Homeschool Math | Thoughts & Reviews
Vložit
- čas přidán 13. 04. 2022
- It has taken us a long time to find a math curriculum that works for us. In this video I share the math curricula we have used and my thoughts on each of the programs. I also share my thoughts on how best to approach math in a homeschool setting. Also my advice when choosing a math program.
So nice to hear your thoughts on so many math programs!
Thanks! It’s definitely been a journey.
I definitely learned math through memorization and learning one "right" formula to find the answer. This led to frustration and a total lack of conceptual understanding or confidence. Dimensions continues to blow my mind, and I am learning right alongside my girls. I am amazed at the discussions, critical thinking and mental math skills we have because of Dimensions.
I really liked your review on the different math curriculum, it felt really genuine and informative 😊 New subscriber!
Thank you! My goal with this channel has always been to be a helpful resource 😄
Thank you for this review and encouraging words
Helpful to hear your knowledge and experience teaching math. I've been considering Teaching Textbooks, so I appreciated hearing your thoughts on it.
I’m glad you found the video helpful 😃
Great video! We’ve been using Dimensions math for a couple years now and love it! I hear so many people move away from it but dimensions is a creative way to doing math which is exactly what math is, creative! Especially higher level math. My husband has degrees in Math and Physics and when we found Dimensions he was SO excited for our kids because it’s very similar to how math is taught in Math programs at Uni. It’s personal and so deep! Great video, honestly! I’ll have to pick up that book for myself. Take care!
Thank you! I really like that it is taught similar to higher levels of math. Where the focus is about coming at a problem from different angles and using different mathematical strategies. Like you said creative. Allowing yourself to explore a problem instead of just always looking for a simple solution.
Kindergarten Math With Confidence was a game changer for us and a good springboard to our regular math curriculum of Math Mammoth. Math with Confidence has so many higher order thinking concepts I could not believe my daughter just understand.
I think Math with Confidence is a good gentle approach to math, but at the same time incorporates good number sense and conceptual thinking. I too was surprised my 5 yr old was able to grasp some of the concepts so fast as well. I think because it explains it so well, instead of just reiterating math facts. I’ve heard good things about Math Mammoth. It’s supposed to be very similar to Dimensions, but more affordable. It’s on my list to check out if for some reason Dimensions ever stops working well for us.
I agree with you that our own insecurities drive our preferences in all areas. I love math and fell in love with Dimensions. I am getting Primary 2022 for next year to try out, but I also have the same level of Dimensions, so I can see which works better for us. I do love the beauty of math and that's a subject I prefer to teach myself.
I think both versions are great options! It just really comes down to teacher & student preference. I’ve really enjoyed discovering the beauty of math and understanding that it’s more then just a set of numbers 😃
Really appreciated these thoughts as I start homeschooling this year. This solidified my choice of Dimensions for my oldest. He loves numbers and would be bored to tears (literally) with something too simple. He is the kid who intuitively taught himself multiplication and division after I taught him addition and subtraction. I always struggled with math and look forward to relearning it as we go.
I’m glad you found the video helpful! Navigating math can definitely be intimidating at times, especially when you’ve struggled with math yourself. I really think Dimensions sets a solid foundation and helps me feel confident in teaching it.
This is so helpful! Thank you for sharing!!
thank you so much for your honest review. I will definitely look into these math options.
I’m glad you found the video helpful!
I think this video was very insightful. Thank you, this was very helpful.
I’m glad your found helpful 😀
This was a great video! Thank you for sharing :)
Thank you!
We love dimensions now too. We started there left and went back.
It’s definitely been a great fit for us! 😃
I love that book too. Still have to finish it, but what I read really blew my mind
Yes! The whole part about math trauma was very eye opening for me. I also really enjoyed the notion that math giftedness is a myth and we all have the potential to learn higher levels of math 😃 It was definitely the encouragement I needed to teach math to my daughters.
@@michellegf yes! It was really refreshing to identify my own math trauma
What book?
Looking forward to watching your in depth review of math with confidence. We did Singapore primary 2022 for kinder and first and the home educator guide is….awful. Lessons are taking 30-45+ because of how poorly written it is. We supplemented with Zearn, which is a free online conceptual curriculum that my son LOVES. Plan to keep at it but want to do something along side him, too.
I looked over the home educators guides when they first were released and I wasn't impressed. Some of my favorite things about the original teacher guides were that they included book recommendations and lots of game/ activities. It felt like the home educators guide left some of the best parts out. Here is the link for the Math with Confidence video I made czcams.com/video/XmAXbCbYBmc/video.html
Super helpful video, thank you!
I’m glad you found it helpful! 😁
You hit the nail right on the head when talking about TGATB! We use it as a supplement as we travel. We use Singapore Primary as core math.
I’ve been surprised that I haven’t seen more people talk about the drawbacks of TGATB. To us, the material covered was very surface level and never went very deep 🤷♀️ I can see it being used as a supplement, but not deep enough to be a core curriculum.
I think they have a cult like following that will come after creators who do not sing praises for TGATB.
@@lawnerd80 It’s disappointing when people can’t take others opinions or critiques about curriculum. If your curriculum can’t stand alone on the basis of the information it provides and relies on influence pushers to sell it, I’m sorry but that’s pretty pathetic!
Thank you ❤❤❤ you have motivated me and changed how I view math. I read Mathematic Mindsets from your recommendation. One question… Have you checked out Tang Math games and their puzzles specifically. I LOVE them and it really falls inline with the concepts in the book.
I’m glad you found the book helpful! I haven’t checked out Tang math games yet. Thanks for the suggestion!
Love this video! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We did Dimensions 1 with our first grader last year, and really liked it other than how lengthy some of the lessons felt. It is an amazing base for learning mental math, which I am also learning alongside my kids! This year I will have both a 2nd grader and Kindergartener, but am wondering if fitting in two Dimensions lessons each day is going to be too much....I have heard great things about Math with Confidence, and was debating on trying it out with either both kids or just my Kindergartener. I am worried it may be too basic and may not have the same impact as Dimensions. If I started my Kindergartener on Math with Confidence this year, would she grasp the concepts in Dimensions 1? Or would it be best to stick it out with Dimensions? Having used both, do you have any recommendations?
I think both are great options. Math with Confidence is definitely a more gentle approach to math. Short lessons, recommend books and short real life activities. I started my youngest daughter out with Math With Confidence K and although she liked it and it offered wonderful opportunity to engage in mental math strategies it was not challenging enough for her. I don’t think it would be a smooth transition from Math with Confidence K to dimensions 1. Number bonds aren’t introduced in Math with Confidence K and that is something that is introduced in Dimensions K. I think it really depends on your child and where their at.
@@michellegf Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts comparing the two. It helps so much hearing other homeschool families' perspectives!
Thank you for encouraging us to teach Math in a different way than we learned I truly believe it is a challenge for us to deschool ourselves while homeschooling. I wanted to ask you why Dimensions and not Primary Mathematics? What are your thoughts on Primary Mathematics?
Yes, I’ve definitely been surprised with how much I’ve had to relearn for myself. I prefer Dimensions for a couple reasons. When comparing the 2 I prefer the layout of Dimensions. It’s more straight forward. I like all the games/activities to reinforce the concept. Although many were written for a classroom setting, I had no problem adapting it for 1 student. I like the resources (Black Line Masters). I got the impression that Dimensions was a bit more challenging and offered more practice problems. Which was a huge plus as my daughter really needs to work a problem several times before she gets it. My daughter also really enjoys the challenge problems included in each lesson.
@@michellegf That was very helpful thank You Michelle! I already bought Math with confidence for my Kindergartner next school year but I have Singapore Math on my list just can’t decided which Version. Thanks again 💙
@@mywarriorshaven8280 your welcome! I think either version is a great option, it just really comes down to student & teacher preference.
Hi Michelle - if you get a chance, will be great if you can do a video on how you do a Dimensions Math with your 5th grade daughter. I really struggle to finish one lesson and the related work book practice in one session, even though we do math for atleast one hour. I dont know what I am doing wrong. My daughter is in 4th grade. So for example, we are in Lesson 5 in Chapter 5 of 4A (Divisions Chapter, and the lesson is Word Problems). My daughter barely gets through 2 or 3 word problems in one hour, unless I help her heavily. I dont know how to go a bit faster or have her do it faster. Thank you so much for all your content. It has helped me a lot.
I just filmed a video of a DITL of a 5th grader and I go over how we use Dimensions. It will post next week so keep an eye out. To sum it up though this is how we do it.
We do the textbook lesson together and if she is getting the concept I have her move to the workbook independently. If she isn’t, we work more problems out together. We very rarely do all the problems. Dimensions provides a ton of practice problems, so I usually cut the amount of problems in half. I also let her choose which problems in each section she wants to do. It helps her feel like she has ownership over her work and it’s less overwhelming for her.
@@michellegf that’s great! Thank you very much Michelle.
After completing Kindergarten Math with Confidence, did you start with Dimensions KA or KB? We are finishing up K-MWC this week, and I am debating starting MWC for First grade right away, or trying out Dimensions to see if it's a better fit for us. I know the number bonds concept gets introduced early in Dimensions, but would we need to start at the very beginning (KA)?
No you don’t need to start with KA. My daughter went straight into KB with no problems. Number bonds aren’t introduced until the second chapter of KB
We use Horizons and its working beautifully for our family. My daughter tried TGATB and it was way too easy and my child quickly got bored and angered.
I’m glad you found a math program that works for your family. It can be hit or miss a lot. TGATB definitely lacks depth, but I think thats the appeal for some people. 🤷♀️ I mean you take away the nice pictures and games and your left with a pretty lackluster math curriculum.
I am ordering that Mathematical mindsets book! What is your opinion of the new Singapore primary math 2022 ? I am considering it for one of my children who prefers colorful texts but doesn’t have a lot of math confidence. We have had a hard time finding a good fit!
I think both are great options! They both create a solid foundation. I think it really comes down to teacher and student preference. I think the Singapore method in general boosts math confidence, as it really helps the student understand the concepts and what the numbers in the equation/problem actually mean. It has helped tremendously with my daughters confidence and math anxiety. Dimensions does have more problems, which is a positive for my daughter. She often needs to work a problem several times before she really grasps the concept being taught. Also in regard to math confidence, I shared some of the information and pics in the Mathematical Mindsets book with my daughter. It definitely helped change both of our perspectives on math 😃
Thank you so much for your advice. I’m really looking forward to using Singapore math. I’ll look more into how many problems there are in Dimensions. I am also surprised by how popular TGATB is…it seems that everyone in our circle (and it feels like out of that circle too!) uses their math. I tried both the old and new SGAB math and even though my daughter enjoyed the colors and activities, I could tell that she wasn’t understanding the math concepts at all. There seemed to be no conceptual teaching or sequential skill building at all. In grade 1 of the new SGAB I was surprised that there is almost no use of the tens frame, for example. It almost felt like it just expected her to know how to do the math before it was taught. So I am hoping Singapore is it! Thanks again for taking the time!
@@ljks1755 I hope Singapore works well for your family 😃. I too don’t understand why TGATB is so popular 🤷♀️. I’m guessing because it’s easy and visually pleasing. Parents find it easy to teach and kids find it easy to learn because it doesn’t provide any number sense or conceptual thinking. My daughter retained almost nothing when we used it. It always seemed so all over the place. I also think it’s mass marketed and heavily pushed by YT influencers🙄
Yes! I have to agree with everything you have said here!
As an adult who has anxiety about math, I appreciate your thoughts and this video is really thorough. What do you think of RightStarth math?
Thank you! I have not looked into RightStart Math. Dimensions has worked so well for us, I haven't felt a need to look at other options.
Right start math doesn't trigger my anxiety at all. I'm actually enjoying doing math now
I’m curious how you compare Singapore K and Math with confidence K. I know you briefly mention it in video and have positive things to say, but also you went with Singapore for kg. Why? I used Rightstart math with my 2 older boys. Loved it but we didn’t stick long term. MWC wasn’t a thing then but is definitely popular now in the kg realm. So now I’m curious. What’s your stance on it? Why one over the other?
Great question! I think MWC does a great job at teaching conceptual math and number sense. However it moved at to slow of a pace for my youngest daughter and was too easy. She tends to grasp math concepts quickly and can do a lot of mental math fairly easily. We switched to Singapore because it provided a more challenging opportunity for her to grow with her math skills. My daughter doesn’t need a slow, gentle approach to math. With that being said, when my son is old enough for school I will most likely start him out with MWC because I think it’s a great program.
Hi thanks for making this video! Great points! Have you ever looked into Saxon math? Any thoughts?
Thanks! I’ve looked into Saxon math a little. My daughters do better with a mastery approach to math and Saxon takes more of a spiral approach.
@@michellegf okay yes I think I’d like to switch my daughter to mastery as well but I keep seeing moms talk about dimensions as a spiral as well which is odd. Unless it’s a mixture of both spiral and mastery.
Anyway did you find that the teachers guide is a must have for level 1 or 2?
Thank you!
@@Motherhood1 I would say it allows the opportunity for review. So for example the chapter test, cover all concepts covered in that particular chapter. However I’ve found it very much learn a concept and practice it repeatedly. It definitely builds upon skills already learned and incorporates it into future lessons, but I very much find it a mastery approach. I do find the teacher guide a necessity. Not only does it include games and activities for reinforcing the concepts learned, but provides discussion opportunities in the chapter openers. It really leans into conceptual, deeper level understanding of math. Many of the concepts taught I was never exposed to (again number sense and conceptual math) therefore I’ve found it beneficial to have the problems laid out for me and the reasoning behind how to solve them. That and the answers are in the teacher guide. There can be quite a few math problems on one page and there is no way I’m going to solve everyone to correct my daughters work 🤯
What are you thinking of doing after Dimensions? Thanks!
I’m not really sure. I plan to use Dimensions thru middle school, but I haven’t really looked into high school level math programs yet.
We are using Kindergarten Math With Confidence with our 5-year-old and she loves it. It is such an amazing program! We switched from a Charlotte Mason style arithmetic to Singapore Primary for our first grader and it seemed amazing, but now it is very overwhelming. She is frustrated and there is so much work! Perhaps Dimensions is better...Primary leaves a lot to the parent teacher and I'm not an expert on teaching elementary math. I'm curious if you looked into next levels of Math With Confidence and why you chose to go with Singapore instead. I'm considering moving to First Grade Math with Confidence after we finish Primary 1A. My concern is that MWC is not rigorous enough...but is Singapore level rigor valuable if it makes a child shut down? I'm feeling pretty stressed about the math situation and would love to settle on a program so we don't end up with gaps. I'd love your thoughts!
I’ve never tried primary. We’ve only done Dimensions. My middle daughter enjoyed Math with Confidence but it was just too easy for her. She tends to grasp math concepts fairly quickly. That’s why we switched to Dimensions after Kindergarten. My oldest uses Dimensions and I’ve been able to see how it builds upon itself every year. Dimensions does have a ton of problems! My kids usually do the textbook with me as their lesson and then I assign problems for them to do independently from the workbook. I rarely have them do all the problems as I thinks it’s too much. The way I approach it is that Dimensions gives a lot of opportunities for practice, but if your child understands the concept you can just move on to the next lesson. There is no need to do every problem.
We loved i mean LOVED TGATB math K
Thanks for sharing!
Hi. I have a question. I have been teaching Dimensions Math to my daughter since Kindergarten and now we started 4th grade. Till now we used to do one lesson and the corresponding exercise in each session (would take about 45 mins). But the 4th grade curriculum is intense and it gets too much for her to do textbook and workbook in every session. I can see her starting to get frustrated by the time we are half way through the exercise. Did you notice that? Do you do the textbook lesson and corresponding exercise in each session? Also how many times a week do you do math?
FYI, completely agree Dimensions Math is the best math curriculum if you want to teach your kid the deep concepts of “why” in math
Great questions! We do math Math 5 days a week (M-F). We do a lesson a day. I agree the workload is intense and I think it’s not necessary. My daughter and I do the textbook lesson together and then I have her do the workbook lesson that corresponds independently. I do cut the number of problems in the workbook though. I appreciate the thoroughness of Dimensions, but if my daughter is getting the concept I feel no need to drill the problems.
Hi, I have a hard time deciding if I should get Dimensions KB or Dimensions 1a for my Kindergartener. Hi scored at a 1grade level(like if he was in the end of 1st grade). So if I get 1a would he still be OK and not miss out anything from KB. I also read that Dimensions is a little advanced so would 1a be like a 2nd grade level? Thanks
My daughter went from Math With Confidence K to Dimensions KB and looking back she would have transitioned fine going straight to 1A.
I think a lot has to do with his previous math exposure. For example number bonds are introduced in KB.
My daughter is just about to finish 1A and I would say it beginning to approach 2nd grade level now, but it started at a much slower pace.
Michelle, looking back would you have started with Dimensions KA and not done Math with Confidence K? Trying to decide whether to go straight into Dimensions KA with my 4, almost 5 yr old (he's 5 at end of Aug) or ease into things with Math with Confidence.
I've been looking at Math with Confidence and Good and Beautiful. Do you think that they could work together or are they too different?
I haven’t tried TGATB newer math. My only experience is with the original math the company created. I know both programs are spiral based however, MWC tends to move at a slower pace.
Would you do dimensions for 1st grade, or math with confidence for 1st?
I think both are great options! We will be doing Dimensions 1A for first grade. My daughter picks up math concepts really quick and I just found she needed something a bit more challenging.
My child hates TGTB math. He finds it boring. I was thinking of switching over to Singapore math, but all the options is confusing. I personally like the style of Math Mammoth but he is very good at conceptional math.
I agree that Singapore has many options and it can be confusing. I watched some comparison videos mainly between primary and dimensions and ultimately chose dimensions as a better fit for my daughters. I’ve heard great things about math mammoth. It’s supposed to be very similar to Singapore, just more simplified.
Do your kids watch Numberblocks? For such a simple show it has done a phenomenal job of clearly demonstrating how numbers work. My 3 and 5yo have watched the full episodes in sequence and both have a solid understanding of all four operations, even though it would take them a minute to figure it out.
No I haven’t. Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll have to check it out 😃
Yes! My 5 yo son has watched & LOVED all the Numberblocks episodes. Engaging and smart education is key, but because of this show...it has made my choice for a math curriculum so difficult (I don't want him to become bored from K math, but he's also not ready for 1st "their would be gaps").
Have you heard of math u see? It has number block manipulatives and although I’m only using it with my 5 year old right now, my three year old also loves to play with the manipulative and says oh that’s like “3 number block” It’s really cute to see
@@iliannarivera9008I was going to ask the same question!
Do you have a video on reading curriculums?
I have a few videos on readers, but no dedicated reading curriculum videos. I’ve always used All About Reading and it’s worked really well for us.
I can only afford to get either the math with confidence or dimensions math which one would you recommend for a child who can’t recognize the numbers and often just forgets the number 16 exists?
I would recommend Math with Confidence. I think they do a better job with number recognition. That being said I only have personal experience with Dimensions KB, I never tried KA. So it is possible that is covered more in KA.
Thank you so much I really appreciate the input from you!
Have u tried math u see or abeka math? Would really love ur outlook
I have not tried either. I don’t like the way Math U See is structured and the reliance on math manipulatives. I’ve never tried Abeka as I prefer secular curriculum and that company is definitely conservative Christian based.
I did tgtb k,1,2 math and it was great but when I started 3rd I wanted to throw my self off a clif it was too wordy too much needless information so I’m doing the math with confidence grade 3 and omg it’s so much simpler and I no longer wanna set my self on fier but I don’t think they will have grade five out in time I will be getting grade 4 math with confidence but I am looking for something similar that maybe goes up to at least 8th grade so I don’t have to hunt for math every year 😂 tgtb language arts is wonderful I’m not religious so if you have any recommendations to somthing similar in both of the tgtb language arts and math with confidence cuz I have so many kids I can not keep teaching so many subjects and have everything be so wordy all my kids have adhd and so do I so I need short and sweet with a little color and it seems like nothing out here is for us mentally distracted people 😅
For math I’ve used Singapore Dimensions since the beginning. I’ve also heard Math Mammoth is very similar to that but a lot more cost effective. For LA my oldest uses Lightning Lit. It starts becoming more independent in 4th grade. My younger daughter uses Core Knowledge which is completely free but more teacher intensive. Hearth & Story has a very similar layout to TGATB but it only starts in 5th grade.
Between Dimensions K and Math With Conference K , which do you think will help better with a deeper conceptual understanding?
I think Dimensions goes deeper
I meant to type Math with Confidence not conference 😂. Thank you so much!
@@specialkap01 your welcome! and my brain auto corrected and I didn’t even notice the misspelling 😆
Hi Michelle, why haven't you continued with MWC in 1st grade after K?
It was a great program but ended up being too easy for my daughter. She was getting bored and wanted more of a challenge
Singapore math is my number one favorite math curriculum. My son didn’t like it at all. (US edition) but my daughter was ok with it.
I did switch for this year but I’m thinking about switching back. But to dimensions or primary 2022.
Have you looked into beast academy ? I used that with my son.
I have actually. I love the logic end of it. My daughter really loves math puzzles, however I feel like she needs a more straightforward approach to math right now. I’ve considered adding it as a supplement to her Dimensions, but at this point I don’t want to overwhelm her in math. It’s definitely on my radar though! 😃
I love your videos. Is there a way you could write titles of books in the description? I try to take screen shots but I’m slow.
I will make a note of it and try more. Thanks for the feedback 😃