Name: CHEC Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-06-12T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-06-14T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Denver, CO

Tagged: math, Math U See, teaching textbooks

This topic has 10 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 3 months ago by thowell.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

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March 7, 2011 at 3:41 pm
jackie
Participant
Does anyone have an opinion of teaching textbooks? Reviews say they are gentle or way behind grade level and I wanted to know any experience of anyone who uses this curriculum. I am also thinking about Math U See. I am currently using Calvert and it seems as if it moves way too fast and is cramming it and a lot of pressure to move on because there are so many lessons. No breathing room at all. I would like something more gentle but not too easy.
I would appreciate any comments. Thank you!
March 7, 2011 at 3:52 pm
LindseyD
Participant
Don’t know anything about teaching textbooks, but we have used MUS for 2 years. We LOVE it! MUS is gentle, and you can move through it as quickly or as slowly as you (or your child) desires. If your child is 7 or younger, I recommend beginning with Primer. That way you can know for sure that you’re not missing anything and that your child is getting a good foundation in basic math skills. Ds7 is about to start Beta; dd5.5 just started Primer two weeks ago. Both look forward to math everyday.
Let me know if I can answer any more questions about MUS. Gotta go!
Blessings,
Lindsey
March 7, 2011 at 3:58 pm
pangit
Participant
We use Math U See and love it. It explains things really well and doesn’t rush them through. Each lesson has six worksheets. The first 3 focus entirely on the new concept and the last 3 also review the previously taught concepts. There is also an extra worksheet in the test booklet if needed and you can go online and do reviews or print extra worksheets if your child hasn’t grasped the concept yet. If your child grasps the concept with only a couple worksheets, there is no need to do them all. Give them the test and move on. The child can progress through their book at their own speed. I have found it to be gentle and enjoyable. Math is my DD favorite subject.
I have one DD who is doing the alpha book this year. She is doing great. She get 100% on most of her tests. There has been an occasional 95% and that was mostly from not paying enough attention to what she was supposed to be doing. At the rate she is moving through it, she will finish up the book at the end of our school year.
My other DD started the year in the Primer. She has worked her way through it. I have had her do every page just to keep her from progressing to fast and she is a bit young but wants to do it. She would do 3-6 worksheets a day just because she wanted to. She finished it last week and started the Alpha yesterday.
March 7, 2011 at 4:02 pm
csmamma
Participant
We’ve used both and would concur they are both gentle programs. We used MUS through 3rd grade; After that, I have one son who thrived off of it and one who did not. The oldest, who enjoyed MUS in his younger years, was a major hands-on kind of learner and enjoyed lingering long within the problems. However, my other son dreaded using the blocks with MUS, as well as the repetitive nature found in the lessons, so we switched to Teaching Textbooks and he loves it! IMO, they are both excellent math programs – especially for those of us moms who do not teach math well.
March 8, 2011 at 4:51 am
amama5
Participant
I don’t know about teaching textbooks, but we really like MUS. My son just started Gamma, and he really enjoys his math. I don’t care for Math and have learned a lot just from teaching him! It definitely wants you to have a subject mastered before moving on so no pressure to rush through it. I personally don’t like the Primer, it seems too advanced in some subjects and then they are almost exactly repeated in the Alpha level. Before I started schooling I researched different math programs and MUS sounded like a great fit for our family, I will be curious to see if it works for my daughter who will start alpha this fall. I also remember reviews that said it’s not the best program in the upper levels, so I was looking at changing to Life of Fred possibly for upper level math.
March 8, 2011 at 5:36 am
missceegee
Participant
My dd10 used MUS and she hated the blocks, though she needed them. She’s now using TT and loves it. We combine it with some oral problems from Ray’s Arithmetic.
March 8, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Rachel White
Participant
My dd likes TT 3, it got her out of her math rut, but the only problems is that there isn’t enough “mastery” to it; not enough practice problems before moving onto the next topic or word problems. She needs more than what they provide. So she’s been doing Math Mammoth. It’s colorful, is independant and gives her a variety of ways to learn a concept and she enjoys it.
She’ll finish TT3 with MM support, but I won’t get it again, at least at the elementary years. I can’t afford it like this every year when MM is more complete and challenging and extremely less in cost.
Rachel
March 8, 2011 at 7:19 pm
baileymom
Member
We’re another MUS family. We’ve used Primer – Pre Algebra with 4 students (3 different learning styles) and it has worked wonderfully!
March 9, 2011 at 1:50 am
Michellel
Member
Love MUS here too. The biggest difference is that TT is a spiral program. Where MUS is a mastery based program.

You can go to TT website and let your child try some samples. (I looked at it, because we have several friends that use it and love it.) But it was not for us. Way too much review. My son got frustrated with it. MUS teaches a concept then you practice mastering that concept then there are a couple of review areas during the week. TT has a lot of review.
In fact in the demo we did out of over 68 problems only 4 were on the subject of the lecture all the others were on reviewing concepts.

You can also go to MUS site and watch a Demo video that shows you how it works. We have used it for 5 years, and it has given us a great foundation. (Some people say it is behind -but usually that is because they are spiral programs that introduce concepts early, but do not actually have kids master them.) Where as MR. Demme doesn’t do that. When he introduces the concept, he has children master the understanding before proceeding. Then he buildes upon that -sort of like building a house from the foundation up.
March 9, 2011 at 4:47 pm
jackie
Participant
Thankyou all for the feedback of the math programs. It has helped me a lot in deciding what will be best to go with next year. I hope I can get him to love math again!
March 9, 2011 at 5:50 pm
thowell
Participant
Just wanted to add that I would not suggest TT. Dd10 used it this year for 5th grade and did not learn a thing. She aced the program and finished in plenty of time, her days were only about 20 minutes long and she didn’t complain aboput math anyomre. However, I had her do a few extra practice sheets since she was finishing so early and began to realize that she was way behind. I had her take several placement test, Math Mammoth, CLE, Saxon and she placed into the end of 4th grade level in them all. 4th grade was were we used Abeka and switched to TT at the beginning of 5th grade. I think if you a willing to do the program with them, so you know where they are, and supply plenty of extra pratice and review it might would work. It just seemed awful expensive for me to have to do all of that. She is working through Math Mammoth now trying to get caught back up. She enjoys it and is really learning. Hope this helps your decision.