Why We *Heart* Math-U-See

We've used Math-U-See for our math curriculum since the beginning of our official homeschooling years (3 years ago, now). We requested the free demo DVD from their website - I believe now instead of getting a DVD, you can watch it directly on their site. When it arrived, Michael and I sat down and watched it together, and by the end, Michael said "Wow, I might have actually been good at math if it had been explained to me that way. Let's use it!"

Admittedly, there was a period of a few months when I was tempted by the color of the grass elsewhere, and tried something different. Those few months of math were filled with frustration, tears, and discouragement, on both the part of the student and the teacher. It was a very short-lived jaunt to the other side of the fence, and one that won't be repeated!

Needless to say, we are Math-U-See fans through and through! As I was going over math with the boys today, I thought I'd go ahead and expound a little on why we like Math-U-See so much.

• The most obvious reason - it works. The boys get math. They are challenged, but are learning, retaining, and mastering.

• The older boys (9 and 7) are already able to do their math independently. Of course, I check their work and meet with them over any difficulties they might be having, but overall, they watch their video, do their lessons, and it doesn't take up alot of my direct time and energy. Always a plus in a large family homeschool!

• We're able to schedule the lessons however works best for us. Usually the boys do a lesson a week, watching the video on Monday and taking the lesson exam on Thursday. If they've had some struggle with a concept, we can stretch it out as long as we need to until they really grasp it.
  

• The littles can be entertained with the blocks, too! Are they toys? Are they school materials? The blurrier that line is, the better, sometimes!

• Mr. Demme is the father to 4 boys. I feel like he knows what our days are like, lol!

• The super-duper handy resources available on their website. We frequently use their online drill site as well as their worksheet generator. The drill site is great for making sure they have the basics down, and the worksheet generator is perfect for when they need just a touch more practice before moving on to their next lesson - and they're both so easy to use! There are other resources, too, but I haven't used them yet.
  

• The boys love the videos, and think Mr. Demme is really funny. We'll hear about his jokes at the dinner table. Even Michael (king of all corny jokes, besides my dad) tells the "Unique Rabbit" joke frequently, or at least his numerous variations of it.

• I only recently stumbled across Steve's ministry blog, "The Family That Stays Together..." but after reading it and listening to and watching his messages, I am thankful all the more that we support his company. Hearing his personal testimonies about raising up sons in the Lord is so encouraging! His wisdom definitely extends beyond just the math realm.

(Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this glowing review... in fact, Math-U-See doesn't even know about it! ;-) The only true reward I can claim is children who enjoy math, and that's a pretty good one, if you ask me!)