Everyday Homeschooling

I started using Math U See last year after I realized that my oldest child was having a lot of trouble with his math facts.  Although he seemed to understand what addition and subtraction are, he could never remember that 2+3=5.  And when it came to regrouping (sometimes called borrowing), he was a mess. 

Prior to Math U See we had been using a popular math curriculum that was said to be very thorough.  But, there were a lot of flash card involved and my son hated it.  We needed a change.

Math U See is a combined DVD and workbook course.  For each lesson, there is a short (5-10 minute) video lesson.  During this lesson, Steve Demme, the creator of Math U see, uses manipulative to explain the math concept in question.  I think he does a good job of making the concept understandable while maintaining a little bit of goofiness that my kids enjoyed

The teachers’ book suggested that the teacher should watch this DVD lesson before presenting the lesson to the child.  showing the DVD to the child was optional.  After watching the DVD, the teacher is supposed to go over the concept using the Math U See manipulatives, basically mirroring what Mr Demme did on the DVD.  Once the child understand, he shows the math concept to the teacher, also using manipulatives. This is to demonstrate mastery of the concept.  Finally, the child does the corresponding workbook pages.

Honestly, I never have watched the DVD prior to a lesson.  Always the slacker mom, I just watch it with my kid and then we talk over or review anything that doesn’t seem to make sense to him.  In general, the DVD is enough for him to understand the concept and he can then do the workbook pages without much help form me. 

We started with the Alpha level of Math U See, rather than try to jump into his “grade level.”  I think the makers of Math U See also encourage this, with the caveat that you can move quickly through the stuff that your child already knows.  It was good for us to start at the beginning and to finally get a solid understanding of the basics.

My son really liked Math U See and I really liked that he finally was understanding the math concepts.  There was enough review that he also eventually learned his addition and subtraction facts.  All without flash cards!

I have since come to understand that my child is both a visual and a kinesthetic learner.  His prior math program didn’t fit his learning style.  But, Math U See was a great fit for him.  He was able to visualize the math concepts as he watched them and then practice the concepts with the manipulatives. 

Bottom Line: I highly recommend Math U See, especially for visual or kinesthetic learners.