We switched from the good and the beautiful to math with confidence. We’re on week 2 and I’m so glad I switched programs. This works a lot been for both of us! And I think that’s what’s most important. Finding what works for you and your child! I don’t think you’re a hot mess. I think your a mom on a mission. It’s hard to know what you like and don’t like with these curriculum’s until you try it.
Thank you so much !!! We are in love with Math with Confidence too. It has so many opportunities for hands on learning and games, plus its just fun lol. I am so happy you found a math that works in your homeschool. 😊
@ashleymartin1655 Try math with confidence first. It’s the cheapest. That way if you don’t like it you didn’t spend a arm and leg on it. Also I think it’s a great mixed of the mastery and spiral approach. I have the best of both worlds 😁
I just made the decision to switch to MUS from Saxon for my younger children, and this video confirmed for me that I made the right decision. I was doubting myself because I hate to switch and confuse my kids. We’ve been homeschooling for 10 years and I have tried so many things with my high schoolers. You hit the nail on the head when you said MUS teaches the why, but Saxon just teaches getting the answers right through repetition but not understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing. My high schoolers are sticking with Saxon because they’re almost ready to graduate and there’s no need to switch. But if I could go back 10 years, I would have stuck with MUS from the beginning.
I just want to give accolades to your daughter for not complaining about doing two hours of math each day! She must have a great work ethic. I’m glad you found something that works and takes less time. I use math mammoth (mastery) with my older child and right start (spiral) with my kindergartener and I have to say that I think mastery based programs just make so much more sense for the main math curriculum because you can always add your own spiral review and fact practice as a supplement either with another curriculum, a workbook, games, etc….but for the main path forward for me at least it has to be a mastery program.
I’m so glad your daughter is enjoying Math U See. We started with it in Kindergarten and are in Gamma now (multiplication) and are still loving it! My daughter understands math very well with Mr. Demme as her teacher and she barely even needs my help! I love that!😊 I hope you continue to like it as you go along.
Thanks for sharing. I hope Math U See is a great fit. We used Horizon for 4 years. It's fast paced and uses a spiral approach which I love. My son who is a math whiz loved it but was tiring of the long drills and exercises. We then switched to Teaching Textbooks and he completed 2 whole grades in half a year. He didn't feel challenged. We finally switched to Masterbooks math for 6th grade and he struggled! Masterbooks required him to THINK whereas the other curricula just required him to calculate, which he does effortlessly. He embraced the challenge, and is thriving. The lessons are short, which he appreciates and he is challenged without being frustrated. I think we'll continue with Masterbooks for 7 & 8th grade and switch to Shorman Dive math for HS. *you're not a hot mess, you're a homeschool mom meeting her children's individual needs. That's what it's all about. Xx
Thank you so much for your encouragement and also sharing your math journey. I am so happy you guys are thriving in your homeschool !!! You are so right homeschool is all about meeting the individual child's needs. I hope you all stay blessed and have a great end to your homeschool year.😊
Many years ago we used Horizon and loved it! Got my son off to a great start with Math and was advanced all his years. Now I’m considering curriculum for my upcoming kindergartener and was wondering if there was something else out there that might be good or better. Thank you for mentioning Masterbooks! I will look into it!
I truly hope MUS is a great fit for you as it has been for us!! All four of mine have been using it for 3 years and every year I look at something else and then keep coming back to MUS because it works so well! I found it can be tailored to the child’s understanding- speed up and skip worksheets on mastered concepts or slow down and take more time on the challenging ones. Every lesson doesn’t have to go at the same pace. My 7th grade daughter has almost completed pre-algebra. She says math is her “easy” subject because she gets it. She hated math in public school and thought she was terrible at it (4th grade). All the best to you momma!
We use Saxon but skip the speed drills and only do odds or evens to make it not take as long 😊 Math U See looks great and I’ve heard so many positives about it.
We considered Saxon but decided on CLE. We love it!! It is similar to Saxon but shorter lessons. Just leaving this in case anyone reading needs a spiral program but doesn't want to use Saxon. You can try it by just buying 1 CLE light unit & the teacher's guide. Hope Math U See goes well for your daughter. We started with a mastery program years ago but needed spiral. It really just depends on your child.😊
It is very exciting watching you go through the flow of finding your groove in homeschool. It’s a fluctuating journey each year as they never look the same, for most of us anyways. Your an inspiration to all those who began homeschooling due to the necessity a few years back. And even those who have been at it awhile. Your enthusiasm and willingness to listen to your child and pivot as needed just oozes. Just a high five from us to you. Great work!!!🎉
I hope Math U See works out for you guys! I know mastery approach for math has worked very well for our oldest. When you think about it, it’s kind of like any other subject…we aren’t typically learning about 5 different topics at one time in science, we usually are learning about one at a time in order to really get an understanding. After thinking about it this way, the fact that a mastery approach for math works better for us made even more sense.
Your honest is the reason I love your channel. Plus I don't feel like I am alone when we switch maths or any curriculum. I am considering switching to Christian Light Education Math 6 but there are only a few RU-vid videos on the older grades.
Thank you so much for your support. You are not alone no one has it all together. Christian Light is another excellent solid math program. I have looked into it several times as well. I love the independent aspect of the program. Best of luck in your math search.😍
Thank you so much for this video! I stumbled across it while watching other videos discussing Math-U-See, and you have gained a new subscriber! We have Saxon Math starting at 5/4 (didn't care for Saxon k-3) and have leaned towards a mashup of Horizons for k-3 and then jump into Saxon 5/4. We have enjoyed that, however, our oldest is very good at mathematics and he hasn't had to be told the "why" of it all. He has figured it out. He is a lot like my husband. Of our 7 children, I hope more of them are like him, than myself, LOL, because I need to be told and explained and carved on my hand and eyes the why, hahaha! Anyway, this helped me a ton because we do Saxon and LOVE Nicole the Math Lady, but our second oldest is struggling. And since he is a sophomore, I think the Lord has been kind to allow us to switch this and help him get firm in things that the spiral programs aren't allowing for. So THANK YOU for laying this out. I was afraid I would need to think about getting rid of Saxon Math, but hearing you say you think they are both solid (and from what I have experienced with SM, I agree with you... it definitely is rigorous, but it will prepare them!) really helped in our decision to bring on MUS as a welcomed addition to our homeschool!! I'm looking forward to it and hoping and praying that our son, and whoever else of our tribe (hahaha), gains the confidence he needs to continue on. Blessings to you and your family!
I loved hearing your thoughts in this video! I have so many of the same thoughts and reasons for wanting to switch. So glad it’s working well for her and that’s cool that they still have manipulatives at that age! Also, you’re not a hot mess…you’re amazing, truly!
You know, one thing I’ve found with my oldest, he’s on book 2 of 3rd grade math with Horizons, I’ve found that I can’t just turn him loose on his math lessons when there’s new material. What I do is actually teach him the concepts of the new thing he’s learning. My other 2 kids, they have to do something independent bc it’s too much info for them to learn and understand. We go over, review, then he can do his lesson. When he has problems grasping a concept, we won’t start a new lesson until he actually gets the old stuff down first. I just don’t want you having the same issues with different curriculums. I would try switching up the teaching method first before switching curriculum again.
We have struggled with picking math for my oldest, too! I change every couple years for her, and I feel so bad! So far I believe Nicole the Math Lady with Saxon is going well for her this year, so we're sticking with it. ( I modify it like crazy, though. I don't have her do all the problems for each lesson).
I am so happy you guys found a math that works!!! I still stand behind Saxon it is tried and true! I feel bad too for the switches we made but I am happy that MUS has been sticking with her. My littles math has been so easy thanks to your videos we are doing Math with Confidence and MUS and it just works.!!
I switched to Saxon from TGATB and now after watching this… I switched again too. Math is just one of those I think we have to try a few and see what fits the best.
We started with MUS Primer then went on to Alpha but felt it was repeating Primer. I switched to something different and have often looked back with regret. My girl is not a math kid so I'm not pushing for rigor. We have tried many, many math curriculums and at present using CLE which is very good but takes her a long time. She will finish the level about June (our mid year) so I am looking at what next. Continue with CLE (which I will have to buy and pay for overseas shipping), MB Principles of Mathematics (which I already have) and add the academy videos, or Saxon (which I can get 2nd hand quite cheap) and probably add Nicole the Maths Lady. I like the idea of POM as it does explain the why.
Math I think is the hardest one to get the right fit. Especially around the 3/4th garage level. We’ve done like 6 diff before we found the one that’s working for now lol
We tried Math U See when we first started 3yrs ago. I then switched between about 5 different programs and came back to MUS. I wish we would have stuck with it the whole time. It's such a great curriculum ❤️. Their spelling program is also pretty awesome.
I going to try my best to commit too! I am so happy to hear Math U See has worked so well for your family. I haven't checked out their spelling program yet but I think I will for my younger kiddos.😊
I’m right along with you with the switching. I know we switched math about 3 times this year. We may have switched 4 times lol. We are trying out TT, and so far it’s going well. My daughter loves the fact that they explain the answers they may have gotten incorrect. Saxon didn’t offer that. There’s no resistance on starting math anymore. Good luck!
We've only ever used Math U See so that's all I have experience with. I just about choked when you said Saxon could take 2 hours to complete a day 😳 I hope MUS works out for you!
Yes it was crazy the amount of time we spent on math with Saxon 🙈. I have so happy with our switch to Math U See I don't think we will be looking back.
Thanks for your transparency. We are in the process of switching also. We have tried Good and Beautiful and Saxon Math Level 3 for my 3rd grader. I will check into Math U See and some of the other suggestions. Our math definitely isn’t mathing over here. 🤦🏾♀️
I’m just stopping to say that I’m loving your channel so much. I love your homeschool ambient and the throughly, honest take on your reviews and thought. AND, my 20 year old daughter’s name is Laya! I’m not sure how your spell your Laya so I’m curious to know.
I think because math is such a struggle for me I over think every choice I make in this area. I need to just plant it where we are and not feel the dreaded FOMO ! We also use MUS, I love the simplicity of it! Hope it’s a winner long term 🙌
This is so helpful! I have done Math-u-See all the way through with my 5th grader and have been so torn with putting him in our co-op’s Saxon math or not. I think we’ll continue with Math-u-See and put him in the practical math class
Hey, Brittany! I love your channel. My son just turned 3 and I’m in the research phase of preparing to possibly homeschool. Your channel is the BEST I’ve found as far as the information you share and how transparent you are with your journey. Can I ask, what other channels/groups would you suggest I join/follow to help prepare and learn more? Thank you for all you share! 💙
Thank you so much I am so happy my channel has helped. I have so many channels I love watching for inspiration. If I could think of one homeschooling channel for you to watch for your kiddos age it would be Racheal from Seven in All. She has a 4 and 2 year old and she shares the best preschool and pre-K resources. She also creates affordable, awesome preschool and pre-k curriculum.😍
We switched math and are using Learn Math Fast. I like that it actually shows you how to solve the problem in the back. They do grades 1-12 and aren’t too expensive. Hopefully, this is it. Math can be a tricky thing to buy. Good luck on you journey and keep us updated. 😉
We are only 3 weeks in. I hated the first curriculum that we were using and noticed my daughter wasn’t retaining anything. I am hoping this is it. I am so tired of looking for math curriculum. And I hear you on curriculum that works but you aren’t happy about. I had a change of heart with other items (not my child). I told my husband if I have to go through some books again with the other kids I will like my eyeballs out. The first child is the tester child.
Off topic but I love that room! Goals 😂 we are having such a hard time navigating the math thing. We are in the early years so we have time but videos like this help so thanks!
I like Math U See, but because we do testing I prefer the spiral approach so that my kids don't forget certain concepts they've learned previously. So we just stick to Saxon and break down lessons when it's too much
My 4th grader is doing Saxon 5/4 and I totally agree. It is very comprehensive, but it takes my daughter a very long time and we only do either the odd or even math problems. My daughter has hit a wall and HATES math. We are doing it through Shormann online (Saxon). The lessons are short and great. But, the length of lesson and the amount of problems is just too much. We haven’t finished 5/4 yet and my daughter is struggling with decimals and down fractions. So, I have had my eye on MUS for a while and I am thinking of trying it out. Thanks for the review.
I think that is the best part about homeschool too. I never had this freedom when my daughter was in public school. I will definitely make more videos on Math u see.😊
Beth: we've loved math u see for all 4 of my kids, k-5th... could have kept going but joined a class at that point. Love the DVD option, skipping pages if you understood it and the independence
Never say never! We've quit Saxon... Now I'm wondering where to place my 5th grader .. She struggles just a bit with some multiplication, but I see that that's the 3rd/4th grade level and i don't want to put her back that far. She has experience with multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, but hasn't mastered any of those so i wouldn't know where to start if we switched to MUS
Thank you for this! I’m so torn. I got Saxon 6/5 but my daughter has dyslexia so some of the hands on of math-u-see is drawing me in. We’re finishing up level 4 of TGTB but she can’t take how jumpy it is from one thing to the next.
Honestly, I would advice you to research Math U See a little more. Saxon is great but it is spiral just like TGATB math. It is not as jumpy though, the concepts do build up in a more systematic way than TGATB math. Math U See workbook pages are very simple and clean and not as overwhelming to the eye and the hands on learning approach is very awesome. Hopefully this helps in your search. Best of luck in your making your math decision.😊
@@brittanyolga I have another question :) My daughter would be going into the level your daughter is in for Math-U-See for 5th grade. Do they do review at all of double digit multiplication? I'm mostly concerned about her missing some of that by jumping into fractions level and not having done the others with math-u-see. We're about to learn it in TGTB this next week but it won't be as in depth as MUS is on multiplication.
They do review a little on multiplication and division but it is not the focus. I have been supplementing practice sheets for my daughters as well to make sure her long division and multiplication stays fresh. If you feel like she doesn’t have the foundations of multiplication yet I would start at gamma.
@mommy hates cooking Just adding on to your question- Page D of every lesson is usually a review of a previous concept from other levels (usually including a more thorough explanation) then pages E&F also build in review of multiplication/ division/ subtraction (borrowing) etc. I usually decide on the child if they would benefit more from “new concept” pages or the review. We’ve been using MUS for 3yrs and are very happy. Hope this helps.
Thank you for this video!!! We were going to go from TGTB to Saxton and now I think we are going to go with Math u see! Did you get the manipulatives to go with it?
It's kinda funny how you get a certain curriculum cause of a youtuber and they end up switching. I still love Saxon though. Especially their intermediate options. You can write in it and it explains more.
I am so in love with Math U See too. We did not skip any lessons. If If my daughter felt confident in the concept after watching the video and doing at least one of the lesson practice and systematic review page I gave her the lesson test and we moved on to the next lesson. We are doing on average now 2 lessons per week.Hopefully this helps.😊
Girl, now you've got me thinking! lol My son is currently completing Saxon 6/5, however, he keeps struggling with fractions. Those seem to be the types of questions that he keeps missing or asking for my help on. Do you think it's possible to use Math You See Epsilon in order for him to get a better grasp on the concept of fractions? As of right not we don't want to completely switch. He and I both love Saxon w/Nicole, but it's just that we both know he needs additional reinforcement on fractions. I'm thinking either pausing Saxon and using Math You See Epsilon and then going back to Saxon or letting him finish Saxon 6/5 completely and then do MUS Epsilon before moving on to the next level of Saxon. Now that you've had some experience with MUS, what is your honest opinion on this? Love all your videos by the way! I've pretty much been following your lead on a lot of your curriculum choices and it's worked out great! I'll be starting Gentle & Classical Preschool with my little one soon!
It does seem like there is a lot of repetitive practice in Saxon math. I am wondering why, if you dont mind me asking l, skip any of the practice or shorten it? I am really curious because I am planning to use Nicole The Math Lady to go along with Saxon. My daughter is currently using Horizon math for 3rd grade and it usually does take is 2 hours to complete with the lesson included and her multiplication drills. I could see myself letting go of drills once she is established enough in her math facts. Would that work out with a program like Saxon? What do you think?
Ok Saxon Math has the speed drills, mental math or warm up, the lesson practice that will go over the concept for that lesson, and the mixed practice for review. When I used Saxon I would do the speed drill, mental math, all problems in lesson practice, even or odds in the mixed practice. I honestly believe you can drop the speed drills if you find your daughter is fluent in the skills taught. However the speed drills that reduced and simplified fractions really benefited my daughter. Nicole the Math lady instruction is awesome and Saxon is a solid program. My advice would be to be flexible in using the program and follow your daughter lead and needs. Hopefully this helps.😊
In the Epsilon level of MUS it does integrate Roman numerals,geometry,circumference, measurement, and some division and multiplication practice in the systematic review sections in each lesson. However the main focus of this level is understanding everything about fractions. Hopefully this helps. ☺️
Is this a curriculum that your daughter can do independently? I love the freedom of homeschooling where you can switch a curriculum that is just not working!
One thing about math u see. If you ever have a season in your life where you have to put your child back into school. They will not be on par with the other students because it's such a mastery base in math. And if your child's really good at math, this particular curriculum can get quite boring.
I definitely had that same concern when choosing this program. So I decided to supplement this program to add in that review I wanted my daughter still to have. ☺️
That is so awesome !!! I heard Beast Academy is great especially at conceptual math. You are so right it does take time and patience to find curriculum for each kiddo and normalizing changes is so important. 😊
