Review of the Good and the Beautiful Curriculum

Disclaimer: Treehouse Schoolhouse is non partnered with any of these companies and all opinions are based purely on personal thought and feel. Every family unit and kid is unique and may connect with a curriculum that was non a skillful fit for united states of america. This is simply our path and experience.

When we started our homeschool journey I knew that math would be an surface area of struggle for me, only because information technology's not my personal favorite subject.

The Adept and the Beautiful

The get-go formal math curriculum I ever purchased was The Good and the Beautiful K (kindergarten). At that fourth dimension my children were 5 & six. It was primarily for my six twelvemonth-old, but my younger girl joined in on some games and such when she wanted to. At that time, schoolhouse was very coincidental and nosotros had a lot of fourth dimension to play games, work with manipulatives, and exercise lessons. Our days were broad open up and long lessons where I needed to exist totally hands-on were more manageable. The Expert and the Beautiful was a swell fit for united states of america at that fourth dimension. We would spend 30-45 minutes each day on math and it was enjoyable and effective.

Fast forward a twelvemonth later and nosotros went ahead and began level 1 from TGATB. A few weeks in and I but knew that we had to make a change to something more "open-and-become" with shorter lessons and with the option for my children to work more than independently. Lessons weren't getting done and the kids' agreement of the material was waning. The main reasons were that nosotros were at present including many other subjects into our day and just couldn't fit it all in. Nosotros also now had two petty ones in tow to keep safe and cared for.

That being said, I accept since heard that The Good and the Cute has since simplified their curriculum and their updates are loved by many. I accept non personally used the newest version, but if nosotros found ourselves searching again, I wouldn't hesitate to give it a attempt.

Cheque out the revised versions of The Expert and the Cute Math here.

The Takeaway

I don't regret using TGATB for the season nosotros were in. We all enjoyed it as it was such an elaborate, fun, and engaging math curriculum for young learners. I retrieve it was a bang-up fit for the earliest year of our formal schooling when we had the fourth dimension and space in our days to use information technology. They have since revised the curriculum to seemingly solve some of the problems we personally had with information technology and I would still recommend the curriculum as a solid selection.

Masterbooks: Math Lessons for a Living Education

Nosotros stopped using TGATB 1 and switched to using Masterbooks: Math Lessons for a Living Education when my children were the equivalent of 1st and 2nd grade. I did so much research and wrote this blog postal service right when we began on the reasons I chose it. I actually thought information technology would be a good fit for us and it just wasn't. In summary, the curriculum uses one long storyline weaved throughout all of the levels. My children love stories, so I thought that alone would describe them in. I likewise loved that it was more hands-off from me. It was a huge modify from TGATB in that it was strictly workbooks. My children weren't opposed to that but I would've liked a happy medium. At that place were some recommendations for manipulatives using household materials for some of the lessons, but for the most office it was story and worksheet based. Unfortunately, the storylines did not hold my children's attention and they wanted to skip the stories birthday, only if they did and so, much of the bodily pedagogy of the math concepts were besides being skipped. I also didn't dear the manner place value was taught in this curriculum. The kids were beginning to gain understanding of it, but to me, information technology could have been presented in a more direct-forward manner. One of the activities that the children were asked to practise on a continual footing was to brand flashcards of the basic math facts with a storyline fastened to them. We attempted this at first just it seemed awkward and my kids weren't into it. We all began to dread math lessons for all of these reasons.

Nosotros stuck it out for awhile but I started realizing that my almost-tertiary form son had almost zero confidence in recalling his math facts (addition or subtraction) and my 1st grade daughter started proverb she hated math. I started looking around to make another switch and quick.

The Takeaway

I know many families that employ and dearest this curriculum, simply for multiple reasons it wasn't a expert fit for me or my children and I did non see their math skills strengthening. If we would've done all of the lessons as instructed (including all of the stories and flashcards), we may have had a better issue academically. I personally would not recommend this math curriculum.

Math Games

Nosotros took a math break for awhile later that and simply played math games while I researched for what to practise adjacent. Here are a few of our favorite math games:

• Sum Bandy
• Dino Tracks
• I Sea 10

Math U See

A month or so later I finally decided on Math U See. Initially the primary reasons I went with it was that it is recommended past a few experienced homeschool mamas and by graduated homeschool students whom I highly respect. What really pushed me over the edge was when I discovered that they had an accelerated plan to focus on mastery of the addition and subtraction facts (the exact area of weakness I was seeing in my son). I started by getting that program to see if it would be a practiced fit for the long haul.

Hither is what the Math U See website has to say well-nigh information technology.

"Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) provides a new solution for struggling math students with gaps in their foundational math skills set. The AIM programs utilise proven Math-U-See strategies and manipulatives in combination with an accelerated approach to help students successfully primary math facts."

See more about Math U Meet AIM plan here.

Nosotros began using the AIM program and I saw how brilliantly designed the curriculum was. Information technology really clicked for both myself and my son. We worked difficult on mastering his addition facts with the AIM program and succeeded in virtually a month.

At that point I went ahead and decided to purchase the DVDs, manipulatives, and math books for both of my children and we have been all enjoying it now for several months. I see both of my children gaining joy, skills, and confidence in math!

Here is what I honey about Math-U-See so far:

Someone else is teaching the concept.

Aye, I said it. I dear that Mr. Demme (a sweet and funny homeschool dad and math genius) is teaching my children the lessons. I sit in on the presentation while my child is watching (v-20min, depending on the lesson), and so I take had offset-mitt experience on how to reteach the lesson if they need more caption.

It is mastery-based.

This means that the children don't movement on until they have mastered a skill. After they have watched the lesson and so narrated information technology to me (taught me what they learned), the child works out problems co-ordinate to that lesson for as long as they demand until mastered. This is usually a few days- a week for u.s.a..

It is cumulative.

This means that while it's didactics just i new skill at a fourth dimension…and continuing with THAT skill until it'southward mastered, it also reviews past skills. Each week they review bits of everything they take learned in past lessons.

It will grow with my children.

Not all math curriculums go all the way through high school, but this 1 does. I tin can't say for sure, only I could meet united states using information technology for the long haul.

The Takeaway

I highly recommend Math-U-See and wish we would've started sooner! It has given me confidence equally the instructor, as well equally my children joy and confidence every bit students. Nosotros program to utilize information technology for the long booty.

I hope those reviews were helpful to you!

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Source: https://treehouseschoolhouse.com/blogs/blog/our-math-journey-honest-reviews-of-the-good-and-the-beautiful-masterbooks-and-math-u-see-curriculum

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