We have struggled with math curriculum at our house. I tend to avoid some of the bigger curriculum companies and do not do the 'homeschool in a box' type of homeschooling, so I pick our resources by hand. I begin my search the year before and research and read reviews, samples and so on to choose the best resource I can possibly choose in any given subject. Math has been one that we have used various publishers nearly each year. I did not like most of the options I had come up with and neither did the kids. Were they effective, well, yes. But, they were miserable to use. I guess they were what most of us are thinking of when we think back to our math classes and courses in school. Dry. Boring. But, they do show you the concept, provide examples, and practice problems. They just are no fun.
I do not follow the concept that all learning is fun at all times, but if it is possible to not be a chore each time you have to study the topic, then I think it will be more readily done.
This year, I decided on our math resources. I felt that they would be 'effective' if not 'fun'. That is what I had come to accept as the norm for math. I ordered them, received them and got them set up in binders and such as I like to do. (I often will cut out the pages of paperback books and hole punch them to go in binders. I don't know why really, I just like the consistency of it, I suppose.) After getting everything together and organized, I and my daughter decided we did not like the choices we made for her math. Were they going to work. Sure. Was it going to be a joy to use or at the very least, not a torture? Probably not. Once my daughter informed me that she did not like it, I knew it was going to be a long year.
I decided to go ahead and make another purchase for the math curriculum for her school year. I am a VERY frugal person. (My husband lovingly calls me cheap, but that to me, implies inferior quality to items I purchase. I like nice things, I just shop well and refuse to spend money needlessly...) Anyway, I knew in this instance, an additional purchase was going to be in our best interest.
I had been reading about a quirky math curriculum called "Life of Fred". I could not decide if it was going to work. I liked the ideas behind the curriculum. It was adorable in the theory and delivery, but was it effective? I was not sure. Also, I could not find it used at a reduced rate and that is one of my requirements for purchase that I am unsure of. I decided to go ahead and buy it.
The other day, Anna informed me that the reason she does math first thing in the school day is because she likes it! We are doing a 'fast track' through the book series in order to do a review of Algebra from last year and to continue on with Advanced Algebra both this year. So, this year, she has a lot of math work and she does not fuss. Yesterday, she had a friend stop by for a few minutes. She told her she had homework to do (Sunday night) and for her to come in with her while she did it. She read the 'story' part of the book to her friend as they were visiting. They giggled together over the silliness of it, but then she explained to her friend the correlation to math and her friend realized that it was not just a funny book. It was hard.
I asked my daughter about why she liked this series. She said that it was easy to follow. (usually) Occasionally, she says that the author will go somewhere that appears to be completely off topic and she gets confused. But, she states that when they go on to the actual math lessons for the day, she suddenly 'gets' where he was going in the story.
If you have not looked at this math series, I suggest that you do. It has a little story of a fictional character named Fred. He goes on all sorts of adventures and misadventures. All the while, seeing math in various situations. It initially seems too juvenile for high school and above, but that is the very thing that makes it 'lighter' than traditional math curriculums. You end up cheering secretly for the little guy! The art work is similar to what you would find as doodles on a middle or high schooler's book covers and notebooks.
I plan to stick with this math curriculum throughout the rest of the kids' school years. I think I have finally found the ONE for us. I hope you like it as well.
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