Question for MUS Math Users:

For us it generally works this way:

Day 1 – Dvd lesson (or mom teach, depends on child preference) and the A worksheet.  (A, B, and C are just on the new concept.  You do as many in a week as it takes to master the concept.  Sometimes they get it right away and you just do A.  Other weeks you do 2 or 3 of these.)

Day 2 – Kids do B page (unless they understood the concept really really well).  They do the first problem and show it to me so we can catch any errors/misunderstandings.  Then they move into the rest of that page.

Day 3 – Kids do C page if still not quite mastered the new concept.  If they’ve got it mastered they do D page instead.  (D, E, F pages are review.  They have a few problems on the new concept and then review problems from past concepts.)

Day 4 – Kids do D or E page.  Generally that’s all my kids need to be ready for the test.

Day 5 – Test.  If they still aren’t solid on the concept we will keep practicing with the remaining pages instead of testing.  Or get on the website to print pages even.

Another tip – I had one year where I was really crunched for 1 on 1 time.  Each child started their new lesson on a different day of the week.  So oldest started with the dvd or lesson with me on Monday.  Next child started their dvd or lesson with me on Tuesday.  Third child started theirs on Wed.  It simply meant that their schedule shifted over into the second week, so one did Tues-Mon, another Wed-Tues, etc.  It worked ok most of the time.

We work on each unit as long as necessary so I don’t schedule how much time we will spend on each unit. Sometimes, it’s 2 days. Other times 1 unit may take 2 weeks. I don’t rush it.

I watch the video with my daughter and then she works somewhat independently until she’s mastered the new concept. I make sure I am always available during math time-no phone calls, showers, exercising, etc. during that time. She needs my help quite often but does work independently the majority of the time.

I see no need for the tests since I already know how my child is doing from the regular daily work. When the kids were younger, I just didn’t use the text booklet.

We live in Florida and are required to turn in a yearly evaluation given by a certified teacher and to keep a portfolio that holds a sampling of each student’s work from throughout the year. My evaluator told me that I could just keep the test booklet (which fits nicely in the portfolio) and throw the main workbook away once we are finished with it. Since then, I cross out page F for each lesson and we do the test instead. The systematic review pages are pretty much the same  thing as the test so I just switch them out instead of requiring more work from my daughter.