Homeschool Curriculum Series: Math

We’ve had the privilege of learning from some very good resources in our homeschool, and I thought I’d like to share some of them. As new homeschoolers soon discover, there is so much to choose from that finding resources is never a problem, but trying to choose something can be downright intimidating. I would not attempt to say that our choices are the best; there are just too many excellent choices out there to use them all, but here’s some that have worked well for us.

First up, math. Our main curriculum throughout the kids’ school years has been Saxon Math. We skipped the kindergarten set and started them on the first grade course when they were four, which worked great. We followed Saxon’s books all the way through, except skipping Saxon 87 and going straight to Algebra 1/2. (I heard 87 was sort of just repetition, and we didn’t have any problem going straight to Algebra.) My oldest got through Algebra 1 and 2, Advanced Mathematics, and Calculus by partway into 11th grade. The youngest starts Advanced Mathematics this year in ninth grade. I like Saxon because, early on, I learned some good mental math skills I’d never known before and they’ve helped me ever since, and I feel like my kids got a good command of math.

I saw a book once called Grocery Cart Math, and while we didn’t use it, it gave me an idea and I put together a few of my own math investigations which the boys had to do during trips to the grocery store, just practical things like comparing prices and amounts, determining which thing is a better buy, hidden costs, sales and coupons.

Geometric Constructions from Castle Heights Press was a fun math supplement in that it used stories and riddles to teach constructions. Paper and pencil, a protractor, and a compass were all that were needed. I don’t find it readily available now, but I’m sure many similar books exist.

One thing Saxon didn’t have was a consumer math text. We used A Beka’s Consumer Mathematics, which taught some good, practical things about credit, banking, insurance, budgeting, taxes, financial planning, etc.

In your search for curriculum, you may want to refer to Cathy Duffy Reviews, a comprehensive breakdown of curriculum choices. She’ll tell you everything you need to know to make good choices.