Circling Through This Life

If you are a long time reader of my blog you may remember that we are a game loving family.  We play games just for fun as part of our family holiday traditions but I also like incorporating games into our home school. Learning math facts can be boring. Math drill can be boring.  It doesn't have to be that way! Sunya Publishing has two games that make mastering your facts fun.  Members of the Schoolhouse Review crew were sent their choice of Sunya - The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting or Sunya - The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Multiplying & Dividing.  As a crew leader, I received both games. About the Games Both games state they are for 1-5 players.  The games come with a Teacher/Parent guidebook, two decks of cards and a special number line.  One deck contains 55 number cards, 2 wild cards and 3 operation cards (e.g. + - =  ) and the other contains 30 Riddle cards. The basic premise of the game ...

I started using Demme Learning's Math-U-See in April of 2005. No that is not a typo. I switched to Math-U-See because BooBear really struggled with math. We've been using Math-U-See in some way ever since.  When I found out that the Schoolhouse Review Crew was given the opportunity to review the brand new Digital Packs , I knew I was going to want to write a review! Since Tailorbear is using Geometry , I chose that for her. Supergirl has been using the Beta Level Digital Pack. Let me start by giving a brief explanation of how Math-U-See works. This home school math curriculum is not grade level based but rather is organized by skill level. It uses a mastery rather than spiral based approach to learning. Students master one concept and then move to the next concept. The goal of Math-U-See is to "help produce confident problem solvers who enjoy the study of math." They believe that the study of math shouldn't just include memorizing math facts b...

Each month I’ve been writing a blog post about Homeschooling High School and participating the Blog Hop.  This month I want to share about the Math and Science resources that we have used. It is overwhelming to think about teaching subjects like Math and Science. Thankfully there are many resources and curriculum choices for parents to consider. Some require more prep work and knowledge of the parent and others essentially teach the material, leaving mom to just facilitate learning and record grades. Math My absolute favorite program for teaching Algebra from Pre-Algebra concepts all the way through Algebra II is VideoText Algebra .  We were blessed to review this through the Schoolhouse Review Crew and we are still using it. Yes, sometimes I have to watch a lesson a time or two and check the solution guide in order to help Tailorbear but essentially it is a program that teaches her and I am only there to administer quizzes and tests, encourage her to complete her work daily...

I first heard about CTC Math when it came up for review in the last crew run. We used it.  We liked it.  It was fabulous for Turtlegirl. Turtlegirl continued to use it for Geometry but I set it aside for Supergirl until a couple of months ago. Our subscription was nearing its end. I wanted to continue to use it with Turtlegirl so I pulled it out again for Supergirl.I hadn’t liked it as much for her as I did for Turtlegirl and I realized it was because Supergirl needed a bit more maturing. I decided I liked it now enough for Supergirl to justify purchasing a month to month family plan so that Turtlegirl could finish Geometry. So having purchased a month to month subscription, I was thrilled when I saw the 12 Month Family Plan come up for review. CTC Math CTC Math is an online video based subscription program with courses from Kindergarten through Trigonometry. For K through 6th grade this program can be used as a complete program. For the high school level courses you may ...

A few years ago I had the opportunity to review the 1st Grade program from A+ Interactive Math with Supergirl. I know that she has learning gaps with her math skills and so I was intrigued by the idea of the Adaptive Placement Test and Individualized Lesson Plan that I could use with her. I chose to get the three student plan which allowed me to add both Turtlegirl and Tailorbear to my account along with Supergirl. What is the Adaptive Placement Test? The Adaptive Placement Test is a grade specific series of mini comprehensive unit tests covering a general concept area.  For example, I assigned First Grade to Supergirl and her mini-tests included the concept areas: number sense, addition, subtraction, geometry, time, and money. I assigned both Tailorbear and Turtlegirl to the highest test currently available, Pre-Algebra. Tailorbear has been working through an Algebra program but I knew she struggled with fractions and scientific notation. Turtlegirl has been working through G...

The Critical Thinking Co. is one of my very favorite home school vendors. I first started using their Building Thinking Skills Primary program when BooBear was 5 years old and have loved every product we have used , so when the Schoolhouse Review Crew offered Math Analogies Beginning software for review, I knew I had to have it for Supergirl. About Math Analogies Beginnings: This Windows only download, for students in the K-1st grade range, teaches critical thinking and reasoning using analogies. However, these analogies are mathematical, making this an excellent math supplement or math enhancement for any K-1st grade math student. Although, I think I would use this with advanced students who have already covered K math and some 1st grade math as the questions require the foundational math skills.  Students who understand up/down, left/right, shapes, and number concepts will have the skills needed to discover and make connections that enable the student to successfully comple...