Hahaha! I have some who would do the same. Another way to handle that is cut the paper up (only keep what they need to do) or draw lines to divide the paper into work for a couple different days and label each section “Monday, Tuesday” etc. But I understand!
Have you read through the MLFLE you bought? Maybe do that for the next two weeks or so, simply read it front to back and see what you think. Will it work for your kids? If not, why? What do you actually want in a math curriculum? Be specific – video instruction for you, or no? No more than X number of problems per worksheet/day? Done on the computer? Story and math problems or just get to the math?
My math experiences, having just graduated oldest and 9 more kids in the process, are as follows:
Oldest started with Saxon and did K, 1, 2. Didn’t understand it at all. In grade 3 we switched to Math U See andn started her at the very beginning, trusting that if we did light math over every summer she would eventually ‘catch up’ to a more typical level. She did. She ended up doing these MUS levels Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry. She also did half of Algebra 2 and it was a huge struggle for both of us. She used Consumer Mathematics for the second half of that year (From Abeka, a really old book that had some outdated things, but was a good break for her). For senior year she did CTC math to be able to focus in on any and all topics she felt she needed practice on for the ACT. She did a mix from their Trigonometry, Algebra 2, Geometry, etc. In the end, she is really not a math student, doesn’t understand it naturally, but persevered and survived.
We have had Life of Fred books in the past as an extra – but none of my kids learn math well with it hidden in a longwinded story.
The other kids have all used/are using Math U See.
This just finished year my 7th and 8th graders also did CTC math while the senior did it – but not because they weren’t doing ok in MUS. Instead, we wanted one more year of logical development before they tackle Algebra 1 (both finished Pre-Algebra the previous year, as 6th and 7th graders). In the fall they go right back to MUS for Algebra 1, as planned.
My thoughts on CTC Math are mixed. I like the younger and middle school stuff well enough. One of my middle school kids preferred doing the questions on the computer when possible (many of the lessons) while the other almost always chose to print out the worksheet and upload their answers instead. We had some trouble with the upper level courses my senior did, there was some missing information that wasn’t taught in a lesson but when you opened the questions you had to know. It simply wasn’t explained anywhere. I reached out to the company. In the end that was very frustrating because when you finally find a number to call, you reach a person who is customer service – they don’t understand the upper level math at all. They had to get me connected with someone in Australia who actually understands the math, but that ended up taking them over 2 weeks to do. We had to search online to figure out what we didn’t know and keep moving on our own. Frustrating – but if you aren’t doing Algebra 2 or Trigonometry then you are probably ok. For us, moving all the kids to CTC would be cheaper than MUS, but we then have to juggle one computer with everyone needing a turn to do math. Not doable with my large family.
My thoughts on Math U See are less mixed. I really like it, except for the Algebra 2 level. I like the dvd lessons that teach me, but can also be watched by middle school kids as reinforcement if needed. I like that the teacher’s manual walks us through the lesson if I don’t want to watch the dvd, with problems, answers, and in the back the answers to workbook pages. I like that MUS has about 30 lessons per year, instead of 180 constantly switching lessons. I like the workbook setup – each lesson has 7 worksheets. They generally have 18-20 math problems. 3 worksheets are just practice of the new lesson concept. We do 1, 2, or 3 of those, moving on when the student gets the concept. The next 3 worksheets in a lesson are mixed practice of new and old topics so skills stay fresh. We do 1-3 of these. If they did 2 of the first set of worksheets that week (new concept) then we make it through all 3. Page 7 of the lesson’s workbook pages is an application page, just a different way to approach a math concept. We generally don’t end up doing these. MUS also has a test booklet. The test looks like a mixed practice page. We skip these. Then over the summer we can keep math fresh by using any skipped worksheets we didn’t need in a lesson or the test booklet worksheets, a couple days a week as review. MUS also uses manipulatives clear up to Algebra 1, which we love. Very helpful to visualize a concept for some of my kids. The Algebra 2 book is ok, I simply struggle with the concepts myself, which makes it hard to help my kids. For the next kid I think we will look for a tutor when they reach Algebra 2, or possibly end our higher math with Geometry. Who knows? I’ll take it student by student. Also, MUS is much easier to reach when you need help with teaching a concept or resolving an issue a student is having with a topic. The biggest drawback for me with MUS is the cost. It is the single biggest expense in my large family homeschool budget every year. Oh well!
