DISCLOSURE: I RECEIVED THIS COMPLIMENTARY PRODUCT THROUGH THE HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW
Homeschooling my children from day one and being on the Homeschool Review Crew for almost five years, I have at least heard about quite a bit of curriculum. Today’s review is of a program I have heard about for years because so many people have used it before! In many circles, this company is a standard for math curriculum. We are talking about Teaching Textbooks Math 4.0 from Teaching Textbooks, their computer-based, no DVDs program.
What We Received:
We were given access to Teaching Textbooks Math 4.0 digital courses for 12 months and lifetime access to the gradebooks for 2 students, grade 3 and grade 4. There is also 3 months of pause time included that do not count against the 12 months.
How It Works:
For each student/grade level, there is a downloadable program (that works like an app on my laptop) that can be accessed any time regardless of internet access. In our 2 student situation, on our computers there is an M3 app for 3rd grade and an M4 app for 4th grade. Upon loading each program, you have the option to sign in as the student or parent. In the Parent account you can manage settings, see the gradebook as well as answers. Within each app in the Student account there is an Ebook (the textbook), Lesson Work, Gradebook, Wallpaper, Book, Sticker Book, and Hint Sound Settings.
As you can see above, the lessons are presented in a book form where you can turn pages to move forward and back. Regardless of where you go, the program keeps record of lessons and quizzes the student has completed. You can jump around as you wish, but within each lesson there are 22 practice questions that build on the previous lessons as well as the lesson just taught. A neat feature is the scratchpad where you can write out your work when needed. It is certainly helpful, but its probably most useful with a touch screen. There are also Bonus Questions that are sometimes offered usually featuring math facts.
How It Worked For Us:
My 10 year old son is finishing out 4th grade and my 7 year old daughter is finishing out 2nd grade. We chose M4 for him because he was still in the 4th grade. My daughter is really good with math so I thought we could at least try her out in M3 to get a good feel for the program and, if it was too challenging, she could work up to it. What we found out is that the grade level didn’t quite match the level of their normal math curriculum (which is known to be higher than average). So my son started toward the end of the program and my daughter had no problem starting M3 from the beginning.
The setup of the program encourages student independence and doesn’t require very much parent involvement, unless the student struggles with a concept. In that case, the parent section provides the textbook (ebook) and answer key for the parent/instructor to help as needed. It is always helpful that the grades are accessed forever, which is helpful when creating a transcript.
Both of my children said the lectures were easy to understand and enjoyed decorating their space with different wallpaper and sticker fun. While the grade levels were different than what we were used to, that is easily resolved and everything else worked very well! If you are looking for a math curriculum that allows your students to work independently, but also give you plenty of feedback and opportunity to engage when needed, Teaching Textbooks is a great program to consider.
Teaching Textbooks on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Teachingtextbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TThomeschool
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingtextbooks/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVlomrjY7xTs2cRxSsuKCrw
Teaching Textbooks Math 4.0 offers programs for 3rd grade through high school, including Algebra, Geometry and Pre-Calculus. Click on the image below to check out reviews of other grade levels.
