Balancing the needs of an age range of children is always something I am faced with. Back in the days of toddlers to pre-teens, we hit a bump in our homeschool math journey. Well, not just a bump but a puddle of tears and a pile of frustration most mornings. So here is the story of just how we came to love Teaching Textbooks.
See, not only do we have an age range of children, we have a variety of learning styles. That learning includes me – continuing education for the homeschool mama! Well, math just was not getting done in between in the diaper changes and language arts lessons. So I asked a group of trusted, fellow homeschool mamas. One of my friends, Kerri, said, “Teaching Textbooks.” She had recently made the switch and it had changed their math mornings for the better.
How We Came to Love Teaching Textbooks
- Frugal! The price divided by five children using it through the years? Cheap-o.
- Self-grading. (Especially in those upper grades – thank you!)
- It’s just HOW math can get done with so many children – different ages and grades.
A few highlights from across the ages this homeschool year…
I love curriculum, tools that help us get stuff done and have some fun. Here is more on Our Experience with Teaching Textbooks and just how we use it. And an encouraging article on 8 Ways to Conquer Math Phobia.
You should try a placement test and explore Teaching Textbooks too.
We have now officially used all levels available from Math 3 to Pre-Calculus. Wow!
This program looks great and I’ve heard a lot of great things about it. BUT — I also read on another homeschooler’s blog that their children scored low on standardized tests (possibly the SAT as well) after using this program. I wondered if this was true for any of your children? Or, do you feel like it helped their scores?
Good question. Well, we have one finishing her freshman year in college who scored well on both SAT and ACT and received scholarship money. My other children have all scored well — so we have proof that it works for our five 🙂
Thanks so much!
I just wanted to comment that my daughter used TT starting with Algebra 1–Pre Calc. and scored way above average on the SAT this year! We were very pleased with the outcome! I read all the negative comments on the curriculum but stuck with it because my daughter LOVED TT!! So glad we listened to her and ignored the negative reviews.
Yes, yes! Stick with what works for your child. That’s what we did too 🙂 Teaching Textbooks has been a huge answer in our homeschool.
My 7 and 9 year old both placed into TT 3. We have struggled with math some before now. We are only using the free trial of 3.0 right now. Do you think TT can work for children that are visual learners? I find my self re-explaining a lot of stuff (they don’t get it the first time), and creating reference charts for them to remember things. The nice thing is that TT asks the same questions over and over again, so eventually they do get it and understand. Do you think TT could work for a student like this?
Yes! I have visual learners as well. And yes, you touched on TT being a spiraling math curriculum. That is another thing that really helps my students. Practicing over and over. You might also consider the accompanying ebook (downloadable with your purchase) to help with reinforcement of concepts.