Math Mammoth

Whenever homeschool moms get together, it doesn’t take long before the subject of curriculum arises. Without a doubt the most questions surround the subject of math. I personally can’t wait to talk about why we use Math Mammoth and our journey to find it! Rose was excited to have the opportunity to try out Grade 7 from the Light Blue Series which would be considered a complete pre-algebra curriculum.

Rose was very excited to give pre-algebra try!

I really like that the teaching is directed towards the students. It is written on the worksheets and anytime she needs to refer to the lesson it is easy enough to for her to find the answers. We teach Rose still directly, but having the information right there is really good. The lessons contain some review and word problems as well so she gets a good foundation. I tend to pace her a bit more slowly than a lesson a day. I do this for two main reasons. The first is she gets overwhelmed if the number of problems is excessive and can then shut down. This is not a good way to start a math lesson! The other reason is I want to make sure the lesson fully settles in before moving on to the next concept.

If you read our weekly updates you will see that my husband has taken over Rose’s math teaching in the afternoons. He also feels the teaching portions are easy to understand and clearly presented. This again is important for Rose if she needs to look back. Sometimes she has a hard time understanding the more complex concepts, so clear and direct teaching is vital. He also appreciates that it isn’t full of busy work. That was the problem with some of the previous math programs we tried.

If we were to sit down over coffee I would have a full list of why we absolutely love Math Mammoth. Here is the rundown of what I would tell you:

1. Solid teaching

I have yet to find any course that is as good as this one. It thoroughly teaches concepts without busywork. It is also easy to pace. If your student needs to go slower than a lesson a day, you can easily break the lessons up into multiple days. I usually do this with Rose. At the same time, if your student is more advanced, they can easily go at a faster pace, which suits the needs of Beth.

2. Easy to use

Both my husband and I teach math using Math Mammoth. When I was on the search for a new curriculum my husband was a big part of this search. He loves math and at one point thought he would become a math teacher. We are at the point where it is easier for him to teach math than it is for me because he remember the rules where I’m constantly needing to look the rules up while teaching. Especially as we are moving into Pre-Algebra it is important rose has clear instruction. He is the best choice for this and has only good things to say about Math Mammoth.

3. Self-contained instruction

Rose needs one-on-one teaching, but not all kids need that. My other two daughters often read through the teaching material and don’t often need a lot of direction. This may change as they move up, but for now they like that it is written to the student so they can give it a try on their own. I absolutely check in to make sure they understand, but it is nice to know they can work at their own pace if they like.

4. Multiple methods

I find this curriculum works well whether you have a tactile, auditory, or visual learner. I have one of each and all three are thriving. I also like that there are multiple strategies taught for the same mathematical concept. Both pencil and paper and mental math strategies are taught. This is nice so your kids can find the method that makes the most sense for each individually.

5. Cost effective

This is hands-down the most affordable full curriculum available. Just do a little shopping around and you will soon see how reasonably this curriculum is priced. This is a huge benefit if you have multiple children.

A couple of years ago I recorded what our schoolroom sounded like during math lessons. All three girls work out loud and are able to function pretty well this way! This happens a little less as Rose is getting older and she usually works with my husband in the afternoons, but this was back when all the girls were working during the day on math. I love hearing their voices as they think out loud!

Every wonder what math sounds like? #LearningTogether #MathMammoth

A post shared by Melissa (@gracefilledhs) on May 28, 2015 at 5:37am PDT

Here is some more information about the curriculum directly from the author.

I highly recommend this program. Make sure to check out more reviews from my Crewmates!

Affordable Quality Math {Math Mammoth Reviews}

During my first official year of homeschooling for 1st grade I had curriculum overload. If you’ve never experienced this it is the inevitable phenomenon newbies face when their homeschool research begins. I have been told this usually occurs at the beginning either by way of the internet or a homeschool convention. Our journey began rather abruptly and I honestly didn’t have much time to research. I jumped in with both feet with only a few weeks notice and went with what our core curriculum suggested for math. This was fine until mid-year when it became clear our original math curriculum was not working. During my hours of research I found oodles of recommendations for Math Mammoth. Although this wasn’t the new curriculum I eventually chose I have always had it in the back of my mind, especially the Blue Series

There are two ways you can purchase Math Mammoth. You can go the traditional grade-level route with the Light Blue Series. Topics are covered in a mastery format with only a few topics per grade. Conceptual thinking is encouraged and mental math and number sense are encouraged. This complete curriculum covers grades 1-6

I was looking for something to act more as a supplement since the mental math and conceptual approach did not work so well for us the first time around with the original curriculum. The Blue Series has separate topics you can purchase and complete as you wish. These are intended to be used as supplement, remediation, or review. Since I am happy with our current curriculum I appreciate that this program has different options depending on your needs.

These are the four units we reviewed…

U.S. Money

I used this with both Rose and Beth. This is the first time I’ve taught them the same subject at the same time and they seemed to enjoy it. I wouldn’t want to do it on a regular basis because I want each of my girls to move at their own pace without feeling pressured. Beth took a little longer to finish her independent work because she is a slower writer, but both girls worked fabulously through the portion of money which we covered.

I like the flexibility and encouragement to use real coins. While printed pictures are fine, using real money give practical, real-life application. Since the girls wanted something to remain in the box on the page we did coin rubbings as they practiced making the correct change. You can also study money from different countries including Canadian, European, British, and Australian.

I really liked this unit for learning more about money. It was a nice change from what we normally do and gave the girls different types of practice counting money. While there wasn’t anything incredibly new or different to me in the approaches used to teach the concepts, they were simple and easy to impart to the girls.

Clock

Beth worked with the clock unit on her own since Rose has basically mastered telling time. I really liked the combination of drawing on clocks and writing time. The combination of the two seemed to cement some time concepts we have been working on this year, but didn’t quite settle in. I love the ability to pace this unit alongside our current curriculum to give her a more solid footing in this area.

Measurement 1

This unit was one both girls worked on together as well. While we have covered length and lightly touched on measurement, we have not formally covered measurements with our curriculum yet. A topical study was a nice place to start.

Rather than jump right into types of measuring the unit begins by having the kids measure anything they choose with two different size shoes. Although this was an interesting start to the unit, I disliked the method. I would have preferred this concept be taught later, after the idea of concrete units of measure had been covered. The girls did enjoy the measuring activity though!

Multiplication 1

Rose has been pestering me for a few months to start learning multiplication. I told her the basic idea, but didn’t want to formally cover this area until I felt she had a firm grasp on higher addition. She was over-the-moon excited when I told her we would be starting multiplication before she reached it in our curriculum.

Although I didn’t care for the conceptual start for measurement, I did like it for the beginning steps to learn multiplication. Understanding what multiplication means seems the most logical place to start. Although I think Rose already understood these concepts seeing her formally work through it on paper gave me assurance she knew what she was doing. She is so excited to work through this unit that she often asks to work further after our official school-time is over.

Teacher’s editions of math books are typically needed and sometimes I’ve wished there was a manual for the teacher’s book! This is not needed with Math Mammoth. There were several times when I really felt I could have let my girls learn many of these concepts on their own. This is a very user-friendly curriculum for both teacher and student.

To read more reviews about Math Mammoth including the other curricula offered click below!

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Tag: Math Mammoth

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