Math-U-See is a manipulative-based complete math curriculum that utilizes video instruction and interlocking, colorful blocks and fraction overlays to teach math, along with a textbook and worksheets to provide the review and
reinforcement. It provides a balanced approach to mathematical instruction by
simultaneously emphasizing computation skills and conceptual understanding. Children love playing and building with the colorful blocks.
Besides the video/DVD and manipulatives, each level comes with a Teacher Manual
and a student text. Manipulatives are the heart of this program.
Adapted from interview with Dan & Angie Sinclair,
Math-U-See Representatives (March 29, 1999):
"MUS is designed not just to teach your child, it is
also designed to help you become a math tutor. This is done through the videos
which demonstrate how each concept should be taught. Many parents learn how to
really do math using this program. The program is designed for home schoolers
by a home schooling dad (Steve Demme). MUS does not teach to any standardized
tests. This means that MUS teaches math in a systematic approach for
mastery."
Prices: Levels Primer (for preschool), and Alpha through Zeta (for elementary grades) are $35 for the teacher pack and $20 for student kit. Pre-algebra, Algebra 1, and Geometry are $50 for teacher pack and $20 for student kit. Algebra 2: Teacher's pack $70, Student text $20. PreCalculus: Teacher's pack is $70, Student kit is $20. Manipulatives are priced separately.
If you have other children, you only need to buy a new student book for
each level.
Why you liked/didn't like the book:
We found MUS to be very helpful with elementary math. When our daughter began pre-algebra, the DVD to workbook process stopped working for her. She needed an actual textbook with charts, graphs, etc. It became combersome to go back and look up concepts in earlier books just to answer a simple question. We also found that the MUS technique of teaching several methods of solving the same problem to be a real time waster.
Go for it as long as it works for you, but don't feel obliged to stay with MUS if your needs change.
Leslie Review left May 30, 2009
Time: 2 years
Your situation:
6 year old son with sensory integration and ADHD
I like introducing the concept with the video. I do not like the workbook exercises. All 6 pages of exercises for each lesson follow the same format. My son loses interest after the first day. The workbook pages could include addition problems in a variety of formats such as magic squares and number lines or secret codes. I have to supplement quite a bit to keep his interest in math and so it is almost as if I don't have a curriculum at all. Moms don't need extra work.
Lisa Review left April 24, 2009
Level: Pre-algebra
Time: one year
My daughter has always struggled every year in Math. She never could quite get the concepts. Now with Math-U-See, she is thoroughly getting it. This is amazing to me and to her!
The materials are great. Everything seems so easy to follow. It is nice to have a real teacher on a DVD. If you didn't get it the first time, you can always watch it over. The book has plenty of practice pages before the test.
Any other helpful hints:
The teachers guide gives very good explanations of the material.
Jill Review left April 23, 2009
Time: 6 months
I have 3 children and have been home schooling for 5 years, the 2 oldest are doing 4th and 2nd grades.
My older son used to cry over math so I looked around and settled on Math U See. The website offered to send a free demo DVD which I watched and was sold. Although my son was 9 years old and in 3rd grade, I decided to start him on Alpha, some of which we laughed over such as 0+1=? ("this is pretty tough Mom"), but it taught methods and tricks for single digit addition that he will use forever. He is so much more confident now with adding and numbers in general and he enjoys it. It also taught me how to teach the concept.
I love how thorough the teaching of each concept is but one book only covers one topic at a time, which could be a problem if you haven't finished the books and your child goes to into school. I did some research and found out what else the children learn at this level and did my own teaching of measurement, basic fractions, geometry, graphing etc from books from the library etc.
Any other helpful hints:
1. The blocks are a must, I got mine on eBay. They love seeing and touching their math, and they keep my 2 year old occupied while we're doing our work.
2. The skip counting CD was very helpful for our boys because they memorize well after very little repetition.
3. Get paper and build the Decimal St that they suggest in the teacher's manual. It helps them understand the concept of place value and helps with regrouping, we pull ours out when someone's not understanding why 29+38 isn't 517 (9+8=17 and 2+3=5, so why not?)
4. Watch the DVDs together.
5. Use the online drills. It's fun for them to put answers into a computer and not have to write or say them all the time.
Katie L Review left January 17, 2009
Time: 1 year
Waited to start math until halfway through my son's first grade year (last Jan.) I initially loved it, but we finished addition just after thanksgiving and were ready to move on to subtraction but then teacher warns us not to move on if child doesn't know addition facts. I realized my son did't KNOW his addition facts. So, we've stopped MUS and are drilling with flash cards and worksheets. My son would use the manipulatives to come up with the answer and never just "learned" the right answer. I should have taken time to "drill" between each lesson (hindsight!!) I've been H/S for 2 years and have realized I want the book to tell me exactly what to do (especially math!)
I didn't like:
I needed more support and "how to teach this" ideas.
Son needed more drill.
I think repetition needs to be increased. Work book offers about 8 addition problems, 2 story problems and then a couple other things related to the manipulative's color. I am searching for something more thorough and helpful for me to be able to teach.
Any other helpful hints:
DRILL (FLASHCARDS, BABY!) BETWEEN EACH LESSON and "master" those facts before you move on to the next!
Lynnette K Review left Feburary 8, 2009
Time: 3 years
I was worried about teaching math, I never excelled in this area. If you follow the suggested way of teaching with Math-u-see your child will understand math and know how and when to use it. My son finds patterns with numbers on his own now and math is all about patterns. The more lessons we do the more I am learning as well, math is no longer a worry for me.
Any other helpful hints:
Do what is suggested and don't skip the blocks. Move on only when you are sure your child understands the material. Watch the video for every lesson!
Leslie Review left January 14, 2009
Time: 2 years
I really want MUS to work for us. I love the program and Steve Demme. It is a wonderful fit for my oldest but doesn't seem to be the right fit for my 2nd born. He doesn't like the plain workbook pages. Because he prefers color and pictures, he says that MUS is drab and boring. Getting him to do math was a daily fight until a friend gave him a simple math workbook that has colored pages and pictures.
I love how Steve Demme teaches the concepts. I also love that it's cumulative. This curriculum is the perfect fit for my 1st born. I just wish that my oldest would be a little farther along. So I feel a bit conflicted about where he is it's important that he gets all the facts down, yet I am wishing that he knew more about division and adding fractions.
The only concern that I have with the curriculum is that it doesn't cover math in a traditional way. My 10 yo 4th grader has very little knowledge of division because we are in the middle of Gamma right now. I am concerned that if something happened that he would have to go to public or private school, he would be "behind" in math.
MUS does seem to be the right fit for my first born, though, so I may keep him in MUS and just switch little brother.
Any other helpful hints:
The manipulatives are a must in this program and should not be skipped. They are what helps the child learn the facts.
Both the parent and the child should watch the DVD's before each new lesson. They are a beneficial resource for both.
SueQ Review left December 14, 2008
Grade levels: (all)
Time: 6 years
I have six children and used Math-U-See from the beginning with them. All six learn differently, but they all thrived in this program.
This math program explains why things work the way that they do. I teach math in an alternative school as well, and most of my high school students do not know why anything works, and therefore cannot perform applications, or expand their thinking. This program works so well that my 8 year old daughter does problems for fun. She is almost done with Delta and will start Epsilon next week. She loves this math program!
Alynn Deatsch Review left September 26, 2008
Grade levels: alpha, epsilon, zeta, Pre-Algebra
Time: 2 years
Your situation:
Homeschooled off and on K-8
I used Calvert Math for my daughter for K-7, but she never really got the math. I switched to MUS and love it. First I used alpha to learn the system, even though she knew her addition facts. We jumped to epsilon and really nailed down the multiplication. What I really like is that I was able to remediate her math extremely quickly because we only needed to find the conceptual gaps and fill them. The books are uncluttered and the worksheets always provide practice of current matterial and past matterial. I believe, as an engineer, that this program will lay the foundation for others destined to be engineers.
Any other helpful hints:
It's ok to go quickly on the "easy" concepts and to take your time on the challenging concepts. Do watch the videos with your student, Steve Demme makes some terrible math jokes that had me in stitches.
Martha Review left August 18, 2008
Grade: Beta/Gamma and Geometry
Time: 2 years
I have been using this curriculum for two years now, after having started w/Singapore math. Boy am I glad we switched! My 8 yr old daughter was struggling sooo much w/Singapore- that called for wayyy too much mental math and she was not getting concepts. My advanced 14 yr old was teaching himself the Singapore, b/c I could not do it, however the teacher's manual wasn't much beyond just giving the answers.. So we switched and both kids enjoy Math U See. Especially my daughter who used to cry at math time before!
One thing that concerns me a bit is if this curriculum covers every topic enough. I was disappointed that in the Beta book, he covers only one way of telling time , no explanation of quarter hour, quarter of the hour, or time lapse questions, (for ex. If you start working at 2 and then stop at 5:20, how much time has passed?) I've had to buy Mammoth math workbooks to cover time more thoroughly, as well as money. There are also no lessons at this level on simple graphs or fractions. These are essentials that I found missing in Math U See Beta (and that are on standardized tests for 2nd grade!). For Geometry, I think it covers the basics.. My son did find it a bit easy though and I'm hoping the Alg 2 Honors book will challenge him enough. I find it a bit easy for advanced learners.
Any other helpful hints:
I would look at supplements for this. Especially if you live in a state where testing is required.. Or if you have an advanced student. There are certain concepts that are on these tests that Steve Demme doesn't necessarily touch on at a given level.
FPK
Review left June 22, 2008
Grade: FOUNDATION TO ALGEBRA 2
Time: USED MATH U SEE FOR MORE THAN 12 YEARS
I HAVE HOMESCHOOLED 10 OF MY 11 CHILDREN. I AM DOWN TO 4 NOW. AT THE BEGINNING I USED OTHER CURRICULUM. WHEN I FOUND MATH-U-SEE I COMPLETELY SWITCHED OVER. MY OLDER CHILDEREN ARE IN COLLEGE OR FINISHED COLLEGE AND ENTERING THE WORKING WORLD. THEY HAVE ALL COMMENTED HOW MATH-U-SEE HELPED THEM UNDERSTAND AND GAVE THEM A BETTER FOUNDATION IN THEIR MATH SKILLS. EVEN THE ONES WHO DID NOT PURSUE A DEGREE THAT REQUIRED MORE ADVANCED MATH SKILL SAID IF IT WAS NOT FOR MATH-U-SEE THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING IN COLLEGE IN MATH. THE ONES IN THE MATH FIELDS ARE DOING GREAT.
Why you liked/didn't like the book:
I HAVE THE OLD BOOKS. I HAVE NOT SEEN THE NEW ONES. I LIKE THE WAY THEY ARE PRESENTED. THE PAGES ARE NOT CLUTTERED AND DO NOT OVERWHELM THE STUDENT VISUALLY. THE WHOLE CURRICULUM MULTISENSORY. THE GOAL IS FOR THE STUDENT TO UNDERSTAND. IT IS SIMPLE. IT WORKS A CONCRETE PRESENTATION THEN MOVES TO THE ABSTRACT ONCE THE STUDENT UNDERSTANDS. MATH IS VERY ABSTRACT WHICH MAKES IT HARD FOR SOME STUDENTS TO GRASP CERTAIN CONCEPTS. NEITHER I OR MY CHILDREN ARE GENIUSES BUT THIS CURRICULUM IS THOROUGH AND PRESENTED IN A UNCOMPLICATED FASHION. I ENJOYED USING MATH-U-SEE.
Any other helpful hints:
NO NEED TO RUSH. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS FOR THE STUDENT TO UNDERSTAND. IF THEY DO NOT GRASP THE CONCEPT STOP AND FOCUS ON IT FOR AS LONG AS THEY NEED. YOU CAN REVIEW ALSO WHILE YOU WORK ON THIS NEW CONCEPT. BUT PLEASE DO NOT FORGE AHEAD TO STAY ON SOME SCHEDULE. THE STUDENT'S UNDERSTANDING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN A SCHEDULE. IF YOU DO THIS THE STUDENT WILL BE FURTHER AHEAD IN THE LONGRUN.
REBECCA ST. AMAND
Review left April 14, 2008
Time: 4 years
I am a homeschool mom of 4 (8yods, 6yods, 3yodd, 9modd).
I love MUS because of the brilliant use of the manipulatives. You do "see" math in a new way. The videos provide great instruction for both teacher and student.
Any other helpful hints:
You may want to supplement with more word problem practice.
Valerie Review left March 4, 2008
Grade levels used: Beta, Gamma, Epsilon
Time: 3 years
I have 4 children ages 7-12 and they are moving along very well. I would recommend Math-U-See to anyone.
The DVDs are easy to follow, and the manipulatives make it very easy for children to grasp concepts.
Began the journey w/Abeka (their school used it). Quickly figured out the concepts were being presented too quickly for 2nd grader. Had trouble (mom) understanding the 5th grade material - luckily my son is very bright & learns easily. Switched the MUS (older material). We've done all levels now from Intro/Primer (K) thru High School Algebra & Geometry.
Why you liked/didn't like the book:
I loved having Steve Demme teach me to teach, and at times, I just let him do the teaching! I (mom) have gained an understanding of concepts such as fractions that I now know I didn't fully grasp from my own education. (Of course, that has been the same with most of our subjects, we are ALL being educated for the first time!)
Any other helpful hints:
If you are very comfortable with math, you might prefer something else. Don't worry about doing every worksheet, particularly if your child becomes bored (ie. memorizing the block colors). Each child is different-I have 5 and no two are alike! With the higher MUS math sometimes my son needed a little help from DAD or to watch the video lesson over.
Gina
Time: 3 years
I have 9 year old daughter who is kind of weak in math.
When we first started my daughter liked it for it being something she could see. But, we had to take a break and drill on basic addition facts. There is too much emphisis on place value notation in trying to explain new concepts. Kids need a bottom line explanation on how to do something. This curriculum is so focused on showing why and how things work that it confuses them. Not enough review on things learned in past lessons until test or review pages. Overall I do not like it because it tries too hard to make kids understand the reason why things work therefore confusing them.
Any other helpful hints:
Get flash cards for basic math facts to drills, or daily warm up pages. MUS does have a good drill web page to use, but sometimes kids need to write things to get it.
Brooke Ada
Time: 1 year
Your situation:
Homeschooling 2 children.
The blocks do it all! Excellent for my two different learners; visual and kinesthetic. DVD "teaches" the lesson for me. Easy to understand and review. Pace your kids at their own level, not "grade" level.
Highly recommend you view the free demo DVD-you'll be sold!!!
Kristine
Time: 2 years
I have to homeschool my 2 sons, and both are different. My older Grade 7 son is exceling in math while my younger Grade 4 doesn't work to the Grade 4 expectations in math. I chose Math U See as I can represent abstract concepts using manipulatives. My 7th grade son is working at the Geometry level and my 4th grade son has almost finished Delta.
I liked that book as it has a very logical order in lessons. One book focuses on a main idea, example, Gamma focuses on simple multiplications and divisions. I didn't like this book as I had too much manipulatives.
Any other helpful hints:
Skip the parts that involve manipulatives if you think they are unnecessary.
Loni Jasper
Level: Geometry
Time: 1 year
Your situation:
I like to say math is a foreign language to me, so I'm no good at teaching. We struggled with 6th grade Abeka. We switched to Math-U-See, and my child has been having A&B grades!!! She is doing geometry this year and so far has a high B/low A.
Why you liked/didn't like the book:
I love this book because someone else teaches it!!! I cannot do math! Thankfully, because of math-u-see, my daughter can! I am looking forward to teaching my son all the way through school, not waiting until 6th grade when we have a MAJOR problem. I also like the fact that it is not just busy work (my son does not like so much repetition). I remember with our previous curriculums (tried 3 different kinds with my daughter) it seemed there were an awful lot of practice problems. This curriculum was a relief! My only real complaint is the cost; however, I believe other math costs about the same!!
Any other helpful hints:
Work at child's pace. use blocks. Sit back and enjoy!!
Joyce
Level: Alpha
Time: 1 year
Your situation:
I was a little afraid of math as the primary educator because I was not good at math in Public School.
Why you liked/didn't like the book:
My daughter and I absolutely LOVE Math-U-See. As someone who's strongest subject is not math, the teacher guide and videos are a life saver. The concepts are presented step-by-step and are easy to grasp. My daughter gets so excited when it is 'math time' that she independently pops the video into the VCR and watches the up coming lesson. I also like the fact that I can work at my daughter's pace. Once day we sat and completed 6 lessons because she was grasping concepts so quickly. On another day, we took our time and went through a single lesson that was a bit more challenging.
Any other helpful hints:
Take your time and make sure your child has a solid grasp of each concept before moving on. The whole idea is to develop a strong foundation so that advanced math will not seem so complicated (for the child, that is!). :-)
Aimee
Time: five months
I am homeschooling two daughters - one in Kindergarten and one in third grade.
Why you liked/didn't like the book:
I placed my 9 y/o in Alpha level because she did not have the addition/subtraction facts down "cold" - meaning she hesitated two or three seconds before giving the answer. In hindsight, I probably could have moved her up a level or two and kept reviewing her addition facts, because she learns new concepts very quickly.
My 5 y/o already knew counting, how to write numbers, adding/taking away objects, and telling time to the hour, so I probably could have moved her into Alpha.
I didn't like the fact that they had the kids memorizing the color of the manipulatives. I was afraid they might become dependent upon them. After "building, writing and saying" for the umpteenth time, even the manipulatives became tedious, and I just left that part off altogether. We also have a 1 y/o, so I couldn't always follow all the suggestions in the teacher's manual.
Like I said, I probably put both kids in levels that were too low for them. I ended up buying a couple of Schoolzone workbooks with CD-ROMs, which explain the concepts very well for little money, and are a good stop-gap until I can find something else.
Although I know these are not "complete" curriculums, they are learning different math concepts and math facts quite well in a fun manner, and I don't have to be sitting down with them the whole time. We also do the pencil-and-paper workbooks, which are colorful and show examples of the different concepts taught at the top of the page.
I have a friend who is borrowing my MUS curriculum for her son, who is more of a visual learner. It may be just the thing for her.
Any other helpful hints:
It takes a few minutes of preparation time, especially if you want to make it more exciting (or if you have a toddler running around). This is probably a good curriculum for visual learners, and I've seen many positive reviews of it - so don't make a decision based on my experience.
There is one bit of advice I would give. I went ahead and bought the regular set of manipulatives along with a "Completer" set that, I believe, you have to have if you're going to teach your student to tell time with them.
For the lower levels at least, you will not use more manipulatives for the addition/subtraction than the regular set provides. I taught my girls to tell time with a $5 wall clock that stopped working on it's own, without having to set up manipulatives on a table, only to have my toddler or cat mess them up! ;)
Maria
Time: 1 year
I home schooled my daughter for her preschool year useing other books for math. The other books were not bad but seemed to have a more traditional approach going along with the way of public school teaching. Math U see was recomended to me as a new homeschooling mom, without knowing a whole lot about it I tried it, trusting the word of mouth. I love it!! I have to save it for last during our school day to keep my daughter motivated to get though the rest of our curriculum.
Why you liked/didn't like the book:
What I like about Math U See is not only does it make it simple for the children to understand but after watching the video and reading about the lesson it makes it easy for me to teach the concept.... I want learning to be fun and hands on and this allows math to be all of that. The work book is not the most exciting due to lack of color, however its only used maybe 30% of the time to make sure on paper that my daughter at last grasps the concept. There is much more to the curriculum than the work book. My daughter who is five loves the blocks and my son who is three plays with them too. I also use a white board to show math problems and let my daughter interact by coming up to the board and solving them. It is never boring.... "Math U See's" way of teaching just makes sense!! Since I have been teaching I have looked at other curriculum and I will be sticking with this one.
Any other helpful hints:
I would consider it. It is the less expencive of some I have seen and the blocks can be used for multiple grades!! Both my kids love the blocks and both my children are very different personalities. It works for many.
Mikie Mitchell
Grade levels used: Pre-algebra & Geometry
Time: 2005-2006
Homeschooling two students, the youngest who dislikes most math, and the oldest who struggles to remember new concepts.
I liked the way the teacher/student determine how many days to practice the new skill, and the fact that there is a review of previous skills without overkill.
Great for students needing a well-thought out sequence and review.
Margie Leer
Grade levels used:
Time: 1 year
Currently using Math-U-See with 5 yr. old, 7. yr. old, and 10-yr. old twins. Works much better for our child with ADHD than a bright, colorful, distracting workbook-based curriculum that we initially used. The blocks are fun, especially for Kindergartener. Will be using fraction inserts soon in 5th grade level.
I do love this math curriculum. It explains the why of math. Not, "just do it that way because that's the way it's done". The DVD introduction of new material appeals to the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learner. There are lots of very practical real-life word problems, not just math drill. Each day has at least 2 word problems.
If you don't want to have to study 5 pages of a teacher's guide every night before teaching, you will love Math-U-See. The brief video, and sometimes the notes in the teacher's guide are so to-the-point that it nearly teaches by itself.
Beverly
Grade levels used:
Time: 1 year
I really liked this program. It has worked well for my son who is 8 who is a very visiual learner. This program teaches place value better than any program I have used.
The program lets you move at your childs pace and lets you choose how much time you want to spend on each principle. 6 worksheets were provided for each lesson. You could use 1 sheet if your child quickly understands or all 6 sheets over several days.
I will use this program again next year and I am also planning to teach my younger son using Math-U-See when he reaches school age.
Charity Guthery
Grade levels used: 1-4
Time: since 1993
I have been homeschooling for 12 years. I have been using Math-U-See for the early grades since it first came out. My kids liked the video, math bars and clear explanations. It worked well for my math whiz kid, the average kid, and my dyslexic child.
I would advise focusing on the video and the math bars and mastering that before going to the worksheets. Don't try to cover one book a year. Go at your child's pace. I always used flashcards to review the basic facts that were already mastered, so they would not be forgotten.
Dorie Nealon
Grade levels used: 1st
Time: 1 year
i really like this curriculum in principle. How much your child likes it will depend upon him/her. The DVD lessons are short and Steve explains things pretty well. However, when it comes to the workbooks, they are very boring. No pictures or colors. Just black print on white paper. Fill in the blanks. It was also not very comprehensive. It covers addition and subtraction exhaustively, but nothing else. A little clock work, but no fractions, graphs, money, etc. If you choose this, you'll want to supplement. I DID like their CD with songs on it...my 4 yr old can now count by 3's to 30 by hearing the music his sister plays. I'd just buy their CD separately.
Rheannon
Grade levels used: K-3 - Foundations
Time: 3 years.
I used Math-U-See beginning with my then 3rd grader to evaluate him in his basics after removing him from public school. Although we moved quickly through it until he arrived to the multiplication sections, he enjoyed using the manipulatives and the skip counting techniques as preparation. The consumable student books are black/white (a little boring for him), but I also obtained an extra practice workbook which I have
also used for his two siblings. There are separate practice/timed sheets for addition/subtraction/multip. and tests every two lessons that can be copied from the TE. An answer key of the students workbook is also included in the TE after each lesson. Word problems are included, also.
My kids enjoyed building the clock with the blocks in order to tell time - easier to understand after they learned skip counting by fives. I watched the video for the first several lessons to get familiar with Steve's approach and for those lessons that were a little more
complicated for the kids. I'm a strong math person, but I wanted to stay consistent with his approach. I would highly recommend this program with several kids at that age range (reduces cost and time) and who feel manipulatives are necessary in grasping math concepts. I bought the
Kindergarten program, but found that you could have covered the same material a
little slower in the Foundations 1-3. Save your money.
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