Thursday, October 22, 2009

A bit of our homeschooling - math u see

math time

For Carbon's math practice, we use the Math U See program, and I really like it. We've been taking our time moving through the primer, as I believe in mastery of math facts and I don't see any reason to rush him, but really this program is fantastic.

There are base 10 blocks that you can buy to go with the workbooks, and the blocks are very nice because they are ridged so you can count how many units are in each block and the ridges sort of hold together almost like a lego brick, so they are very satisfactory for Carbon to handle and please his tactile senses.

But even if you didn't have the blocks, the workpages are laid out with wonderful visual cues for the math problems. It's clear all along that the numbers represent a unit of something and the number line and place value have been beautifully shown as well.

And while Carbon is working on his math, I give Hypatia a pair of dice and have her roll them and then "build" that number from the blocks. It's always nice to have a way for the toddlers and preschoolers to stay occupied while you're trying to work with the older child. :)

Math is one of our easiest subjects right now, mostly because there is no stress in following this program. We love it!

5 comments:

  1. We're using Math U See Algebra I and love it just as much. Comprehensive, easy to use both for teacher and student. Thank goodness this curriculum will be able to take my daughter all the way through high school should she choose to continue homeschooling.

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  2. We love Math U See too! Last year, my older son dreaded math - but, this year he claims it's his favorite part of the day. :)

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  3. We are using MathUSee as well and LOVE it. I think it is the best curriculum I ever seen.

    I have one doing Primer right now (more than half-way through it and one who is learning the multiplication. I even learn things going through the multiplication with him...

    I expect to learn more as we continue the books! Two-thumbs up from this family!

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  4. We too use & LOVE MathUSee. What a terrific program.

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  5. We are using Math U See with our younger children. I only wish I had found it in time to use it with our older children.
    Love Math U See.

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