Showing posts with label Maths. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maths. Show all posts

Monday 25 August 2014

UberSmart Math Facts {Review}

Math Facts!  What was your first thought when you read that statement ?  For many of us we think of route drills, pages of speed drills at school and for many home educators we think of flash cards and frustrated children.  Today I would like to introduce to you the digital version of flash cards produced by UberSmart Software.


What we received

DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE for mastering math facts. It can be used by eight or more students and will enable your student to practice the following:
  • Dot Cards (like adding domino faces)
  • Keyboard Entry (Ten-Key Numbers)
  • Flash Cards (add, subtract, multiplication, division)
  • Addition/Subtraction goes up through the 9s
  • Multiplication/Division has the option to set it to go up to 9's - 20's. (9's, 10's, 11's. all the way through the 20's
How we used it
After downloading and installing UberSmart Math Facts I took some time to explore the drop down menues at the top of the screen.

 Each menu is divided up between beginner and intermediate.
  • Learn - contains dot cards and flash cards
  • Practice - dot cards, keyboard entry and flash cards
  • Test - Beginner (assessment test), intermediate (mastery test)
  • Compete - Competition (here you choose the skill, age range and student)
  • Report - You can choose to see any students progress from here.  There are seven report cards to choose from and each of these are available for the skill sets being practiced / mastered and then each of those are further divided by the number group from zero to nine followed by a combination of all the numbers.
  • Maintain - here you have access to the students, admin passwords, updates and information. This is only accessible to the password holder.  This is where you add students and
Sir N took an Assessment and we were provided with a comprehensive report on screen which we were given the option of saving.  I am very impressed with this report it is well written and positive. The report covered the following areas:
  1. His name, test duration and date
  2. A summary of his ability to fullfill the prerequisites to successfully use the flashcard componant of UberSmart.
  3. Counting skills
  4. Sequencing skills
  5. Relationship skills (greater than, less than or equals)
  6. Odd and Even number skills
  7. Keyboard Entry - UberSmart recommend a maximum entry time of 2.5 seconds per number 
  8. Math Facts - addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Each skill is explained in the report and followed with a short report of where your student is in that particular skill set.

From the results of this assessment we used UberSmart to mainly practice keyboard entry skills.  This is practiced by showing a number and the student uses the keyboard to log the number they see.  At the end of each round an average time per keystroke is presented.  At the end of a practice an encouraging note pops up.  Once he reached keyboard mastery he started on facts.


When learning a single flash card is put on the 'table' and the answer is captured.  If an incorrect answer is given it turns red and is crossed out and the correct answer is displayed to the right.  At the bottom of the screen there is a progress bar and this fills up with a green line as the student progresses through his/her pile of cards.


 This is what the screen looks like if you want to use the dot cards to practice math facts


Once your student reaches mastery they are prompted via a message to attempt a test. During the test the cards move across the 'table'. The one in the centre is the one you are answering, the one to the left is a completed card and the one on the right is the next card in your pile.  There is a time requirement in the test and this is tracked along the bottom in the red bar and just above it is a green progress bar which shows you how far you are through your cards.  You have the option of turning off the time before starting the test.  Once you have mastered (100 %) in any number group for the skill set this will be noted in the drop down menu option in both the practice and test menus.


The mastery chart is my favourite. As you can see it is illustrated with little faces who are either sad and red or really bright happy green depending on your skill level.  I like this representation as I can see at a glance where the student is in their learning.


Cost of UberSmart Math Facts
  • Standard Version for home use $24.95 this includes FREE upgrades and support and is licensed to run on all the computers in your home.
  • Professional version licensing ranges start at $49.95 for 10 students.

Recommended Age Range
  • Grades K - 6
  • Any student needing reinforcement of math facts

System Software Requirements
  • This is for Windows 7, 8, XP and Vista only.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for a flash card, clutter free method of learning math facts that will accurately keep track your students progress then UberSmart Math Facts is for you.  It is both easy to install and use.  The reporting is comprehensive and you have numerous options available to you the parent to accurately see your student's progress and where they need help.

Blessings
Chareen


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Monday 13 January 2014

Math & Logic Resources {Virtual Curriculum Fair}

Welcome to my second post for the 2014 Virtual Curriculum Fair.  Today I'm sharing on Math and Logic, both what we do and some of the curriculum that is available in the homeschool market to help you with Math and Logic in your homeschool.

Math seems to be one of those topics within the homeschool environment that often comes up in conversation and here on the blog I've shared
In our homeschool we are following an eclectic approach this year incorporating a Charlotte Mason approach along with Delight Directed education and Sonlight.  We are working on strengthening Sir N's Math facts this year along with developing logical thinking via games.


For me one of the defining moments of understanding teaching math came after I read the article History and Research on the Teaching of MathI highly recommend you read this article before you make a decision on your math curriculum.

There are many benefits to playing logic (critical thinking) games  among which are the ability to tackle high school math.  With this in mind we will be making playing games a weekly feature to our homeschool this year.


Our Year Ahead

Math

Logic
Math
Scope and Sequence
When looking at changing math programs remember to take  scope and sequence into account.

  • Scope refers to the content.  In other words these are the topics covered(A to Z)
  • Sequence is the order in which the scope is taught (IE the order in which things are covered within the program)
It is important to know this about your math product or you might end up redoing math your child is already familiar with or you might end up skipping a whole lot of important content that your child needs in order to succeed at math.

Resources
Please go to my Math Curriculum page for a full page of links to resources.
Here are a few links to get you started.
Pinterest

On the Net
Logic


On Pinterest

FREE on the WWW


Curriculums
  • Critical Thinking Activities K-3 {Logic}Activities help students develop three important elements of critical thinking in mathematics: recognizing patterns, using visual imagery, and logical reasoning
  • Critical Thinking Activities 4-6Activities help students develop three important elements of critical thinking in mathematics: recognizing patterns, using visual imagery, and logical reasoning
  • Fallacy Detectiveintroduction to 23 logical fallacies and 10 propaganda techniques: what they are, how to spot them, how to avoid them
  • One Minute Answers to Skeptics' Top Forty Questions
  • The Thinking Toolbox Thirty-Five Lessons that Will Build your Reasoning Skills
  • Understanding the TimesThis 18-week curriculum helps you examine how each of the four dominant Western worldviews (Secular/Cosmic Humanism, Marxism/Leninism, Islam, and Biblical Christianity) uniquely interpret reality in different areas of theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, and more. 


Take some time this week to visit some of the other 2014 Virtual Curriculum Fair participants.

Some of these links will not be live until tomorrow due to time zone differences as these bloggers are from across the globe.

What are you using for Math and Logic this school year?  Susan has invited you all to share what you are using and add your link to the linky

Blessings
Chareen


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Tuesday 24 September 2013

Math is a problem - What now ?

Earlier this year I shared with you about my approach and philosophy about teaching Math. Today I want to tackle this subject from the angle of what do I do if my student hates math or they are really struggling to grasp a mathematical concept. In preparation for today's post I did a quick Google search Help! My Child Hates Math! and was surprised that it came back with over 21,700,000 results!

One of my earliest memories of teaching a math concept to a struggling student was trying to teach one of my children fractions. It was the third or fourth day and I had pulled every idea out of the bag to help this child understand their work. They were getting frustrated and so was I! After all I thought what is so hard about fractions!!!! In desperation I rang a friend and went over for a cuppa coffee to regain my sanity and shared what had been happening in math class. She calmly called over my children did a quick lesson on fractions to which said child looked over at me and asked "Why didn't you just say that?" Oh boy ...

The greatest lesson I took home with me that day is that if they don't get it the way I teach it ask a friend.  There is no one right way to teach math or any other subject for that matter. We all see the world in our own unique way.

 History and Research on the Teaching of Math This article takes a fascinating look at mathematical learning and teaching over the years and how this impacts our ability to learn math easily. It has helped me be far more relaxed in my approach in doing math with Sir N. Our brain development plays an enormous role in our ability to learn math than we realize. I highly recommend this insightful article if you have a child struggling to cope with math.

Some solutions
  • Step away from the text books for a while and play games
  • Slow down. Sometimes the text book we are using moves along at a pace that may be just a little too fast for some students. Get to know your students learning curve and move at that pace.
  • Use online games to learn math facts. Math facts do not need to be understood to be learned.  This is route learning but plays a very important role in the highschool years.
  • Play card games 
  • Use dominoes to learn math facts. Drill work.
  • Ask a friend to teach a lesson.
  • Ask the child to teach you (I have found this helpful as it helps to clarify their point of misunderstanding)
  • Do practical math application learning. (banking, area, shopping, etc)
  • Ask questions
  • Keep the manipulatives for as long as possible. It's been shown that pushing a student to abandon the use of manipulatives hampers a students progress in later years when doing more complex equations.  Manipulatives are very important in math competency.  Allow the student to drop the use when they are ready. 

On the Net
    TED talks on math
    I have enjoyed TED talks on the subject of math. They have helped me think through my preconceived ideas on teaching and learning math.

    Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers

    "Stop teaching calculating, start teaching math"

    I would love to know your thoughts and how you approach math

    Blessings

    Chareen

    This post is part of the Homeschool Help series brought to you by a group of homeschool Mom's from around the globe.  Do not forget to visit and read their inspirational insight.


    This week
     ---ooOoo---
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    Thursday 22 August 2013

    HexaFlexagon


    Welcome to the Virtual Fridge a weekly art meme where we can hang our children's art on a virtual fridge. This meme was started by Jennifer over at A Glimpse of our Life who kindly invited three other bloggers to take turns hosting this weekly meme.

    Your hosts are


    This week Sir N and I have been playing with HexaFlexagon's.

    A Flexagon is a flat geometric model constructed out of folding strips of paper to form a moveable/flexible shape.  When flexed these shapes reveal different faces/facets of the shape produced. They were discovered by Arthur Stone in 1939.

    Over at Aunt Annie's Crafts you can download and print either a patterned, numbered or blank template to colour in. She also has a step by step tutorial.

    My nephews school sent home a pdf link to some instructions and templates you can find HERE.


    I had a little trouble with folding it so I watched this video which is a step by step on making one from a piece of blank paper without a template.





    For an over view and history of the Hexaflexagon is watch this clip. She speaks very fast but it's still interresting.


    I have since found out that you can make a TriHexaFlexagon which is a lot easier.

    We're having a lot of fun with these.  Do you know of any other mathematical game puzzles along these lines that we could try ?

    Blessings
    Chareen

    I invite you to take some photo's of your children's artistic pursuits put them in a post and link up with me I would love to come over and see the wonderful art your children have enjoyed doing.

    Every bed of Roses

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    Thursday 8 August 2013

    Day 4 - Math Curriculum

    Welcome to Day 4 of the Schoolhouse Review Crew 5 days of ... blog hop.

    The theme for my 5 days is Curriculum Choices. My aim is not to list every single resource out there (That in itself would be almost impossible as the Internet is an ever changing place). My aim is to give you some ideas to start you off.

    Today's theme is Math.
    One of the defining moments of understanding teaching math came after I read the article History and Research on the Teaching of MathI highly recommend you read this article before you make a decision on your math curriculum.

    Scope and Sequence
    When looking at changing math programs remember to take  scope and sequence into account.
    • Scope refers to the content.  In other words these are the topics covered(A to Z)
    • Sequence is the order in which the scope is taught (IE the order in which things are covered within the program)
    It is important to know this about your math product or you might end up redoing math your child is already familiar with or you might end up skipping a whole lot of important content that your child needs in order to succeed at math.

    Resources
    Teaching Textbooks. 
    I ♥ this curriculum.  Easy to use and home school friendly.
    TouchMath
    I used this earlier this year and am very impressed with this hands on approach to teaching math.
    Saxon Math
    Singapore Math
    Horizons Math
    Miquon Math
    Math U See
    More Companies to look at
    Pinterest
    What are you using to teach Math ?  I'm looking for a few more links for my page
    Blessings
    Chareen 
    ** List updated 9 August

    So Far in the series
    1. Geography 
    2. History
    3. Science
     Summer Blog Hop
    Be sure to hop on over to the crew blog to read more posts from this series
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    Tuesday 23 April 2013

    Math…All About Math

    If there are two subjects that create a negative response within home school communities it would be teaching Science in high school and Math.  Some are quite happy to teach basic math but anything beyond that sparks a panic attack. I think it's important that as a home school mom we need to leave behind our negative attitudes to math and the fear of failure and equip ourselves in order to support and equip our students.  Math does not need to be a dead boring subject or one that is so difficult that no one can understand what's going on (accept for the unique few in our population who dream, speak and live for math)

    If you had asked me to write this article a year ago it would have been written totally differently to what I have written for you today.  I have been reading Teaching the Trivium and am so glad that I did. I discovered this article in the appendix and am pleased to say that it is on line in its entirety History and Research on the Teaching of Math (TTT page 540-557)

    This article is incredibly eye opening and will empower you to make better choices in how you approach teaching math in your home school. Most of us make choices regarding how and when to teach math based upon what we did at school (and for a few of us at home).  This article will turn your thinking of math teaching on it's head.

    Some interesting points
    • . . . early childhood may simply be an inefficient period in which to try to teach skills that can be relatively quickly learned in adolescence.  (Prime Time for Education: Early Childhood or Adolescence ? by W.D.Rohwer, Jr)
    • Mathematics in every form is a subject ill-fitted to the child mind. It deals not with real things, but with abstractions. When referred to concrete objects, it concerns not the objects themselves, but their relations to each other. It involves comparison, analysis, abstraction . . . (Cyclopedia of Education p.208 William H Burnham)
    • . . . successful school achievement in areas requiring use of concepts - such as numbers, classes, and spatial and causal relationships - correlated highly with mental age. Developing these concepts was especially associated with success in arithmetic, problem solving, and spelling. (Feyberg)
    One of the most interesting things that I learned reading this appendix was that different parts of a child's brain develop at different stages. Young children up to the age of 10-12 use the part of the brain that is developed to store information.  Rote information. All information learned up until this point in time is stored in a "linear" fashion in the brain.  This area of the brain also deals with learning quantitative information.  How many does three look like ? How long is 10 cm ? How many coins are there in 50 cents ? etc

    Somewhere around the age of 12 the brain switches to mainly using/developing the three dimensional aspect of thinking.  Mathematics is a highly three dimensional abstract practice.  This has a number of implications on the learning of math for the child.  This may be the reason students to struggle with math at around the age of 12. One of the reasons is that the brain is now using a new area and does not go to the 'linear' area to fetch the necessary information. The brain now recognizes that math aught to be stored in this new '3D' area. This is one of the reasons a lot of students develop a negative attitude towards maths because they struggle to retrieve the relevant information because it's been stored in the incorrect part of the brain.

    Here is why we need this 3D stage of development in order to learn/do math
    "The reason why it requires a higher activity of thought to think quantity [abstract number] and understand mathematics than it does to perceive quality (or things and environments) [physical objects] lies right in this point. The though of quantity is a double thought. It first things quality [object] and then negates it. or thinks it away. In other words, it abstracts from quality. It first thinks thing and environment (quality), and then thinks both as the same in kind or as repetitions of the same. A thing becomes a unit [number] when it is repeated so that it is within an environment of duplicates itself [number among numbers]." (The Teaching of Mathematics in the Elementary and Secondary School by J.W.A. Young)

    What I am going to do differently
    The biggest impact for me reading this chapter is that I am not going to force Sir N through many home school arithmetic books.  I am going to slow down and do a lot more hands on practical math (lots of manipulative's) with him.  I am going to wait until around the age of 10 to introduce more complex topics.

    If I wait till then I know that he will easily learn and it will be a faster learning for him, less stress for me and him and I know that he will not struggle because his brain is developmentally ready to tackle this fundamentally difficult subject. There is plenty of research evidence that shows that children who start math at the age of 12 can learn in under 6 months the six years of math that students have learned starting math at the age of 6.

    Small children cannot understand many arithmetic concepts at an early age. We can teach them to perform the process, but we cannot make them understand the concepts - Harvey Bluedorn TTT page 556
     The mathematical process may not be introduced before there is a considerable stock of qualitative facts in the child's mind on which to work, and not until the child's mental powers are sufficiently developed to take the steps implied in even the simplest mathematical concept. It is a question whether we are not tending to introduce the abstractions of mathematics too early. (The Teaching of Mathematics in the Elementary and Secondary School by J.W.A. Young)

    Knowing that now is the optimum time for Sir N to learn route concepts we will memorize math facts and concrete learning via games, commercial activity (shopping), cooking, measuring etc. We will also continue experiencing life via field trips in order to build his vocabulary and concrete understanding of the world around him.


    Scope and Sequence
    A little word on  scope and sequence as this is important to consider when changing the math program you are using. Scope refers to the content.  In other words these are the topics covered(A to Z)
    Sequence is the order in which the scope is taught (IE the order in which things are covered within the program)
    It is important to know this about your math product or you might end up redoing math your child is already familiar with or you might end up skipping a whole lot of important content that your child needs in order to succeed at math.

    On the WWW
    Math Programs
    Here is a funny graphic I found recently on Facebook.


    Source

    I have been so encouraged, inspired and awed by the other bloggers who are contributing to this series and would highly recommend that you grab a cup of tea and take some time to read their thoughts on the subjects we have been sharing on.  I have been on this journey of home education for 15 years now and their thoughts and insights are inspiring and encouraging me.
    Blessings
    Chareen

    This week
     ---ooOoo---

    Linking with
    Teach Me Tuesdays Hip Homeschool Hop Button The Homeschool Village


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    Saturday 20 April 2013

    A Quest with Math Rider {Review}

    There is always a lot of talk about math fact learning in the home school sphere. I know all the pro's and con's and can even give a talk on the many methods of teaching math facts. The thing I find the hardest is applying what I know I need to do. When I saw Math Rider my first thought was I need to do this with Sir N.  He loves an adventure and in order to conquer this one he needs to learn his math facts well.

    What we did
    My desktop PC is running Windows 8. I asked my teen son to please install the program for me. It was a simple straight forward process and took him less than five minutes to accomplish. A short cut icon appeared on the desk top and with a double click the program started.

    The 'home' screen has the following options: Log in, Add New Rider, Modify, Cancel, Delete and Help.  The Help menu opens an in game Help web page with YouTube clips to help you.
    Setting up Sir N's account took less than a minute and he was playing.  A pop up widow asked us for a name, password, password confirmation, password hing, gender and language.

    In the beginning Sir N struggled because he did not know the numerical keyboard worked or the layout of the numbers and it took him a while to figure out how to input the answers.  He was a little distracted by the background music in the beginning that was easily solved by muting it. After two rides he asked me to put the music back on as he liked it.  It took one game for him to get the hang of what he had to do. You need to input the answers to make the horse jump over the hurdles.  Each hurdle has a math fact sum beneath it. When he missed the answer the game auto paused and a child's voice read out the math equation and answer to him and then the horse would continue running bringing up the next jump. As he became more proficient on the ride the hurdles started appearing closer together and the horse galloped faster.  On any facts he struggled with it gave him a longer approach run and the horse slowed down too.

    We have the sound on so that the story is read to Sir N.  The story teller reads clearly and slowly.  This is what the screen looks like when you log in on your user name.

    1. Click on the rider face to take you back to the log in screen where you can create or select a different rider
    2. See the stats of your student at a glance (Rides, completed quests, Addition, subtraction %)
    3. Click on the medal to see where you rank against other riders or yourself. This page allows you to select the math level to view (Easy, Medium, Advanced). You can see your rank, date completed, how many rides it took, pole jumped, mastery level by percentage and the total time it took. You can also view the rewards you've earned.
    4. Click on the speaker to set the music and effects volume
    5. My Statistics shows you your top challenges, overall mastery level, improvement since you started graph and a grid box which uses colour to show your statistics for each math fact.
    6. Practice run gives you the ability to set the operation you want to work on (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), race mode (obstacle course, time challenge), number of questions and fixed number to practice. Playing in this mode is not counted towards any of your statistics.
    7.  New Quest allows you cancel a current quest and start on a new one. If you start a new one it allows you to set the level (Easy, Medium, Advanced) and operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) to work on.
    8. Retell the quest story you are on.
    9. View a map of the quest you are on. This map updates at the end of each ride so you can see just how far you have ridden in the math lands.
    10. Continue with your current quest from here. 
    We love how each member or place in Mathlands has a mathematical name for example the elven city is called Euclid and the Doctor is called Dr Hypotenuse.

    What Sir N thought
    • I love that I can ride a horse
    • It was hard to put the numbers in, in the beginning.
    • I like to see how far I have ridden my horse Shadow along the road on the map.
    Cost
    What you get
    • The game is a full download with lifetime updates. 
    • Can be used on Windows and Mac (System Requirements)
    • Does NOT need Internet connection to play.
    • Allows up to eight players.
    • ALL the math facts are enabled from the beginning. You are able to choose what your child to work on from day one.
    • After as little as one ride you can see where your child is at.
    • In game help
    • All four math operations are practiced (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) You choose which one to work on and what level of competency you want to start with easy or hard.  You have the ability to limit it to one mathematical operation or a mixture.
    • The game is intelligent and learns what your child's ability is and then self adjusts to suit their particular learning curve. If they are struggling with a particular fact it will automatically add that fact into the game more often until mastery is achieved.
    On the WWW

    Social Media

    Over all we are both very happy with using MathRider.  I have a user name too and Sir N is looking forward to racing me one day.  Some days when he is struggling I open up my rider and he shouts the answers and I input the numbers.  We mix it up take turns and have fun together.

    What is your favourite resource for teaching Math Facts ?

    Blessings
    Chareen




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    Friday 15 March 2013

    A Touch Math Adventure {TouchMath Review}

    TouchMath has been designed to use as a stand alone math program or as a supplement to what you are already doing. It's system reinforces maths principles and builds a solid foundation by helping your student firmly understand the concrete concept and transition via a hands on method progressing your student towards abstract maths. Sir N recently started using the Second Grade Homeschool Program.

    Touch Math is designed to help children master math skills as they "see, say, hear and touch"


    "TouchMath is the only program that uses the actual numeral as a manipulative by having TouchPoints (concrete level) and uses visual cues (pictorial/representative level) throughout the program to eventually remove visual cues and TouchPoints so the student can demonstrate a symbolic/abstract comprehension of the skill" - Research
     
    Second Grade Homeschool
    • Four Units.
    • A comprehensive index (topics, module contents, all activities)
    • A full overview of vocabulary and resources
    • Page by page instructions and answer key
    • Content reviews and post test instructions
    • 6 Module instructions.
    • Progress Monitoring records 
    • A full implementation guide which provides a full program overview, tips and all the resources you need. 
    • 90 Student Activity Sheets
    • 6 Assessments
    • Answer Keys
    • Download Samples for each Unit
    About the Worksheets
    • They are designed to take you from concrete to the abstract
    • From simple to complex processes
    • Build mathematical language (technical jargon)
    • Some worksheets are for individual practice and others are teacher guided. Each one is coded for you to see at a glance what your student is doing.
    • The activity sheets are uncluttered and clearly laid out.
    • Each sheet contains a footer bar with a description of the skill / topic covered on the page.
    • Pre and Post test modules to help you assess a students placement and their personal level of competence.
    Record Keeping
    • A record sheet is provided to help provide overview of your students progress
    • Contains the topics for each module
    • Enough space to record multiple student information.
    • Each unit contains a full list of State Common Core standards worked on. This makes it easy to record your units.
    Grade 2 Optional Extra's
    Our Journey
    With great excitement Sir N and I looked at samples of the Grade two year and decided yes we would like to try out some hands on Math learning. Sir N is a hands on learner who loves trying new things and this year I am trying to work more on allowing delight directed learning.

    It was with great anticipation that we downloaded our PDF lessons. I felt a little overwhelmed when I opened Unit A and discovered it contained 239 pages! My curiosity got the better of me and I checked the other three: Unit B had 233 pages, Unit C had 235 pages and Unit D had 231 pages.  Wow I've never had a math program that came with the wealth of information supplied by TouchMath. No there are not  200+ pages per unit for your child to fill in.  Each unit contains 90 Student Activity Sheets the balance of each unit contains instructions for you the parent. It sounds like a lot of work but it is not.

    Each unit contained a full implementation guide containing everything I needed to obtain the maximum benefit of the entire home school program. 

    As we worked through the program I realized that it builds precept upon precept. I was surprised to learn that the program has been around since 1972 and as a result they have a lot of experience in teaching math. Since commencing my home school journey one of the things I have learned is that we push our children past the manipulative's learning stage too quickly much to the determent of their math learning.


    Touch Math is unique in that it uses the physical number as the manipulative. This in turn means that you do not need to purchase any additional resources to teach maths. Having said this we have really enjoyed using the manipulatives supplied with the program. (Flip Cards, Student Number Cards, Second Grade Software, Touch Numerals with Base 10) It was like having Christmas when our math manipulative box arrived. I have not seen Sir N as excited about Math as when this 14 pound box arrived.

    To make using the program easier I downloaded the pdf documents to my Galaxy Tab and had that close at hand to help me with each lesson.


     We spent the first part of Unit A learning the numeral touch points and becoming familiar with the program.  The software was especially helpful in this.

    Each day we used the Flip Cards for math fact drill followed with a 15 minute lesson. There is no set number of lessons to do each day.  The pace of the lessons is set by the child and their individual grasp of the concept. The recommended time spent on a lesson is twice your students age. Sir N is seven which meant our lessons were 15 min a day.

    Each set of flash cards correlates to the unit you are working through.  There are three boxes of flash cards per unit. The quality of the cards is excellent and they are big and easy to read. We did not use all the cards at each lesson we used up to 20 cards at a time depending on the skill level attained or the facts memorized.  We added in new facts as other facts were mastered. The back of each box has suggestions for usage. The spine of the box contains the name of the unit along with a description this makes for easy recognition if storing them standing up or in a box.

    I really enjoyed using the base ten system with Sir N.  It reinforced the number 10 concept with him and helped him grasp borrowing in subtraction.

    I was impressed with how math strategies are taught with each lesson. I also enjoyed the natural introduction of the technical jargon for maths. Each term is simply explained and with appropriate repetition the student becomes familiar with the math concept with ease. 

    Sir N can become distracted with graphics so the clean uncluttered presentation of each page benefited his pace of learning.


    **Cost {TouchMath Second Grade Homeshool}
    • Unit A $ 59.95
    • Unit B $ 59.95
    • Unit C $ 59.95
    • Unit D $ 59.95
    • Purchase all four units for $ 199.95 and save $39-85
    • The manipulatives are optional extra's. I would highly recommend you investing in these as they make for a much richer sensory program. There is a list of suggested resources at the bottom of the Unit purchase page.
    ** All prices quoted are correct at time of posting.  It is the responsibility of the purchaser to check the cost before purchasing. Prices are subject to change without notice. All prices are in US $.

    Social Media
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    What others are saying Online
    Overall we are enjoying this program. It does not contain busy work. Each page has a purpose and keeps the student engaged and moving forward. The manipulatives add a positive dimension to the daily math experience.

    Blessings
    Chareen

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    This post is part of and linking with the Schoolhouse Review so don't forget to pop on over and read what others are saying about Touch Math.

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    Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.
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