Math: The Forbidden Subject

In my post about planning for a new school year, Allyson mentioned in the comments that she was using math workbooks for her two school-aged kids. I rarely talk about math on my blog for two reasons:

One, it's a little boring.  Don't get me wrong.  Math was one of my favorite subjects when I was in school.  It's logical and straight-forward, but talking about history and literature is a lot more fun!

And two, I'm intimidated by discussing math because it's taken me years to find a book or curriculum that fits our family and what we finally settled on is a little unconventional.

{The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, but opinions are always my own.}

Here's our math story:

When Gavin started school, we chose Making Math Meaningful, a math curriculum known for its thorough introduction of math concepts.  The program is slow and methodical, focusing on having the child understand why they are doing what they are doing before they actually do it.  We flew through the kindergarten book, skipped the 1st grade book (because Gavin learned the concepts on his own during the summer) and then grumbled through the 2nd grade book before finally throwing in the towel.

The problem was that math came easily to Gavin and all the extra steps were frustrating and tedious to him. 

I started asking around to see what math programs other families used and loved, but I was hesitant to spend big money on another curriculum we might have to abandon.  We  keep our homeschool budget low and I was not prepared to pay $50-$100 for a math curriculum. That year we settled on Kumon math workbooks.  Each book focuses on a specific topic in a specific grade level so we were able to pick and choose based on Gavin's needs. 

These workbooks served our needs for a year, but Gavin did tire of the repetition. We were glad when we could switch to Saxon math textbooks when Gavin entered 5th grade.  Saxon math textbooks are largely self-taught with students reading the lessons on their own and doing the problem set that follows. We began with Saxon 65and plan to continue with this program until Gavin graduates highschool.

So far, so good, right?

We didn't find elementary math we loved (or even liked) with Gavin... and now Maddie and Owen were in need of a math curriculum. Though they are two years apart in age, they are on the same grade level for math.  After hours of research and much agonizing, calculating, and frustration I asked myself this question:

What is my ultimate goal in teaching elementary math?  This is what I wanted them to be able to do:

• count by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s
• add and subtract while understanding the process
• understand and work with simple fractions
• be able to tell time
• be able to count money
• know how to solve story problems

All of those things could be taught by the kinds of workbooks you can pick up in the grocery store.  Any skills that were omitted, I had the skills to supplement on my own.  We weren't talking algebra.  We were talking first grade math!

That realization took the pressure off.  We started with a consumable book by School Zone, First Grade Big Workbook, and the kids loved it!  (The workbook covers many other skills besides math, but at $5.49 for the entire book, it was worth it even if we only did half of the pages.

After the second grade workbook, we switched to Math Basics Grade 3 (also by School Zone) which was a little pricier, but included a CD-ROM with games and review lessons.  After completing Total Math, Grade 4 last year, Maddie and Owen are now ready to begin Saxon maththis year while Ben is starting the cycle over!  It's his turn to use First Grade Big Workbook!

What curriculum, books, or program to you use to teach math?