Math

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Choosing a math curriculum can feel overwhelming. I find that people can be very opinionated about there being a “best” program. There seems to be a lot of chat about rigorous or advanced math in some homeschool circles — with the feeling that the math program you use signals your homeschool status. Let’s put all those ideas aside and focus on the factors that we should actually consider when selecting a math program:

For a deep dive into thinking about the big picture of math education as a whole, check out a podcast episode from Freakonomics, America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up.

For a homeschool-specific breakdown on choosing a math curriculum, check out Kate Snow’s How to Choose Homeschool Math Curriculum article. You can also hear her chat with The Homeschool Sisters here, here, and here.

Finally, if you are someone who just wants to dig into the research for yourself, check out my research page here.

Curriculum Review

Over the years, we have dabbled in several math programs. Below I will share a breakdown of my thoughts and pros/cons of each program we have used.

Preschool Math At Home

Kate Snow’s Preschool Math at Home is a great guide for parents & caregivers who are interested in learning more about early childhood mathematics. Our general approach to preschool has been learning through play — this looks like pointing out shapes, counting while we go upstairs, playing with patterns, etc. Most children do not need a formal, extensive math program during the preschool years. However, if you want a preschool specific math guide, this is the one I recommend.

Math With Confidence

Math With Confidence is a new homeschool math curriculum developed by Kate Snow. Kate snow is in a unique position to develop a homeschool math curriculum and has a valuable prospect. Kate Snow has math and elementary education degrees from Harvard, classroom experience, and experience as a homeschool mom. Math With Confidence is a straightforward, open-and-go, multisensory curriculum. MWC is still in the roll-out phase, with a new grade level being added each year. As of the time of writing this, grades K, 1, and 2 are available, and 3rd grade will be released June of 2023. For more on Math With Confidence, please see the following videos on my YouTube channel:

Singapore Primary 2022 Math

Primary Mathematics 2022 is the updated version of the original Singapore math curriculum developed by Marshall Cavendish. The Singapore math method is a mastery-based approach following a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach. For more on the new Primary 2022 curriculum, please see the following videos on my YouTube channel:

Singapore Math Dimensions

The Singapore Math Dimensions curriculum was developed by the American-based Singapor Math company, utilizing the Singapore math method. This curriculum offers the same concrete-pictural-abstract approach as the original Singapore math (Primary Mathematics, with an American angle. For more on Dimensions math, please see my video comparing Dimensions 1A and Primary 2022 1A here.

Beast Academy

Beast Academy is a unique math program with a focus on problem-solving, logic, and mental math. Beast Academy has two formats: paperback workbooks and an online game platform. We started with just the workbooks, which were a lot of fun. We will likely add the online game component alongside the workbooks for future levels.