Friday, August 15, 2008

Favorite Curriculum

The Heart of the Matter Friday Meme
Please share with us your Favorite Curriculum or Books! With the new school year beginning it would be wonderful to hear why your curriculum works for you, new ideas you're looking forward to trying, or really great book ideas you would love to share.




I'm one of those homeschoolers who just can't figure out what they want to use. Each year I've tried something different, especially in the areas of history and science. I do have a few choices that have managed to survive from year to year.

One curriculum that we found last year and is here to stay (at least through the elementary years) is Math-U-See. Math-U-See has transformed our math studies from daily tears, battles, and never getting it done to tearlessly getting it done without battles. My daughter tolerates math now and will even admit to liking math a little bit. We have now switched my son over to Math-U-See as well. Both of my school-aged children like this program.

We have found it easy to use while not consuming a lot of time. One thing that does not work for us is long, teacher-intensive lessons. My children's attitude is "just show me what to do and then let me do it." They do not like working problem after problem with manipulatives like some programs do. Math-U-See is very easy to implement in this manner. Usually I sit down with my children and run through a problem or two, explaining to them how to do that type of problem and explaining why we do it that way. Then I can let them loose to finish the rest. Because of the way lessons progress, they can usually complete several lessons with just that one, short lesson. When one of the children reaches a problem they don't understand, they ask for help and I provide it. We rarely use the base ten blocks used with Math-U-See and only occasionally watch the video lessons. It's been that simple for us.





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6 Comments:

Shell in your Pocket said...

Saw you on the Heart of the Matter...I love how you describe your kids on your side bar..so cute!
Deb at www.shellinyourpocket.blogspot.com

Amico Dio said...

Math U See is great!

Karen @dixielandcrafts said...

Thanks for sharing!

We are actually going back to MUS this year. My daughter is in 7th grade. I have almost 3yo triplets who will use MUS when they are older. I'm excited and believe the hands on approach will be perfect for my children. This is the same reason we are going with Weaver this year as well.

-Karen @ Lil Momma's Haven

Montserrat said...

Math U See has been a lifesaver for my 2nd daughter. She was having the hardest time learning math concepts until we stumbled upon this program. We LOVE it!

Unknown said...

I am going to make a note of MUS. Most home schoolers I know swear by Saxon, but I'm not sold yet. Still have time, our daughter just turned 1... :-)

Chickie said...

We have been using MUS for several years and LOVE it. I was blessed to meet Steve Demme and hear him speak at a homeschool convention in Georgia a few weeks ago. He is a precious, precious man. What a heart for the Lord. Really neat to meet him...and his seminar wasn't about math, but about the family spending time together. I think you'd have liked it.