Is online math the solution to your limited time?
The reality is that there is only one of me. My house is like so many households I know where everyone is busy and we are trying to create great memories with our kids. The pressure is enormous. Those of us crazy enough to homeschool can feel added pressure (although I would say most of the time it is worth it).
Math is something that comes up again and again as a struggle to fit in enough. We have a solid curriculum that I love, but we needed more math practice that didn’t require Mom’s direct involvement.
Since time is finite, I can’t sacrifice all of our other school work for math practice. I actually have other things to do than playing old maid to practice math facts, but the facts are important. What is a mom to do?
Finding a Hands-Off Math Option
I have tried several online supplements that just weren’t a good fit for my kids. My kids have uneven development and excel in some areas while they struggle in others. The one size fits all supplements just weren’t cutting it.
That is why I was so happy when I discovered CTC math. I received this product for free and was compensated for my time to try the product and write this review. As always, my opinions are honest and I was not required to write a positive review.
Online Math Done Right
CTC Math is different from a lot of the online math programs I have looked at because it is designed to be a stand-alone curriculum. It has everything you would need, but is is also customizable. This is an affordable program, but they are making it even better by offering an amazing deal to homeschoolers.
There are diagnostic tests that help you determine both where the kids need to start working (pinpointing specific areas of weakness, like factoring) and when they have mastered a concept. There are actual lessons with questions so that students can work through the concepts. You can set your own bar for mastery and decide if mastery has to be achieved before moving on.
We like to make math fun with games, but the truth is that there has to be mastery of concepts and that can require a great deal of additional practice (and sometimes extra explanation). CTCMath is like having a math tutor in my pocket. Plus he gets to have his dog snuggled up next to him.
How we are doing online math this summer…
We decided to school year round starting this summer and are using CTC math exclusively over the summer. Using an online math program was a no brainer over the summer. For math, I am interested in mastery of topics that they have struggled with over the school year and preventing the summer slide.
Online math is mostly hands-off for me so that I can put my energy in other areas that we need to work on. For this summer our area of intense focus is writing. This lets us have robust writing lessons and still get math in every day without extending into a full day.
If you are interested in trying it out this summer, you can get a 4-week FREE trial.
My kids get a little breathing room from mom and I can actually spend more time preparing other projects and activities. So far it has been a win-win.
More details about CTCMath…
It does require advance planning on my part, but after you get the hang of the system (which is incredibly intuitive) it is easy. It takes me about 20 minutes to set up the week’s work for both kids.
The topics are organized by grade, but you can hide the grade while the kids are working. We plan on continuing this product after our trial period is over. There is a great deal for homeschoolers with 60% off and 6 bonus months.
It has helped me see the boys’ strengths and weaknesses without being on top of them the entire time.It also helps to make sure that math is something that we are working on every day, regardless of how busy our schedule gets or how much help they might need in another area.
This could be used as a full curriculum. In fact, CTCMath is a full online math curriculum created by math teacher and homeschool parent Pat Murray. CTCMath offers a FREE 4 week trial to the program, no credit card required.
