Almost two years ago, my son HATED math. He moaned, he groaned, he complained, he carried on – this did not make homeschool fun to say the least! We even tried having Dad, the accountant, teach him math and that did not help. Then I heard about Teaching Textbooks. I went to the website and had my son try a couple of sample questions, which he enjoyed. We did the placement test, which placed him in Math 5.
Once he got started with the curriculum, my son suddenly LOVED Math! He almost always wants to start with Math each homeschool day. When asked what his favourite subject is, he always says Math, what a difference!
Every day he completes a lesson on the computer, with the CD-Rom. If he answers incorrectly, the computer gives him a second chance. If he still answers incorrectly, he views the step-by-step solution. The lessons are thorough, and there’s just enough practice for him to “get it”, but not so much that it becomes tedious. Any figuring out that needs to be done is written in the workbook. The workbook is also great for going over concepts together with him if a lesson does not go very well (or for continuing on with lessons if the computer crashes and is out of commission for a week!). At this level, the grading is done automatically. We don’t put a lot of emphasis on the grades in our homeschool, but do use it as a guide to show us which lessons & concepts he is having trouble with. In some of the higher levels of the program, the parent has to grade the work. My son is now most of the way through Math 6 and still going strong, enjoying himself along the way. Teaching Textbooks is now recommended in the latest version of The Well-Trained Mind. You can buy Teaching Textbooks at the TT website, and shipping is free (yes, even in Canada)! Price varies, depending on each level.
Love, Luck &
Laughter,
Kimberly
