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Over the years (often as a result of my overt distaste for Saxon math) I have been asked again and again to share the homeschooling materials/methods we use to teach math. Multiple times just this week I've been asked for a list of my favorite math curriculum. So here they are.
First, I highly recommend reading About Teaching Mathematics by Marilyn Burns. It's a foundational understanding that will help almost any homeschooling (or not!) parent.
Please note, I'm not claiming these are the end all be all of math. They are just resources that:
- Align with my math philosophy
- Work
- Are affordable
Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments! The more ideas and input, the better!
Preschool
Refrain from formal. Math is all around in the real world. Just notice it, point it out, name it. Make it fun!
- Count everything: shoes, forks, bananas, stairs, blocks
- Play with stuff
- Do hands on activities
- Use blocks
- Divide things up (especially cookies…there is no 3-year old on earth who doesn't notice when they don't get a fair fraction!)
- Measure things in steps, in hands, in dolls, in legos
- Compare things: bigger vs. smaller; heavier vs. lighter; taller vs. shorter
Grades 1–3
- Miquon Math (use the Lab Sheet Annotations)
- Manipulatives
- Cuisenaire Rods
- Everything's Coming Up Fractions
Grades 4–8
- Key to Fractions
- Key to Measurement
- Key to Decimals
- Key to Percents
- TimezAttack
- Those Amazing Tables
Grades 7–8
- Key to Geometry
- Key to Algebra
Grades 9–12
- Algebra by Harold Jacobs
- Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding by Harold Jacobs
- Algebra II and Trigonometry by Paul A. Foerster
- Calculus by Paul A. Foerster
Alison Moore Smith is a 60-year-old entrepreneur, who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 39 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons.
Singapore Math!! For primary grades 1-6, I’ve never seen better. The thing I like especially, is that these develop advanced math concepts early, creatively, and very naturally. My kids found math easy to excel in, because the foundation of how and why it works had been instilled early on. Word problems, even at a young age, really help to do this. Highly recommended!
Aaahhhh! Thank you! I’m one of the people that asked ages ago on the homeschool blog what you use and I appreciate this! I’m not a math whiz and I’ve already got some kids who hate it, and I’m hoping to remedy that.