school and tutoring but still was having a difficult time grasping the concepts. She failed 8th grade math and was told she must attend summer school. Frustrated and know summer school would not help, we decided homeschool was the best option. I remember spending days researching a math program online...suddenly there it was...a youtube video of this retired math teacher and a program he had developed. I watched the video and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I ask my daughter to come watch and ask do you understand what he is saying to do in this problem. She said, 'Yes". I got his info and called him on the phone. He explained to me his passion for helping homeschooled kids with algebra and getting them prepared for college. I ordered the program. When it came in I watched the first series of DVD's in amazement...why because I was getting a refresher course in algebra! I understood completely after 20 yrs of not practicing these skills. My daughter started the program and by the 3rd lesson she laid her head on the table and cried. I ask...what is wrong. She replied...this is what my teacher was trying to show me? She never explained it like this! I can't believe that I finally get it and all the time wasted because my teacher didn't explain this so I could understand. She lay her head back down and sobbed. That was 2 years ago. She has made straight A's and never failed one of the test on the program. She usually scored 100. If she scores a 98 it is only due to a common error in math..not carrying a number or something. She watches the 15 minute video and done with work in 30 minutes. The program is from Keyboard Enterprises by Leonard Firebaugh. I encourage anyone to look him up on youtube. He is repetitious and sometimes seems annoying but trust me it works! My daughter will be well prepared for college math.
When mine where younger, we learned to count by crashing cars into walls or building up towers of blocks and then knocking them down, yes, even the girls! As they got older we played any kind of game involving math to include card games and math keys. Now as the older ones are into their teens years, we rely on flash cards and quizzing one another. They have fallen in love with Teaching Textbooks and love learning hands on. I still to this day tell homeschool mommies of little ones the excitement of crashing cars for school time and making your own math keys. Even down to my 9 year old, they all have known their multiplication tables by the time they were7 turning 8 and division by the time they were 9. Addition and subtraction were known probably before they were 4. There are so many fun ways to teach math and learn those needed skills, but these have been my favorite memories of knowing that they learned it and still remember it!
My kids learn so much better with music. So when it was time to learn their multiplication tables we worked on creating songs out of their multiplication tables answers. We set 3 times table to "Happy birthday", 4 times table to "Yankee Doodle", 6x table to"Row row row your boat" , 7 times table to" Mary Had a little lamb"and 8x table to Jingle bells. We used the finger short cuts to remember the 9x table.
My daughter just couldn't seem to memorize her multiplication tables. I began selling Usborne Books, and we tried their '10 Days to Multiplication Mastery' program using Wrap-Ups. It worked like magic!! She was really motivated to beat her time seeing how fast she could use the wraps. It was truly amazing!
This is our first year of homeschooling with our first grader. We've mentioned simple multiplication problems in passing, like 2 groups of 3 is 6, but didn't make a big deal out of it. He blew me away though, when he told me that there were 400 of something. I asked him how he knew that and he said that it was 20 groups of 20!
The common question as kids get older is "When will I ever use this?" We value the importance of math in our household and our homeschool and appreciate that we use it every day. As a mom and a homemaker, I use math nearly every day. Budgeting our finances, saving for fun time, grocery shopping, planning meal portions, remodeling the bathroom, buying a major appliance that fits in the allotted space all involve math. To reinforce the importance and usefulness of math, we take our time and use all the tools available to reinforce what the kids are learning.
When my oldest daughter was first learning how to carry, or re-group as it is called now , she struggled with the concept. We used typical manipulatives like blocks and rods, cookies, beans, crayons, chicken scratch nothing was helping her grasp this concept. She was the appropriate age to be learning this concept if she were in our local school system, but I realized that I don t have to force her to go through the motions of doing something if she really wasn t ready. We homeschool, so we can take the time to do this so she understands. With that thought, I stopped. I backed off completely from teaching her how to carry. We moved on to something else entirely. About two weeks later, we went back to it.
The seeds had already been planted and the idea was there. She had time to be thinking about carrying without any pressure to understand it. When we went back to it, she grasped the concept easily and was able to apply the techniques to do her work. She understood how to do it and why, but she had needed that time to think about it and process it without fear of mistake, or failure through her eyes as a perfectionist.
Had she been in a school system , she would not have been able to take her time learning this concept or any other. There is a timeline to follow and if you don t keep up, you miss that concept entirely. I cannot imagine her missing that crucial foundation of math and I am so glad that we had the opportunity to take our time come back to it when she was more ready. That's what worked the best for us.
My kids LOVE food math! Whether it's sorting colors of candy, counting candy, fractions with pizza or patterns with cereal it's always a fun learning time! Once we even dug for chocolate chips in cookies to see how many were in each one and then compared the amounts.
Both my kids (7 and 5) love to illustrate their math problems. Allowing them the time to be creative seems to benefit them not only with the basic math facts, but helps build their motor skills, creativity and confidence. When my son was 6, he drew a simple addition problem with animals. When I could only count up to one less than the correct answer, I questioned him. He pointed to a tree he drew with a hole in it and said "The squirrel's in the hole, Mom!"
My children are ages 12 and 16. In the past we have used flash cards to study math concepts. We have since discovered a site on the internet called mathquiz.com. It has been a tremendous blessing as well as much more fun! It only takes a few minutes to practice each day. There are many different math concepts to choose from at varying levels of difficulty.
Pom poms for addition and subtraction. My 5 year old likes to use them inside two bowls with +/- signs between. Helps my kinesthetic learner to be more immersed in his math :)
My daughter has always struggled with her confidence in Math. It has been so sad watching her trudging along in math feeling like a failure. After two years of building her up through being positive and lots of prayers, she has come to realize that even though Math may not be her favorite subject, she CAN do all things through Christ....even multiplication. Math-U-See has been a blessing.
My girls are only three and 4 so we've been having A LOT of fun with the fundamentals of math/concept groundwork. between dry beans and old egg cartons we've have hours of fun. I usually pour dry beans into a bowl (red and black ones) and have the 3 year old sort them out into equal groups in an empty egg carton. Or make patterns, or put them in order (1 in the first cup, 2 in the second, 3 in the thirs and so one.)
With my 4 year old and I have been doing fractions together. We make playdough circles that she gets to cut in half, fourths, 8ths etc. Pancake breakfasts become fraction time too!
Subtraction and snack time go hand in hand as well. (you have ten cheerios, if you eat 4, how many are left?)
I want them to see the practicality of math and feel the satisfaction of mastering a concept that opens opportunities for them. We're lovin' it!
When we pulled our daughter out of public schools at the end of fourth grade, she wasn't able to recite ANY of her multiplication tables! I was appalled, so we promptly began working with a set of homemade flashcards that I created. Every time she got a fact right, it got a hole-punch on the edge of the card. When she accrued 10 hole-punches in a row then we retired the card. It worked! She is doing great in math now and we're looking forward to tackling Algebra next year!
Brett: You were first! We'll be sending you a $15 Amazon Gift Card through Amazon momentarily. Thanks for breaking the ice, and good luck with your daughter -- it appears she has a promising career ahead of her as a banker!
"Adaptive-Curriculum has enhanced our Saxon Math and our science studies. I type in our topic and we do the lesson together. My daughter LOVES it and asks to do several everyday. The science is better than the math in creativity. I'll look to use the high school level when we get there. Great product! Teacher AND kid approved!" BEI, Co-op Member
"We are using Adaptive Curriculum science modules for our 10 year old daughter and our 12 year old son. What I like best as a home-school parent, with other younger children in the house, is that the labs are done in a virtual manner--no mess, dangerous chemicals or added expense. My children enjoy it because the learning is self-directed and easy to understand; and the interactive interface means that they are seeing, hearing and doing which aids in retention. I am grateful to have access to the program at a great price thanks to the Homeschool Buyers Co-op!" Renee Sumner, Co-op Member
"We have tried various flashcard type drills, timed drills on paper, and even several computer programs but none have gotten my kids excited to practice math like IXL has done. I have four students, grades 10, 7, 5, and K, who are using IXL and loving it. They like the challenge of getting to the next prize while I like the reports that show not only the exact problems given to my students but also their answer to the problem. This gives much better insight as to their difficulty with a particular skill. The 10th grade student is actually in High School Geometry but the 8th grade geometry has provided some practice for basic skills. We are eagerly awaiting the release of the high-school levels for her to get full benefit from the product. Even so, it was worth the fee for her to practice the basics." Michele D., Co-op Member
"I LOVE this math program!! My son has issues with long term memory. Finding a math program that gave him and me the flexibility to learn and review and keep up with what he needed to learn was a challenge. IXL has it all in one spot. We can review as often and as long as we want. The virtual rewards he receives as he reaches 100% competency in each area gives him incentive to keep going until he conquers the skill being reviewed." Suzannah L. Monser, Co-op Member
"My 9yro loves Destination Math. The graphics and interactive play is so engaging, he often doesn't want lesson to end. I love the product because I know that since he is enjoying the lessons, he is retaining more of the information being taught." Katrina Farabaugh, Co-op Member
"My kids love these programs! They sit down to do the lessons just for fun. My oldest son was finishing his math book at the end of the year and already had learned all the concepts from doing Destination Math. Destination Math has made it easier and more fun for all my children to get through their math texts. I'll definitely continue to use this resource." Stephanie B., Co-op Member
"I highly recommend HELP Math as it has been a successful supplement to my son's math curriculum. Over our years of homeschooling we have tried other online tutorials that have not held his interest or have been frustrating to work with as a student and a teacher.
My ability to customize what lessons he is assigned and the percentage he needs to pass the final quiz allows him to learn and feel successful while I can assign lessons that will turn his weaknesses into strengths. This is the first online program he has really enjoyed.
I also like that I receive notifications when he has attempted his final quiz several times and has not passed. This cues me to the need to work with him in areas of weakness.
The majority of the time he can successfully complete the lessons on his own and I can then check to see what he has worked on, how long he took to complete a lesson, etc.
I plan to continue using this program." Kim Taylor, Co-op Member
"This is the best! It has helped my son so much! I would recommend HELP-Math to anyone! Thank you thank you!!!" Michelle Harrington, Co-op Member
"My daughter gets frustrated that she can't choose what tutorial she will do next and that she can't earn prizes for doing practice. Parents can do the next three exercises in a child's tutorial queue and can skip them if they so choose. There were several mistakes in one tutorial, but they were fixed by the time my daughter did it. I don't think we will use it after this year's sub is expired." Cindy S, Co-op Member
"We thought this would be a "fun" math supplement. My son was eager to get started with it too. The only down side is that my son is advanced in math. Math Whizz requires the student to go through a COMPREHENSIVE placement before starting on the games and fun. My son worked on the assessment for several hours and still did not reach the end of the assessment. He lost interest and refused to even try to reach the end of his assessment. Nothing like having a fun product turn your student off to math! When we called the company they told us that the assessment could take up to several hours for an advanced student but IT DOES NOT SAY THAT ON THEIR WEBSITE. They refused to refund our money because they aren't providing refunds to HSBCO accounts so we're moving on having learned our lesson about trying to purchase fun supplementation. I will NEVER recommend this product for students beyond basic arithmetic. While the product teaches beyond that, the student will be doing an assessment for far too long if their knowledge is beyond the basics. Our son is now doing Khan Academy online FOR FREE and we won't be supplementing with any other for-pay options." JC, Co-op Member
"I have been using the Lets-Go-Learn reading test for over three years. My oldest, who has always struggled with reading, has used many different reading placement tests as well as taking the Stanford 10 and IOWA tests. Let-Go-Learn has remained her favorite because it moves on before she gets stressed out about not knowing the answers. My younger children also like Let's-Go-Learn because they can take a break when they get tired. It is my favorite because the report tells me not only how they did but how I can help them improve. Finally, the lexile score is helpful in selecting literature books." Janet K, Co-op Member
"The Lets-Go-Learn reading assessment was easy to do at home, and it gave me a good way to objectively benchmark my then-second-grader's progress. I liked that she could do it in "chunks" and pick up where she left off, and that no "bubbles" were required.
Also, the test was more realistic than the typical bubble test. For spelling, you type in the word, not look for the right one on a multiple choice list. For reading comprehension, once you stop reading and start answering questions, you can't go back and read the selection again. Thus, test taking "tricks" can't push up the final score." Janet C., Co-op Member
"I was very excited to find this product, because it could help analyze my daughters strengths and weaknesses. I'm glad I only purchsed a 3-month subscriptions. The program is difficult to navigate and replies to questions takes in excess of 2 days. It is so bad we will likely not use it for 3 months. Worst product presented by the co-op. Strongly recommend not buying this product." Stephanie Glick, Co-op Member
"Catchup Math is the perfect complement to our math curriculum. It reinforces learned concepts, and helps quickly identify areas where more learning is required. I wish we had found it sooner!" Vicki K., Co-op Member
"My eight year old daughter just loves this game. She begs to play it! We've had it for several weeks now and the attraction hasn't worn off.
The quality of the graphics is very high, comparable to the MMORPG that my husband and I enjoy playing. My daughter is really learning her times tables and having fun at the same time. I'm glad we purchased this." Judith Arnold, Co-op Member
"I think the graphics files were too much for my old computer. It took a while to load and start and eventually the computer froze up. Clever idea but our computer didn't have th oomph to make it work." Carrie, Co-op Member
"We LOVE TenMarks.com!! We have been using it for 3 months now, and I can't believe how easy it is for my son (age 12, grade 7) to learn the material ... and getting him to do math is NO LONGER A BIG FIGHT! He just goes and does it - unbelievable!! We started with an assessment, so that the assigned lessons are things that he needs to learn, rather than slogging through stuff that he already knows. And, the lessons are short and snappy, and easy to understand, which is huge, because focus is a big issue for him.
In addition, now that my son is in algebra, much of what he is doing is over my head, and I would be struggling to teach it - but the TenMarks video lessons and hints are so good, that even I can understand the concepts - no more stress for me!
TenMarks.com, coupled with the Brainware Safari program, have made a huge difference in his ability to focus, think and work independently - in just three months!!
I am thrilled that the Co-op is offering this program to the membership, and can recommend it whole-heartedly!" Windy M., Co-op Member
"Personally, I think TenMarks website or "free" trial needs improvement. Once you choose a grade and a "subject" area to try, that's the end of the trial - so if you choose an area above the ability level of the child you want to use the material you really don't get much of a free trial. Teaching Textbooks is much more "trial" friendly. I love the concept of TenMarks, but until they make it more trial friendly, I won't be ordering. I'd have to have a lot of faith to order it based on any of the information supplied so far." C. Kelley, Co-op Member
"My oldest son recently started two Thinkwell courses: prealgebra and public speaking. Today I heard him yell to me from the other room, "Mom, I LOVE this program you bought! Dr. Burger is awesome." He watched three lectures today and I told him to slow down! He is also eating up the public speaking course which he excitedly told me all about. I am thrilled with our purchases and can't believe the prices we got through the HS Buyers Co-op. THANK YOU!!" The Ebmeier Family, Co-op Member
"We LOVE Thinkwell math! My daughter always hated math, no matter what method we tried - until we hit pre-algebra and tried Thinkwell. Wow! What a turnaround! While I won't say my daughter now loves math, she actually does seem to enjoy it, and I will often overhear her laughing out loud. And since the teacher is a college math professor, I know she's getting the solid foundation she will need for the future. Not only that, Thinkwell provides me with all the information I need to track how my daughter is doing at each step along the way. What a great program!" Deanna M., Co-op Member
"We really enjoy Dreambox Learning. They do a wonderful job of determining the correct level a child should be at based on multiple areas of skill; for example, a child may test out of 2nd grade problem solving, but still need to work on addition and subtraction. We both really like the Parent Dashboard because it gives us a good feel of where her progression is at. That is probably one are of weakness I've seen with many educational programs, is the lack of progress reports. My daughter also really likes that she can earn cute certificates. I would say that after trying many other programs, this is probably one of my favorites as a parent/teacher, and her favorites as a student. We only use this as a supplement, but I'm hoping to find other programs we enjoy as much." Mara A., Co-op Member
"My daughter loves Dreambox! I love how it uses manipulatives in the program. She's not in school yet but we easily explained a few math concepts and she progressed through most of the K and a chunk of first grade in weeks. She was talking about numbers and math all the time! She's cycled into other obsessions but still logs on and I know she'll cycle back, that's her style. At this amazing value, my husband already says (actually after just a few hours) that it was the best $45 we ever spent! I'm very pleased with the quality of the program. I told my friends while it was offered. I'd totally renew next spring if it's offered." Leanne Schwartz, Co-op Member
"Our daughter has been enjoying YourTeacher.com better than her former program. She says it is easier to understand because they give more explanation, more help and the student has the option to show the answer or the complete method of how they got the answer. She likes that they give extra probes and hints as well without giving the complete answer.
We would definitely recommend Teacher.com to others. Our daughter no longer procrastinates about Math but hops on the computer to do her lessons - that in itself makes Teacher.com worth it to us!" Robert.G., Co-op Member
"Today was my son's first day of home schooling after being pulled out of public school (10th grade) and we were able to jump right in with a review of material he has already covered this year in Geometry. I can tell just from what we've done so far that your site is going to be an absolute godsend for us. It provides a teacher in our home for a subject that is not my strong suit. Thank you so much for making something like this available to the home school community." Linda, Februrary '08
"My children(both boys and girls) absolutely enjoy the Quarter Mile Math program. It is a great way for them to get some drill practice on their math facts." Karyn H., Co-op Member
"My daughter loves Quarter Mile Math!! We have 3 horses here at home, so having the riderless horses were definately an exciting bonus to motivate her to want to practice her math skills. The Quarter Mile is a very nice way to get kids to practice and perfect their math skills. I have recommended it to my friends and would definately recommend it to others." Brenda Weisenberger, Co-op Member
"We did both the math and language arts assessment for my son's 7th grade year. He took the tests at the beginning and end of the school year. This allowed me to see the progress and helped determine focus areas. The best part of this was as part of the results, you are given a list of concepts your child is ready to learn based off the answers your child gave. This is a great help in preparing your next level of skills. Thanks for offering this program. Now that the state is requiring a science assessment, it would be great to have this assessment option as well." Laurie Halvorson, Co-op Member
"I was quite pleased with the testing results as they were very close to all previous testing my daughter has done. I was also happy to have an online school for gifted children accept it as an appropriate test for my daughter to be accepted into their school." L Chapman, Co-op Member
Share some of your homeschool math success stories with our community, and get a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card. Our winner will be randomly drawn from posts that get at least two "Likes" on any of our Teaching Tips or Success Stories pages.What were you and your child doing when the light bulb finally flashed on? How did she react? Has it made a lasting difference for her and you?We will do the drawing at the beginning of each month for posts in the prior month, and announce the winners on our Facebook wall and in the Co-op newsletter. Your posts will remain on this page to provide ideas and inspiration to other homeschool math teachers! 
