Choosing a homeschool math curriculum

Many homeschooling parents struggle with this exact question: which math curriculum should they use? Which one is the best?

But, is there a "right" answer or a "best" book? As long as the book is of decent quality as far as the mathematical content, it is my view that the teacher is actually a more important part of a child's math education than the book:

• A good teacher is sensitive to the child's needs and so does not just legalistically follow any book.
• A good teacher loves his/her subject matter; is excited and enthusiastic about it. This alone will encourage the student to study, and help the student develop a similar attitude. Unfortunately, homeschooling parents often do not have this 'love' for math... (perhaps due to the way they were taught math in their own schooling).
• A good math teacher can explain things, draw pictures about the math concepts on paper or board, use manipulatives or other concrete aids himself, regardless of which math book is used. In other words, the student can then listen to the teacher and it won't matter how the book explains things. (I realize many homeschooling parents don't have this kind of knowledge of math).

From these it follows that...

• Even if a certain mathematics book is not the best fit for a particular child or student, a good teacher can make the book work by supplementing it with other materials, maybe adjusting the pace, skipping some exercises, jumping back and forth in the book, being excited about the concepts, drawing pictures, letting the child color things in the book etc.

Basically, the better teacher you are, the less the book matters - and vice versa. The less math you know, the better off you are a) learning math real quick, and b) finding a good solid basal curriculum.

So you do want to find the best math book you can - and that's all good! For starters, please read through these short descriptions of some math curricula, and notice how they vary:

A few popular math curricula used by homeschoolers

Saxon math is widely used among homeschoolers; you could almost consider it 'the standard'. It uses incremental step-by-step approach, and is highly repetitive (not the best choice for gifted students).

Another popular one is Singapore Math. It is more challenging, develops thinking skills, and the expectations and topics covered are on a higher level in comparison to US curricula.

Math-U-See is a manipulative-based K-12 curriculum. Other programs use manipulatives too, but this one specializes in letting children 'see' the concepts first with manipulatives. It comes with teaching videos, too.

Modern Curriculum Press offers affordable and simple math workbooks for K-6. The instruction pretty well just "announces the rule" without much explanations as to why something works.

Key Curriculum Press - the name sounds so similar to the one above, but it's different. They have inexpensive "Key to... " workbooks, which are not grade-leveled but concentrate on certain (mostly) middle-school topics.

Miquon Math books for grades 1-3 have activities that encourage observation, investigation, exploration, and discovery of patterns in math. Encourages creative thinking. May not have enough repetition, depending on child.

ShillerMath is consists of two math kits for K-5 with activities, manipulatives, guidebooks, songs, etc. It is Montessori-based, and covers concepts from all four learning styles: visual, tactile, auditory, and kinesthetic.

Harold Jacobs is a popular one for high school math (besides Saxon).

And there are many more programs, especially for the lower grades. Please see a more complete list and links to program descriptions and reviews in the end of this article.

How to choose

Reading through that list you should see some things that govern the choice: your child's learning style, your budget, the goals you have. Other things to keep in mind are: does the curriculum rehearse one concept a lot before moving to next or does it present several concepts within a shorter time but then practice them over several grades - and how would that suit your child? Does the child write in the workbook or in his own notebook? What about teacher preparation time and teacher guides? In some curricula the teacher's part is laid out in minute detail (verbatim), in others the student's book is about self-explanatory, and yet others are somewhere in between.

Then also read other people's reviews wherever you can find them. On this site you will find several; also on each curricula page on this site, I have tried to publish links to to HomeschoolReviews.com's corresponding page, as well as to other reviews elsewhere. You will find a list of various math programs at the end of this page.

And, all you who are not 'newbies' in homeschooling, we need your help! Chances are you are reading this because you wish to change the curriculum you're using. So right while the thoughts about your current math program are in your mind, why not post a review of how your current program is working with the kind of child you have. We also welcome all advice and tips on choosing a math curriculum.

What if the math book doesn't suit the student?

And then, when you finally make up your mind and start using a certain book, remember that it doesn't have to be your final choice. If the program doesn't fit the teacher and the student well and if you can afford it, well, you can buy a new program.

But there are many things you can do even without investing into a new program. If you and your child are not happy with your current math book but can't or don't want to buy a new one, try these tips:

• Too repetitious? Skip some exercises. Only assign odd ones or 1/4th of them. Or, jump around in the book back and forth to vary the topics more.
• Not enough repetition? Check our free worksheets section. With little money you could get one of the "Key to..." workbooks for more practice. Or, try our inexpensive ebooks and print them out for extra work. Or, find one of those places where they discard used school books, and use one of those books to have more problems to do.
• A boring book? For a younger child, try stickers. Let them color something in the book. They can just color over important sentences for example. Better yet, find something to supplement the book. For example, those Miquon Math activities (grades 1-3). I have collected an extensive list of interactive online games/tutorials organized by math topic.
• Try an online curriculum where the lessons are usually animated and interactive. For example, MathFoundation.com, Time4Learning.com, or Explorelearning.com. (These are subscription services.)
• Let the child start his/her own math (note)book where she writes each day some math problems of her own, using colors, little pictures. She could copy pictures from the math book, be creative, or you can make up some extra picture exercises for her in it. This could also be designed for a younger sibling to use.
• Take a break from math for 1 month.
• And if you have other ideas, please just send them in.

Just remember one thing: do NOT become a slave to the curriculum. The book is just a TOOL for teaching; filling the book is not the purpose or goal of mathematics education. There are many other tools and ways to teach, too, such as games, explorations, projects, living math.

Forums

On these forums you find discussions about homeschool math curricula:

A Home for Homeschoolers - Math

Living Math Forum

List of math curricula