Let Students Take Control of Their Learning with CTCMath {A CTCMath / Homeschool Review Crew Review}

 I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Have you ever cheered over a math program?

I have! 

In fact, I cheered when I found out that we'd been selected to review another 12 month family membership from CTCMath.

What Is CTCMath?

CTCMath is an online math curriculum for grades K-12 that allows students to self-pace through math while giving parents quick access to checking up on how students are doing.

Some excellent features of CTCMath are:

• adaptive questions that change in difficulty depending on a student's ability which help students build confidence and master 
• concepts
• a function that allows questions to be readout so that struggling readers are not held back in math
• interactive questions based explicitly on clear, concise video tutorials
• extensive reports for parents and progress notations students can see, too

One thing missing from CTCMath - at least in our experience - is stress. Neither I as a parent not my children as self-paced learners find CTCMath stressful and that is huge!

What Has Our experience with CTCMath Been?

Since we first reviewed CTCMath in 2019, it has become a staple in our home.  We so appreciate how it provides a full K-12 curriculum, including Calculus that offers teaching videos, practice questions, games, tests, tasks, weekly revisions sets, and more which make it a flexible, easy, self-paced program for my children to access and use.

My youngest, now 11, has moved through several years of math using CTCMath and has also practiced his facts using the Speed Skills portion of the program. Currently, he is on a break from screens, and, thus, from online math, but he looks forward to using CTCMath again and says:

I like CTCMath. I was using it until last week and want to continue using it. I enjoy it, and it is easy to use.

I love that my youngest favors CTCMath, can use it independently and can pause, then pick up with his math work with it easily. Self-paced and flexible, with clear teaching, CTCMath is a win for him. 

My middle child, now 15, prefers book-based math programs, but, we occasionally, use her CTCMath login to learn or practice particular skills. The fact that CTCMath has pre-recorded Video Tutorials that explain and teach each and every concept for grades K-12 and allow students access any time on any device worldwide makes it prime for such supplementary use even if it is meant to be used as a one-stop, full math curriculum.

The program also works as intended, of course! In fact, my eldest child, now 16, uses CTCMath as his sole math program and thoroughly appreciates the independence it gives him. When I asked him for his current thoughts on CTCMath for this review, he said:

CTCMath is an online math program for students in  grades K -12.

I am on my third year of using CTCMath for high school. I have used it from Algebra I, through Algebra 2 and Geometry, and now I am into Pre-Calc/Trigonometry, which has allowed me to become quite familiar with the program.

Its style of videos followed by a short set of around ten questions works well with my independent learning style. For those who work better with worksheets, that’s an option as well. In fact, for some lessons, worksheets are the only option because the covered subject is too complex for a set of online multiple-choice questions.

Recently the site has undergone some changes which have been mostly graphical.  Among the changes has been the addition of a mastery bar. This video explains what the mastery bar is about:

Overall, I have greatly appreciated CTCMath. Out of all the math programs I have used, I have stayed with CTC the longest. It is easy to use and, typically, helps me move through math learning independently. The only issue I have is sometimes the videos are not enough to help me understand a concept clearly. On such occasions, I sometimes need to ask someone else for help or I just keep working through problems until I get them. As a self learner this works fine for me as I usually just learn by trying.

I would highly suggest CTCMath to anyone who wants to take more control of their education or for parents who want to have to be less hands-on with their students. It has been great for me, and I hope the same can hold true for you.

CTCMath has truly been a blessing to our family, fitting each child's needs in a different way and carrying two of my children through multiple grades of math with very little oversight or help from me.

I Highly Recommend CTCMath

Over and over since we first began using CTCMath in 2019, I have recommended it to others in person and online as an excellent, user-friendly program that can help students take control of their learning. I am doing so again today:

CTCMath is an easy to use program that allows students to self-pace through lessons and even move between grade level math courses. It also allows parents to easily check student progress by providing extensive reports that can help parents and students identify weaker areas that require further study and applaud progress in stronger areas.

Not many math programs make me cheer, but CTCMath does: Hoorah for CTCMath making math easy and independent for students while simplifying things for parents, too. I truly think it is the best online math curriculum for homeschoolers out there.

Get a Discount on CTCMath!

One more reason to cheer about CTCMath is that they have a homeschool discount right now.  Click through if you would like to try CTCMath for 1/2 price!

Also, be aware that there is no risk involved. CTCMath offers a 12-month money-back guarantee with no questions asked if you find the curriculum is not for you and your
family. 

Learn More

You can see if 30+ other Homeschool Review Crew families love CTCMath as much as my family does by clicking through to read blog, video, and social media reviews from different families using the program with students of varying ages and abilities.

You can also find all of my family's CTCMath reviews here and connect with CTCMath online at:

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My Child's Go-To for Math Learning {A Homeschool Review Crew / Math Essentials Review}

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

Some folks need their math learning to be unfold with a straight-forward, simple approach. I've got a kid like that and that is why we chose to review and use Mastering Essential Math Skills, Pre-Algebra Concepts from Math Essentials - a 120 page, softcover worktext written by "America's Math Teacher" Richard W. Fisher.

Like other Mastering Math Essential books, Pre-Algebra Concepts offers a concise, self-contained, easy-to-follow math program which includes a system of Review Exercises, Helpful Hints, Practice Problems, and Problem Solving (word problems) which can help students master, maintain, and reinforce math skills through consistent. incremental practice and review.

Each lesson in the book is meant to be completed in about 20 minutes and can be accompanied by free online video tutorials.

Topics included in the book are:

• Positive and Negative Fractions
• Positive and Negative Decimals
• Exponents
• Square Roots
• Order of Operations
• Properties of Numbers
• Scientific Notation
• Ratios & Proportions
• Percents
• Number Theory
• Number Lines
• Coordinate Planes
• Slope of a Line
• Graphing Equations
• Solving Algebraic Equations
• Algebraic Word Problems
• Probability
• Statistics

Our Experience

One of my children is veering away from homeschooling in the fall to try out technical high school. There, my child will have to take a traditional Algebra course. In order to ensure readiness for this, we decided to move through Mastering Essential Math Skills, Pre-Algebra Concepts so that the child can solidify foundational Pre-Algebra skills and have them fresh in mind for the fall.

This is what my child has to say about the Pre-Algebra worktext so far:

The Pre-Algebra book is a very thin book which makes it less foreboding. It does not make you think, "Oh my goodness. This is going to take for-e-ver to do," which is good.

When you got to a lesson, the page is split into multiple sections. The first one is Review Exercises so that is several questions about skills you've already learned.

After that review section, there is a Helpful Hints section which basically quickly goes over what you need to know to complete the problems in the lesson. You could probably just use the Helpful Hints to teach yourself without the online lessons, however, I would recommend using the online lessons because they are fairly quick and easy to follow.

After the Helpful Hints, you get two sample questions which someone else can go through with you to help you understand things better, or you can go ahead to do them by yourself. Then, there are the rest of the exercises for the lesson of the day.

At the very bottom of the lesson page there is a Problem Solving question. I sometimes miss these word problems. I forget they exist even though they are clearly on the page.

After all of the lessons in the book, you can find practice problems for each topic.

After those, there is a final review test. Then, there are Solutions (a answer key), a glossary, a list of symbols and their meaning and charts for multiplication, commonly used prime numbers, squares and square roots, and fractions and decimals.

 

Overall, I think that this is a good and easy program to follow with, however trying to access the online lessons does take multiple steps, signing in with your account password and signing in for the videos. I would like to see an easier process if possible in the future.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who want a compact way of going through Pre-Algebra and for students or parents who don't have or want a ton of time working together. This resource can be mostly self-paced with the video lessons.

Math Essentials is my choice for Middle and High School learning because it reviews what you have already learned so you don't forget it, teaches you in non-overwhelming increments, and there is no fluff.

Would I Recommend It

Mastering Essential Math Skills, Pre-Algebra Concepts from Math Essentials is a resource I would recommend with the following notes:

• The lessons are concise and broken into parts. Each lesson is self-contained and written to be completed - sans video - within 20 minutes and, with the video, in perhaps a bit more or less, depending on the child. The program can also be used with a 15 minute timer. Since each lesson page is divided into Review Exercises, Helpful Hints, Practice Problems, and Problem Solving, it is easy to take break when a 15 minute timer goes off no matter if you have finished a lesson or gone onto the next one. Then, you can set another timer if you wish. Doing so can help children with focus while avoiding overwhelm.

• If you have someone with dyslexia or vision issues, please note that the like other Math Essentials books, this one has little text and plenty of white space around problems.

• A notebook of whiteboard could be helpful. Despite white space on the clean, no-nonsense pages of the worktext, students like mine may find that there is not enough space for to work out problems. Copying problems onto scrap paper, into a notebooks, or onto a small whiteboard one by one or in groups of 2-4 at a time to figure them out is an easy solution for this.

• The online videos are helpful, but not necessary, depending on your child's style and the time you have on hand. A parent with some math skills could easily "teach" the lesson at hand using the Helpful Hints and sample problems. A child with some understanding of prior math skills could self-teach doing the same. Or, the video lessons can take students step by step through the material.

• If you have a child that likes to cut corners, you may wish to tear our the answer key. Having the key IN the book is a blessing for kids, like mine, who wish to self-pace and self-correct, yet will come to you when help is needed. For others, the included answer key may be too much temptation for cutting corners.

• For those with children who have memory issues, the glossary, symbols list, and tables at the end of the book is helpful. My child appreciates these in the Math Essentials books and has, at times, used them to check that basic facts and figures are being remembered correctly.

• It really does get the job done. The child I have been using this worktext with truly appreciates the Math Essentials way of making math no-nonsense in book form and learns from it.

• It recognizes some children need a bit more practice. Starting on page 66, the worktext has additional practice problems organized into sets of 20 problems per type, which can be quite helpful for students who need extra practice or want to go back to revise skills after learning other ones.

• It does not leave you hanging. Starting on page 89, there is a Final Review. This, of course, can be used as a final test to see if students have gained mastery of concepts. It could also be used as a pre-test to indicate which skills and topics a student might want to focus the most on.

There are no bells, whistles, nor gimmicks with Mastering Essential Math Skills, Pre-Algebra Concepts. Rather, like other Math Essentials worktexts, this one provides clear, concise, and well-designed review, practice, and application of math skills which can lead learners to greater confidence and success.


Get Three Months Free and Learn More

Math Essentials has been generous enough to offer a coupon code for our readers to try free three-month trial for their video lessons!

Simply go to mathandalgebra.com, then use the coupon code:

CREW2022

Thank you, Math Essentials!  Enjoy your free 3-month trial!

Other Homeschool Review Crew families reviewed one of two Math Essentials titles. Click through to find links to all of each blog and social media review.

You may also wish to see our prior reviews of other Math Essentials products.

Connect Faith to Algebra 1 {A Homeschool Math Curriculum Review}

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

When you think about Algebra textbooks, words like "faith-based" and "Biblical principles" don't often come to mind. Homeschool mom and math lover Mary Carroll sought to change that with her His Vessel Textbooks – Algebra I - an 11-unit, 64-lesson, hardcover curriculum book that weaves faith into math.

When my family was offered an opportunity to review His Vessel Textbooks – Algebra I, I was curious about how faith would be woven into its lessons, so spoke with my daughter about trying it out. She agreed, and, since we received our review copy, we've been slowly moving through it during portions of our 1:1 time.

In doing so, I have come to appreciate the time, effort, and God-loving thought that Mary Carroll put into creating this math curriculum. His Vessel Algebra 1 is organized logically and contains a number of unique  faith-connected features per unit woven in with more traditional straight-up math ones.

Features include "A God Moment" sections at the start of each lesson. These "moments" have a scripture and short devotional-type paragraph that explains math concepts in connection to Biblical principles.

Next, there are "Objectives for This Lesson", which are written as "I Can..." statements and outline what you will learn in the lesson. 

Then, there are "Vocabulary Terms", which come in handy for looking back at as the lessons progress.

After that come explanations, examples, "You Try" sections, and "Practice Problems". The examples are all worked out so you can follow along with them. The "You Try" problems require you to work them out on your own. Answers (not solutions) to them are given at the end of each unit.

Then, Practice Problems, of course, must be worked out on your own and answers to the odd ones can be found at the back of the book.

Sprinkled throughout the text are  "Helpful Hints" and "Make It Clear" boxes which give you ideas for remembering things and/or clarify concepts.

There are also "Family Activity" sections that suggest fun activities that aim to make math concepts more enjoyable. 

Finally, at the end of each unit, there are optional "Expressions Projects" which offer challenge ideas such as figuring how much Nebuchadnezzar's statue weighed or calculating descendants of a Biblical character.

My Daughters Thoughts about His Vessel Algebra 1

Here is what my daughter had to say about her experience with the textbook so far:

When my mother asked me if I wanted to review His Vessel Algebra 1 I wasn't completely sure, because my math skills are kind of all over the place. However, I decided to review it, thinking that maybe it would help me to improve my math skills. After making this decision, I was very excited about when the text would come in.

His Vessel Algebra 1 is quite thick, however, it is surprisingly light, which I liked. Another thing that I liked about the book is that the pages have plenty of white space; I've never liked books that are crowded on each page.

One of the setbacks I have had with His Vessel Algebra is that I am not able to use the textbook completely by myself. Explanations and examples in it are not written in a way that I can easily follow, so I had to ask my mother for help and ended up using the book with her during 1:1 study time. It has been a slow process.

I don't think His Vessel Algebra 1 is a bad book. In fact, I think that for some people it would be perfectly fine; they would be able to understand it. I just tend to take a bit more explaining to understand things, especially in math, and found that His Vessel was not as good at explaining things as some other programs I've used.

I would recommend His Vessel to someone who is willing to help their child with it. I would also have to say that if a parent wanted to make sure that all a child’s answers are right, the parent would have to go through and do some problems, because the back of the book does not give all the answers.

 

Overall I think His Vessel Algebra 1 has its pros and its cons, but I believe that it could be helpful for certain individuals. 

So, as you can see the curriculum has not been a total success with my daughter, but she can still find good in it, and I can, too.

My Thoughts on His Vessel Algebra 1

For students that head into His Vessel Algebra 1 without prior "holes" in their math, I think the text would easily carry them through Algebra 1 while helping them find connections between math concepts and faith. 

For students like my daughter who struggle with math, some hand-holding might be necessary.

I am not sure if we will continue to use the text with my daughter right now, because it is just going too slowly for her which is discouraging, but I will be saving it to use with her younger brother in years to come.

More Coming!

His Vessel Algebra I is currently the only text available from Mary Carroll, but she is drafting more books using her unique Biblical approach. She has plans to release a Geometry book in the fall of 2022 and Pre-Algebra, Algebra II, and Elementary Math in the future. She is also planning to offer a separate answer key for Algebra I in the summer of 2022.

Some Families Love It!

Some of the Homeschool Review Crew families who tried His Vessel loved it. To read what they appreciated most about it, click over to the Homeschool Review Crew to find links to their blog and Instagram reviews.

You might also want connect with Mary Carroll and His Vessel Textbooks on social media.

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Surprise! Speed Wheel Drills Are A Hit! {A Homeschool Review Crew Review: Math Essentials}

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

Woah! You just never can tell what will be a hit with a child to help solidify math facts.

We were given an opportunity to review Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills for Addition, Multiplication, and Division. 

I knew my daughter appreciated the straightforward, no-nonsense approach of other Math Essentials materials and needed something to help her increase her speed and accuracy with math fact recall as she moves into high school. However, to be honest, I was not sure if a workbook containing 1,440 speed wheel drills would work for her or not. In fact, I wondered if doing such drills would get old for her quickly.

I am happy to report: they did not. Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills for Multiplication has become one of my daughter's consistent, self-chosen, independent summer lesson materials. When the Speed Wheel Drill books came into our home, she asked if she could use the multiplication one and has been using it regularly throughout the summer.

Here is what she had to say about her experience:

I like Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills for Multiplication, because it is a quick and easy way to review multiplication tables.

I also like it because I try to beat my old times to see how much I am improving.

I enjoy that doing an entire page takes me only five to fifteen minutes. Sometimes I do a whole page and sometimes I do just one line - three wheels.

I find this better and more efficient than flashcards. because all my answers and times are written down and I can review them.

The only issue is that I am slightly lazy sometimes and don't always write my percent correct.

Using this is helping me get the repetition I need to remember my facts. Multiplication facts have always been hard for me, but I don't enjoy a lot of online games to practice them or, if I enjoy the practice games, but don't always remember the facts after. With these drills my accuracy and time  are improving.

I would recommend this resource to people who want a a quick way to review multiplication and to keep remembering their facts. People who don't like to be timed for math problems and people who don't like repetition may not like it as much. Repetition and timing is not a problem for me at all. I like that the format doesn't change and I can repeat things and see how I am doing.

What a wonderful surprise it has been for me to see my daughter's success with Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills. Through the years, we have tried many things, online and off, independent and together, to help her learn math facts and increase accuracy and speed with instant recall of them - some things more successful than others. This is definitely among the most successful.

My daughter willingly self-paces through the drills, deciding how many drills she wants to do on a given day, timing herself, correcting her own work, etc. The open-and-go nature has made working with the material easy to slip in around other life happenings. The fact that my daughter can use the resource on her own is a boon for her and me. The self-correcting aspect, I believe, actually helps reinforce her learning of the math facts. and the tracking of time - surprisingly to me - has been a motivator for her.

Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills for Multiplication have been an effective tool for keeping facts fresh for my daughter, and, as such, I recommend it to others who have a child that prefers independent, offscreen resources.

I also recommend the Division and Addition books for students who need practice with such facts. 

Each softcover, consumable book is set up the same way.

They open with a "How to Use this Book" page, which succinctly describes how to use the drills, track your progress, etc. 

(To use the drills, you take the number in the center of the speed circle and add/subtract/divide using the number on the next concentric circle out, then write your answer in the space on the outside of the circle.)

Then, there are pages with 21 math tips.

Following that are pages that contain 1,440 speed drills with 12 drills per page with the drills in random orders by center numbers.

The final pages of the book contain a solution page that can be pulled out of the book, put in a sheet protector, and used for self-correcting, plus the bonus of a Math Glossary, Important Symbols, Multiplication Table, Commonly Used Prime Numbers, Squares and Square Roots, and Fraction/Decimal Equivalents.

Slim, handy, open-and-go resources, Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills for Multiplication, Division, and Addition can become a great help for students like my daughter that need extra facts practice so as not to regress with such skills.

The only thing I might change about them in future editions is making perforated pages or lay flat binding. Such changes would make an already effective resource just a little more user-friendly. 

Over 20 families from the Homeschool Review Crew have been testing out one, two, or all three of the Speed Wheel Drills books developed by the Winner of Intel Innovations in Teaching Award Richard W. Fisher with their children, so be sure to click through to find video, social media, and blog reviews.

You might also want to take a look at our past Math essentials reviews:

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