Math-U-See

When I first heard of Math-U-See, I have to admit the name was a bit off-putting. To me it sounded childish and unprofessional. I can assure you, though, this curriculum is anything but those things. In our 8 years of homeschooling, this is the only subject in which we haven't changed curriculum.

I'll start my review with the cons:
1. The name. I'm sorry, but it still bothers me.
2. I had a lot of trouble finding testimonials about upper-level testing success. I even made a plea on the MUS Facebook page and another highly populated homeschooling support site. But after much research and prayer, I decided not to switch before the middle school years. When I was questioning my choice of curriculum -- as any over-thinker would -- I talked to my father and brother, both successful engineers (aeronautic and chemical respectively). They both said if a math program is teaching the basic concepts, it's fine. I took great comfort in that and we carried on. I don't regret that decision.


And that about does it for the negatives! So here are the positives:
1. Each level comes with a DVD your child watches at the beginning of your school week. I love this because A: I have four children; teaching each of them a new concept every Monday would make Monday far worse than Monday already is. B: I suck at math.
2. Steve Demme is a fabulous math teacher unlike some of the teachers I had. Math people can be snobby. If you don't get what they are telling you, they simply explain it louder. They don't understand why you don't get it, which ends in a fight and tears and someone still not understanding. Mr. Demme approaches math not from high atop his saddle, but rather down at the level of the child. He uses cute, fun examples. He gives the concept a visual aspect which is huge, especially for, but not limited to, boys, of which I have three. Here are a few things I have learned from Mr. Demme: why decimals get smaller when you multiply them; what you are actually doing when you do long multiplication; what is happening when you multiply or divide fractions; why the formula for finding the area of a circle works.When I learned these concepts in school, I was just told how to do them, not what is happening when we do them. This curriculum truly is math you can see.
3. Students are introduced to algebra concepts starting in first grade. From what I hear, this is the norm in schools now, but it was not for me. I clearly remember sitting in Mr. Pendolphi's 7th grade math class when he threw something like 3+A=6 and I about nearly had a panic attack because I had no idea what that letter was doing on the board in math class. (I was also in Mr. Pendolphi's class when the Challenger exploded. It was a traumatic year.) I love that my kids are so accustomed to this concept by the time they take pre-algebra that it doesn't phase them in the least.
4. Once I purchase the teacher packet (teacher's edition and DVD), I only have to purchase the consumable student packet for each subsequent child. The resale value on the teacher's materials is very good.
5. Review is built into the curriculum. Each concept has 6 days of work (a two-sided worksheet). My children do lesson A on Monday, B on Tuesday, and so on. Thursday and Friday (lessons D & E) consist of half review problems and half the new concept for the week. This keeps things fresh. Also, because there is an extra page for each week, at the end of the school year I remove all the uncompleted worksheets and put them in a three-ring binder for the children to do 3-5 problems per day during the summer months (for which I have proudly received the Meanest Mom Ever Award).
6. The Math-U-See website contains a free worksheet generator and drill page that does not require sign-in or membership or even curriculum purchase. When my kids don't "get" a new concept, I'll take an extra week and make worksheets from the generator for that purpose.

I supplement math with Khan Academy, the Timez Attack game (free download), online math games, drills and Life of Fred. Because Life of Fred comes at math from a more language-rich angle, it reinforces the concepts of Math-U-See but isn't overbearing. It's actually pretty hilarious and the children love to relay Fred stories during dinner.
And that, my friends, is how a math dunderhead can successfully 'teach' math.