Online Math Curriculum for Your Homeschool

 

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Math was a struggle for our oldest son for many years so I was happy when we were able to review CTCMath several years ago. Since that first review, CTCMath has been a staple of our homeschool schedule. Having a 12-month family membership to CTCMath has meant that I do not need to worry about how I will be teaching math to our younger two children. The video lessons, summaries, and weekly revisions are so helpful in an online math curriculum.

About CTCMath 

CTCMath is an online math curriculum for grades K-12. It has several key features which help parents and children master key mathematics concepts from addition and subtraction to geometry and calculus. Lessons are short and to the point and students can view the video lessons again if they need help on a specific point. You can even email CTCMath if your children need additional help. The customer support is fantastic. They really want your children to succeed in math.

As a homeschool family, we have access to every grade level for the children in our home. So while our children are working through first and third grade, I could move them up or down depending upon if they found the work too difficult or too easy. There are diagnostic tests and placement tests your children can take to see where they fit you don't want to assign them to a grade level. You can also use the diagnostic tests to skip lessons if your children are proficient in those skills. For example, for some of his third grade work, I asked our son to take the diagnostic test at the beginning of the section to see if he needed to complete the lessons within that section.

 

How We Are Using the Program in Our Homeschool 

CTCMath is the primary curriculum for our third grader. He is assigned to complete a lesson about three to four times a week. I merely write in his agenda that he is to complete CTCMath, and he will log on and complete the next lesson. With the addition of Mastery, he has been completing additional questions to achieve Mastery on the specific lessons.

For our younger daughter, we aren't using CTCMath as frequently during the week. I will often ask her to complete a lesson when I believe she needs extra work on a math skill or she needs to learn about a different mathematical topic than is in her current math curriculum. It provides a nice break for her to be online completing her mathematics lessons. She has also taken to completing additional questions to achieve Mastery.

There are many features to CTCMath that help your children engage in this online math curriculum. One of the features we are not using in our homeschool is that of assigning tasks. I used that feature when homeschooling our oldest so he would know specifically which lessons I wanted him to complete and when, but for our younger two children, I merely have them do the next lesson on CTCMath. Since they are completing their work at the dining room table rather than in their bedrooms, it is easier to monitor their math assignments on CTCMath.

Another feature that I am not currently using is the Question Bank Wizard. I did use that for our high schooler when he was using CTCMath, but I have not used it for our younger children. This allows you to pick lessons from different course levels and topics to create your own question banks to assign to your children.

These features are available in the parent login. The parent login also allows you to view your children's profiles and examine their specific grades on different lessons, try lessons and questions yourself, assign tasks, create question banks, browse lessons, download checklists, and export the data for your children's grades. I can also see when my children have logged in, what they completed, and how long it took them to complete those CTCMath lessons. I can also download awards to print out and see weekly reports (which I can have emailed to me).

Our Thoughts 

Your children will be able to learn about math at their own pace and watch video tutorials as many times as they need to ensure mastery of a topic. CTCMath also allows for your children to be independent while working on their math. While I do sit by our children on a regular basis, I can also just ask them to log in and complete their work without my needing to be there for them.

Our younger son really enjoys CTCMath. He shared with me the following: 

"My favorite part about CTCMath is its fun math with videos and games. It's not just some test. It's fun! I think the ages are through 4 and a million. I mean it's like kindergarten through 12th grade. The newest thing is Mastery, where if you get three questions right you get a star. If you get one wrong though, you lose a part of the bar. (You don't lose stars though. Whew!). There's four stars so you'll need to do the same one [lesson] again to get a final grade. And for people who already have CTCMath before this update, you won't lose grades."

I think – of all the online math programs he has tried – CTCMath is our younger son's favorite program. He enjoys the videos and the multiplication game. I think he also likes the fact that he has control over his work. He can move at his own pace and see exactly how well he understands something as the program grades each question immediately.

While our son completed a lesson on tally marks, our daughter has been working on geometry. One of her recent lessons was on the cube. She enjoyed watching the video and bringing out her dice to physically examine a cube. So even though the program is online, you can easily include manipulatives or (for the older grades) print out worksheets so that your children complete math assignments offline. 

I would recommend CTCMath for homeschool families. I find that one of the greatest features is your ability to move around within the different grades to pick the lessons that are right for your child. You are not beholden to one grade level since you get access to kindergarten through twelfth grade. And with the parent login, you can try out the different lessons and questions without it counting towards your children's grades. I like that I can refresh my memory on topics if I need to or just look through them to see what is coming up for our children.

If you are interested in seeing how other homeschool families use CTCMath in their homeschool, please visit the Homeschool Review Crew. And be sure to check out the homeschool discount offered CTCMath!