Category Archives: Math

CTCMath Family Membership Review

Posted on by
Reply

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

We are so excited to be able to use the 12-month Family membership from CTCMath. We school all year long so it’s nice to be able to add additional students if they need some additional help.  Keep reading below to see what CTCMath is all about.

What is CTCMath

CTCMath is a full math curriculum that covers all the math topics your child will need all the way threw high school.  The program is an online subscription that has lesson videos and review problems.  I reviewed the Family membership which lets you set up all your children in whatever grade they are in.  You can give assignments to each child and due dates or you can select what lessons you want them to work on.

As a parent or teacher, you can see all your children/students and see what progress they are making.  The picture below shows what the teacher screen looks like where you can see the child’s progress and what lessons are coming up.  It is also where you can assign tasks.

When your child logs in with his name he can work on the tasks you assigned or you can help them select a specific lesson or unit you want them to work on.  Each lesson has videos your child can watch and then there are questions for them to work on after they watch the video.  The questions are all answered online but you can also print out questions if you would like.  Once the question is answered, the correct answer is shown if they got it wrong.  The student then clicks on a button to go to the next question.

You can also have your child take a diagnostic test on the subject. The picture below shows one of the diagnostic tests for second grade.

Lesson results are easy to see as shown in the picture below.

 

What did we think

I was really impressed with CTCMath video lessons and my kids liked them also.  I thought the explanation and the graphics used to explain the lesson were really good.  I wasn’t planning on using CTCMath with my high school daughter for her Algebra but after watching some of the lessons I decided I would use them for her also.  There are so many different topics so you can easily find any topic your child might be struggling with to review.

I didn’t really like the option of giving assignments.  I preferred just selecting a lesson for my sons and letting them work on that instead of assigning him work.  It just works better for us that way.  I feel like I know what math topics my son needs to work on so I can just have him select those lessons to work on.  Maybe if your child is self-motivated you could assign tasks and just let them work on the assigned lessons.  Whatever works best for you if you are looking for a comprehensive online math curriculum then I would recommend CTCMath.

Be sure to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of CTCMath.

From Kindy to Calculus CTCMath 12-month Family membership {CTCMath Reviews}

Math Shed and Spelling Shed Review

Posted on by
Reply

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Spelling is not my specialty so we were excited to receive 12 months of access to both Math Shed and Spelling Shed.  If you are looking to add some spelling and math digital learning to your homeschool, let me tell you about Math Shed and Spelling Shed.

What is Math Shed and Spelling Shed?

Math Shed and Spelling Shed are part of EdShed.  The programs are designed to help your student improve their math and spelling proficiency.  Math Shed and Spelling shed are an online subscription. The program is web-based so it works on both a computer and also on the iPad.

Spelling Shed – Spelling Shed is a full Spelling curriculum program.  There are six levels (called Stages) plus a beginner level for phonics.  Each level has spelling lists that focus on a particular spelling rule.  For example, Stage 3 has a list for Long /a/ sound words. You can assign your student a Stage and even a specific Spelling word list.

You set up students and give them assignments in the “Teacher Hub”. You can also set the password for your student there or keep the recommended one.

They can work on spelling lists or play a game called”buzz” where they try to make different words with letters on the screen.

There are three kinds of game:

  •  Play – This is the main game type and use used for assignments
  • Bee Keeper – Can you guess your words by choosing letters.
  • Buzz Words – Make words using random letter tiles.

 

MathShed – MathShed is a web-based program with games to help your child learn different math facts.

The math games have a question and three answers to choose from.  There is catchy music and sound effects.  This is what the gameplay looks like.

Both games allow you to earn honeypots to buy different accessories for the avatar.  That is the main motivation for the student. There are also points so you can have a competition between students.  If you have two computers you can also set up a head to head competition by creating what’s called a Hive.  The teacher or the student can set up a hive competition game.  I tried it with my boys however we had issues with the iPad not showing the keyboard so we were not able to fully try that level.

What we thought

Math Shed and Spelling Shed were definitely helpful for my children working on spelling and math facts.  The boys enjoyed the games and were challenged.  I usually set up the game difficulty level for them depending on what I thought their level.  The Easy level shows all the letters that are used in the spelling word but the most difficult level does not give any help.  The instructions say not to worry about it using the easy level and to use the hard levels towards the end of the week.

One of the other nice features I liked about Spelling Shed was the curriculum guide.  There is a pdf and PowerPoint that you can use to teach the new spelling list.  I thought it was very helpful to see all the spelling words and the instructions on. how to teach and use the program.  Each week has a lesson plan, activities and printable practice/homework sheets with answers

I hope you consider EdShed to help your child spell better and build math mastery!

Be sure to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of Math Shed and Spelling Shed.

Spelling Shed & Math Shed {Education Shed Reviews}

Math U See AIM review

Posted on by
Reply

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

If you have a child working on Addition and Subtraction, you will want to be sure to check out Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) for Addition and Subtraction from Math-U-See.  Even if you already use Math-U-See you can still benefit from using the AIM program.

What is AIM:

The AIM program is a program to help your child master addition and subtraction facts.  The program comes with the Math-U-See manipulative blocks, colored pencils, a resource guide, Math Fact Strategy Posters, addition and subtraction fact check cards, and year-long access to the AIM program instructional videos and guides.

If you use Math-U-See, you will already be familiar with some aspects of the AIM program. The integer blocks will be familiar and the video lessons with Mr. Demme will also be familiar since they are the same as in the Alpha and Beta programs.  We have been using Math-U-See with all our kids, but I had not seen the AIM program before though.  When I looked at the program, I thought it would benefit my son since we can always improve math facts.

The program includes 12-month online access to Lesson videos, Instructions, Solutions, and printable resources.  The online videos and website work both on a computer and with the iPad.  You can download the pdf of each lesson, activities and resources.

The online instructional videos show

  • Instructions on How to administer the assessment
  • Instructions on how to use The Build, Write, Say method
  • Instructions on how to Fade from the Manipulatives
  • Instructions on how to perform the Mastery check
  • 22 lessons for all the addition and subtraction lessons from Mr. Demme

Who is AIM for?

AIM is for children who struggle with math addition and subtraction facts and have not mastered those facts.  To see where to start or where your child has problems there is a before AIM Assessment. When I gave my son the before assessment I was surprised how he didn’t know his facts like I thought he would.  The assessment says that if it takes more than three seconds for the answer, then they do not have the fact mastered.  If you already use the Math U See program you can use AIM to help ensure your child has a mastery of his addition and/or subtraction facts.

How we used AIM

The instructional videos for the lessons were the same as the Math U See Alpha and Beta math programs but they are online.  The difference with AIM is the concepts used to practice the math facts.  My kids always like playing with the Math U See blocks.  It helps visualize the concepts of math with a base 10 system.  The AIM program uses the manipulative blocks along with the colored pencils which stand for each block color.  There are also fact check cards to check their knowledge. The fact check cards are basically flashcards with three stars on each one.  If the child knows the fact, you color in one of the stars.  When all three stars are colored in then you consider the fact known.  If there are math facts they still have not mastered then they can work on activities suggested in the AIM program until they have mastered the particular math facts. When they have mastered all the facts for the lesson then you can move on to the next lesson.  Since my son needed to improve his addition facts, we decided to use the AIM program and hold off on working more on his Math-U-See Alpha math book.

What we thought of AIM

My son enjoyed working with the manipulative blocks.  The AIM program has many different activities using manipulatives to practice math facts. He really enjoyed the many manipulative block AIM activities like The Train Hitch, Building a Wall of Tens, Addend Sleuth, and many others.  My son also liked using colored pencils but I don’t know if they really helped all that much.  It is probably helpful if you are very visual.  Overall we liked using the AIM program and I plan on using it instead of our math program until my son has mastered the addition facts up to where he is at with his Math-U-See math book.

Want to hear more about Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) for Addition and Subtraction? Click below to read what other members of the Review Crew thought.

Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) for Addition and Subtraction {Math-U-See Reviews}

Math Galaxy app and ebook review

Posted on by
Reply

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Math Galaxy provides math games and math worksheets such as the Whole Numbers Balloon Pop app and the Math Galaxy Time and Money Riddles eBook.

Apps:

I had the opportunity to review several apps.  Most of the apps I reviewed, 3rd Grade Math, 4th Grade Math, 6th Grade Math, were similar but just for different grade levels.  The other app I reviewed was the Times Tables Balloon Pop app about multiplication.

The Times Tables Balloon Pop app starts out with you first select the Times table you would like to work on.  Then the app is a simple app that displays a multiplication fact with several balloons with numbers on it.  When you tap on the right answer the balloon pops and another multiplication question comes up.  This was a fun way for my children to practice multiplication facts.

The other Apps I reviewed were comprehensive math apps that were 3rd Grade Math, 4th Grade Math, 6th Grade Math.  The apps are pretty much the same except the concepts are more difficult for the higher grades. The 6th Grade Math app only has one game but that’s understandable since its for older kids.  I was pleasantly surprised by my son picking up the app and playing it on his own without my prompting.  Many times, I like to download an app and see how long it is before they start using it.

His favorite game to play was the Labyrinth game.  I suspect this is since he really likes mazes.  To play the game you must earn a robot by working on other math facts.

 

Even though my son hasn’t worked a lot on fractions, he really liked the game for fraction addition.

Along with interactive games, there are also videos

Lastly you can even save your progress.

ebooks:

We were also provided ebooks which provided riddles that you solve by answering all the math problems.  I received Whole Numbers, Fractions, Decimals, Proportions, Percents, and Algebra ebooks.

The ebooks provide plenty of fun practice for all the math problems.  The solutions are well worked out like the Fraction addition shown below.

Overall my son really enjoyed the apps and I found him numerous times playing them for fun.  The ebooks provide a great supplement for any math program you use for your homeschool.

Please click on the picture below to see other reviews form Homeschool Review Crew members.

3rd Grade -Algebra Fundametals Math Apps {Math Galaxy Reviews}

Stop homeschooling

Posted on by
Reply

Sometimes with homeschooling we can get so caught up with academics that we forget to give time for our kids to relax and think.  This video is an excellent reminder that our kids do not always learn like we expect them to learn and sometimes they need to learn on their own.

This presentation is from an autistic child that is pushing the lower bounds of age when it comes to college and theories.  Jacob Barnett is a mathematician and child prodigy. At age 10, Jacob was formally accepted to the University as a full-time college student.  He is world’s youngest astrophysics researcher.

You can see from the video why some label him as ADHD and thought he should be in special education.  Thankfully his mother believed in him. You can read about how Jacobs mom helped him reach his genius potential in her book The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism.Jacob’s mom Kristine, resolved to follow Jacob’s “spark”—his passionate interests. She decided to focus on what Jacob could?

This also reminds me of the song “Blessing in disguise”.  Sometimes the would looks at autism as something negative, however there are some unique blessings.