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Math Mammoth Users?
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If you’ve used Math Mammoth, I’d love to get your feedback. Did you like it? Has it worked well for your children? If not, what did you not like about it and why did it not work for you? Thanks so much!
I used it for a summer and it was fine. the only reason I didn’t stick with it is because my kids require a spiral approach. they need to keep seeing old concepts even after mastering often or they forget it completely. We are now using horizons with my son age 7 and Teaching textbooks with my daughter 9. These have worked for us, however I had no problem with the lay out of Mammoth math or the amount of work. It is very simple lay out basic black and white so there are no other distractions.
We have used it for the past few years — overall I would say it’s been a great choice for us. My 9yo and 8yo have gone through it largely independently with solid understanding (they are good readers, so that helps in terms of more independence). I think it’s done a solid job of explaining and building understanding and connections between concepts.
My only complaint is that because it does not keep spiraling through topics, I needed to watch for certain lapses in newer skills. That is not difficult to address, but it was a little frustrating before I put my finger on what the issue was. The newer edition, however, may incorporate a bit more review though.
We started using MM as a supplement and it went so well that we took it on as a core — and hit a brick wall. It’s just too…much. There is a splash of color here and there, but otherwise it is very visually boring. There are a LOT of problems on the page, and even only doing half of the problems, it was just overwhelming.
I also found the teaching to be very lacking. There were quite a few times when I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was being taught and it was difficult to help my kids grasp it (and this was grade 1 and 3!).
We still occassionally pull out pages to use as a supplement. We dumped it as a core after one year though and never looked back. I *wanted* to love MM, but it just wasn’t a success for us. That being said, I got it on sale at HSBC and don’t regret buying it. It’s a nice little supplement I can draw from.
We use Math U See as our main math program. I use MM in between MUS books (usually in the summer). I’ve used the ones arranged by topic, not the grade level ones and they correspond well with MUS. I like it because it presents the same topic a slightly different way and IMO solidifies it and gives extra practice. It wasn’t too much for my boys, but I know that everyone is different. I also used the one on money as a short topic study once since MUS hadn’t covered that very much and I felt like my son needed it.
We love Math Mammoth and here are a few reasons why:
* It is created by a homeschool mom, Maria Miller, with a math/science education background (http://www.mathmammoth.com/about.php).
* It is designed specifically for the homeschool environment.
* You do not have to buy costly manipulatives, but if you want an abacus it is helpful.
* You can progress at your own pace.
* Ms. Miller provides lists of supportive websites for the skill being mastered. She describes games to play and some hands on activities to reinforce a skill.
* We found just one to two sheets a day has sufficed, making the lessons short yet meaty.
* It is a mastery program.
* I like the scope and sequence. I like how the skills progress.
* The instructions are clear and understandable.
* Everything is on one sheet. No need for multiple books to perform simple elementary math.
* Encourages independent work.
* Flexibility in what topic we cover and when. (For example, we were looking at stewardship and completed the chapter on money during that time – fit perfectly).
* Ms. Miller has excellent customer services. Every time I have e-mailed, Ms. Miller herself has written back within 24 hours. If you have any questions, I highly recommend e-mailing her.
* A large amount of supportive materials are available. I can go in and change the problems also if needed with certain sheets.
* I like being able to print them out and present just one page at a time. It does not look as overwhelming as an entire workbook. Also, we can repeat sheets as needed.
* The mental math is amazing. I have enjoyed watching the steps Ms. Miller has laid out working math mentally. It’s beautiful. I’m watching my daughter figure problems in her head (in and outside of school time) and producing the right answer.
* We have excellent documentation of my daughter’s math work in her portfolio.
* It is a great value. I have first through sixth grade math curriculum for a fraction of the cost of other programs over six years.
* Ms. Miller e-mails a monthly newsletter that is very helpful. It usually has a favorite challenge puzzles, articles about teaching math (this month was about grading), teaching ideas, other products, and usually a story about a child learning math. I’ve found them informative.
These are just some reasons we love the program. As already said, what works for one family does not work for another family. Though, it is very nice when you find a great fit and that is why I had to say something here. There are a large amount of sample pages, work sheets, and tests available to see if you will like it. Ms. Miller has a heart for homeschoolers and provides a lot of free items.
http://www.mathmammoth.com/worksheets/free.php
Here is her other website with a lot more free items (worksheets, videos, games, reviews, etc): http://www.homeschoolmath.net
Hope this helps and may you find a great math program for your family.
I agree with what was said above by Hope to Learn. I’ve used MM with my youngest for three years now. I love it, but more importantly, he loves it AND is learning from it. Maria’s approach defintely works well for him. My older kids were using Teaching Textbooks, but I wasn’t really sure where to put my youngest when he started 1st grade since TT was my only experience in math.
I had one friend using Singapore math and another using Saxon. I looked at both books and wasn’t really excited about either, so I decided to buy the MM grade 1 to try. My son did so well with it and liked it so much, I bought the grades 1-6 package at the Homeschool Buyer’s Coop. I thought he might want to go to TT when he hit 3rd grade math, but he said he likes working it out on paper and has no desire to use the computer. So until we either exhaust all the MM or he’s ready for computer, we’re just sticking with what we know works for him.
Like we all know, what works for one child won’t necessarily work for another. There are ample samples to try it tho which is what I originally did before even ordering grade 1.
We love MM in our home! I am using it with my visual learning and he is progressing by leaps and bounds! Math was always a struggle for him, but this program is a great fit. He is several years behind in math and is catching up quickly.
One this I really like about this program is the editable pages. When it was time for the “final” in MM grade two I was able to change the title of the test to read “Book Two…” instead of grade two. It will do nothing for his self esteem to know he is doing 2nd grade work.
Also, I like to look for word problems and change the chldren’s name in the book to names of people that he knows. He really enjoys seeing his sister”s name and his friend’s names in print!
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