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The following post is from Demetria of Christian Homeschool Moms. This post is sponsored by Math-U-See.
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I began using Math-U-See back in 2007 when I first started homeschooling my oldest. I fell in love with this math program right away. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you in this post. (Also, keep reading to find out more about Math-U-See’s giveaway of one complete level of their math curriculum to a resident of the continental United States).
What is Math-U-See?
Math-U-See is a multi-sensory, mastery-based mathematics program that allows kids to “see” and understand how math works in a hands-on manner. The first few levels begin with a heavy emphasis on using manipulatives, and it comes with a set of pattern blocks as well as an instructional DVD.
Since the program doesn’t correspond with traditional grade levels, this self-paced learning approach allows students to grasp key concepts one at a time on each level. The program starts with Primer and Alpha which covers the basics of skip-counting, place value, and adding. The program then progresses to higher levels named Beta, Delta, Epsilon, and so forth (named after Greek letters) – which cover fractions, decimals, and more.
Why I Enjoy Math-U-See
I purchased both Primer and Alpha levels for my kids as they first began their journey of learning and understanding mathematics. I feel that this curriculum is a gentle approach to learning math and supports all types of learners- visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The manipulatives help kinesthetic learners pull it all together, while the accompanying audio CD (which contains skip-counting songs) and the DVD (which contains Mr. Demme’s instructions) support the audio and visual learner.
For parents whose comfort level in mathematics is minimal, Mr. Demme’s support through his recorded math workshop sessions on DVD make teaching math so much easier. Just pop in the DVD at the beginning of the week’s lesson and watch him explain math concepts to a group of kids on the video in a fun and engaging way. I wish I’d been taught math this way. Somehow Mr. Demme comes up with the niftiest tricks that were never taught in any of my schools. If they had been, I might have understood math better.
We found that watching Mr. Demme explain the concepts for the week helped us to easily navigate through the week’s lessons. My daughter spent about 20 minutes in the Primer level watching the video and completing one page of around 4-8 math problems. This was followed up with the remaining week days of simply completing one math lesson per day. The lessons are short, and that’s what sold me. Each video explains the concept for the week, and the week’s lessons reiterate the video lesson. It’s all simplified and easy to follow.
If my child ever needs extra practice, MUS offers a worksheet generator. Just select your book level, the type of lesson, and voila! Create your worksheet. Also, lessons are reinforced with extra practice through the online drill page.
Music
Did I mention that music also gets my daughter moving? This program offers the Skip Count CD and songbook for kids learning to skip count by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s. It also gets them more familiar with the doubles and addition facts. The CD we have is the Christian version, but there is also a secular version.
Manipulatives
Pattern blocks in sets of ones (units), tens, and hundreds help kinesthetic kids to really “see” math at work. My six year old is especially fond of this program, mainly because of the pattern blocks. She’s a kinesthetic learner, and any chance to touch and build gets her moving.
These blocks are a big hit in our home. In the Math-U-See program, each block set has its own name. The eights blocks are lovingly referred to as “choco-late” or “chocolate eight,” and you can make similar names to help younger kids identify the block colors with the number they represent.
Older kids learn geometry, fractions, decimals, pre-algebra and more using fraction overlays and decimal inserts.
The Manipulative App
Another cool feature is Math-U-See’s new manipulative app- for preschool through algebra 1 levels. It works as a supplement to the manipulatives, and allows you to take math on the go. It’s available in both the App Store and the Chrome Web Store.
Here is a quick video tour of how my daughter uses it:
The app is a great way to take the MUS program on-the-go. Your student can practice math concepts using the digital version of the manipulatives, as well as the integrated concepts of fractions and decimals. The hallmark Decimal Street is included on the app, as well as white board functions. Choose a color, write out your math problem with your finger, and erase with a simple stroke! The one feature that was most attractive to me are the digital blocks that are the same color as the physical ones. On the app, you can move them around and piece them together similarly as you would with the physical blocks.
Why Math-U-See Works For Us
Although my middle schooler is using other options for school now, I appreciate the fact that online co-op classes are offered for pre-algebra through calculus. I always have peace of mind for math knowing that if we needed the extra math support, we could register her for an online class with Math-U-See and get the help she needs.
Overall, we have thoroughly enjoyed Math-U-See over the years. It’s been the one math program that has made introducing math to my kids a breeze, and I think it lays a strong foundation for understanding math in later years. My oldest daughter has woven in and out of math programs, but will never forget her strong start with Math-U-See. My six year old enjoys math today as a direct result of this program.
Thanks to Math-U-See for sponsoring this post and giveaway!
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Its my first official year homeschooling a 1st grader, Kindergartener, 3 year old AND 6 month old! My kids are very musical and THRIVE with structure like this MUS advertises. Two of my little ones are gifted! I thinj
…think this would be a blessing! (Cell phn probs) lol
We don’t have just one feature we love…. We just love the program. It makes math so low stress.
I was homeschooled growing up (until my junior year of high school) and we used Mortensen for math, which looks to be pretty similar in manner to Math U See. I loved it! I now homeschool my two eldest girls, and they are very kinesthetic and tactile in their learning styles. I have been wanting to check out Math U See as a possible fit for our family–we would love a chance to win the material! Thank you for the opportunity!
I like the fact that the lessons are short and there’s a worksheet generator. I’ve had homeschooling friends who have recommended this program but I haven’t tried it yet. Thanks.
I love Math U See because it has the concepts in a logical sequential order and it is so easy to adjust the pace as needed, as only one topic is covered at a time. It is flexible and I never feel “locked in” to a certain timeline or pace. It has been a great fit for our family. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
I’ve used math u see from alpha thru zeta and my kids all loved it. My son went to public school for 8 & 9 grade, but is back home. He asked can I do math u see again? Looking at buying the algebra set.
I love Math U See. I love how MUS takes all guess work out. It makes math simple to understand. We have used it for three years and would love the next set of books, which for us would be Gamma.
I love the inclusion of music in a math program since the two subjects are so closely related and intertwined.
We absolutely love Math u see! It’s been perfect for my son. I’d love the opportunity to win! Thanks so much.
https://twitter.com/mjeaustin78/status/513031430016753664
I desperately need a geometry course for my sophomore!
We need a new approach to math. This looks awesome!
https://twitter.com/abczoomom/status/513036216585818112
We love the blocks. Of course after 3 kids we’ve lost most of them and need to start over for the younger set… 🙂
I love the fact that it is multi-sensory. My kids aren’t school age yet, but I would love the chance to check out this math program.
We are just starting our second series of books for Math U See and love the program. The DVD’s are a huge help for me … he explains everything very clearly and the kids always grasp easily to the new subject. We actually had tried several other programs and my daughter was very behind on her math skills, so we went back to the Beta books and have had her work forward from there with wonderful results!
I love how hands-on this program is. I have heard lots of good things about Math You See. I’d love to try it with my boys!
I love the dvd that comes with it. ODD gets super excited at the beginning of the week to watch her next “lesson”
I’ve been wanting to try Math U See!
I would love to win a level of this because mathusee has helped my son finally get math.
We love the songs that go along with the lessons. My three year old listens in on brother’s lessons and can skip count already 🙂
We love Math U See! We’ve been using it for the last 5 years! As a very non-math person it has really helped *me* to understand math as I’m teaching my girls. I’m a huge fan of “slow and steady wins the race”, especially when it comes to math because I really want them to get it and not just get by. We have seen great results with this approach combined with MUS. At the rate my daughter is moving she will be finished with Delta around Christmas and we’ll be ready to move on to Epsilon and I’d love to win it! Thanks for the review and the giveaway!
This is our second year homeschooling our sons and we love it! Homeschooling has been nothing short of a blessing for our military life! We have a 7 & 5 year old who are probably two of the busiest little boys I have ever met. What I do not love is Saxon math and neither do they. It has been pretty rough over the past few month and we have come to realize that Saxon isn’t for us. We would absolutely love to use MUS ASAP and I really like the hands on mastery approach. I think it would be prefect for our sons. The musical aspect of it is a huge plus. Thanks so much for the opportunity!!
Jess
I am a single mom of a 6-year-old boy who was struggling with math. I had already purchased curriculum for this year, and needless to say, the math program we had just didn’t work (after spending $75 on it). I couldn’t get myself to buy another program, but after days of tantrums (on both of our parts, lol), I caved and purchased the Alpha set. Not only is math no longer a struggle, but after our school day is over, he asks if we can do more math. My kid….asking to do more math….MIND BLOWN! 🙂 I love the simplicity of it. As a single mom, working full-time, I don’t have much time to prepare lessons, so this works PERFECTLY for us. Such a huge blessing for our little family!
I absolutely love the program, and we are on our third year! With the way the concepts are taught, and the order they are taught it, it is almost effortless to step from one lesson to the next, as a solid foundation has been leading up to it, teaching ideas and concepts that flow over so very well! Math-U-See is a blessing in our homeschool!
I’ve been researching a Math program to use with my almost 5 year old. I really like Math-U-See for all the reasons you listed! Would love to win a complete level!
I love how it is laid out for my daughter she enjoys being able to use the blocks.
I love Math-U-See because even though my math teachers failed me, I don’t feel like a failure when I teach my son! I never did well in math in school but because MUS is so clear and easy-to-understand, I can finally understand WHY we do things a certain way, and that has made it click for me so I can easily teach it to my son. He isn’t even 5 yet and is already adding 10s together and skip-counting…years Ahead of where I was at his age! I cannot say enough good things about MUS. I wish Mr. Demme had been my teacher growing up!
We have used math u see for every year we have homeschooled. Now on year 4, I have no plans of changing. I love the simplicity of the workbook pages. Thanks for hosting this give away! I am hoping to win–we need the next level for my oldest in January. 🙂
We have done Math U See from Beta and now working on Epsilon and Zeta. It’s a great help having the DVD’s . I have 4 kids and they have really all done well with this program so far.
My son struggled in math until we found MUS. Now he loves it. The program makes learning and teaching math fun.
This is a program hopefully my daughter can identify with. With math being a challenge by itself, having a learning disability does not help. I am hoping to win this program to help my daughter.
I love Math U See, and I like that it had videos to teach, since math isn’t my favorite to teach! I would love to win since I have 4 kids and the costs for curriculum add up fast!
I would love to win because I love that the whole point of math u see is for the kids to really see it. The manipulative a are such a great idea! I really want to use this curriculum with my son!
https://twitter.com/2LittleDuckling/status/513081957714907138
I love that one page of math isn’t overwhelming. Enough to learn and practice the concept, but never too much.
I’ve used MUS with my oldest and plan to continue with my next 3. I love that it has DVD teaching sessions 🙂
My favorite feature of Math-u-see is the manipulatives, they really help my son to grasp the concepts better.
My daughter loves Math-U-See. We have used it since her Kindergarten year (she is now in 3rd grade). She BEGS me to do math each day! She is a visual and tactile learner so this program is perfect for her. It helps immensely to use the blocks. Whenever she is stumped on a math problem, she says (outloud!), “That’s ok…I can build it.” This program has offered her confidence and made math more concrete for her. Thanks for the giveaway!!!
This is our first year using Math U See. We used a very popular curriculum in the past and decided it was time for a change. We are using Primer, Alpha and Delta. My children tell me everyday how much they love math now. No more long intensive math worksheets…….just true learning. So glad we made the change.
My favorite feature of MUS would be the DVD lessons!
I love how simple it is to use. Winning a level would really bless our family.
https://twitter.com/kalehew/status/513104506842652672
My daughter has struggled with math in the past, and I’d love a chance to try this program with her!
https://twitter.com/APhilosophyMom/status/513104913857912832
I LOVE Math U See for my youngest!! He suffers from Dyscalculia. It’s basically
Difficulty learning to count
Trouble recognizing printed numbers
Difficulty tying together the idea of a number (4) and how it exists in the world (4 horses, 4 cars, 4 children)
Poor memory for numbers
Trouble organizing things in a logical way – putting round objects in one place and square ones in another
AND this is the only program around that he understands and feels comfortable in. With the struggles he faces daily, it’s nice to be able to see a smile of accomplishment with something; and that’s MUS!!!!!
We love Mr. Demme! He is so much more articulate that I could ever be! Grateful for his teaching videos!
Would love to try this with my son. He is doing worksheets now but is not grasping as well as his brother did with worksheets.
Would love to try cause I’ve heard lots of good things about this program! Thanks!
At the moment, the CD is my favorite feature. My son absolutely loves music, and loves following along in the song book.
Every one I know that has used MUS raves about it! I think I like the way that it works for different styles of learning. I have 1 child that is more of a hands on learner & I think this would work really well for him.
https://twitter.com/beckymilstead/status/513107777082753024
We’ve used this curriculum in the past and really liked it. It would be a blessing to be able to win it 🙂
Thanks
I like that a teaching DVD is available. This is good news to someone like me who struggles with math.
We live learning from Mr. Demme on the DVDs!
I currently have three children using Math-U-See and we all love it. I love the worksheet generator for those times that we get stuck for a while!
I love it’s multi-sensory devevelpmental approach, as well ease of individualizing instruction.
I would love to try Math-U-See, my son struggles with math. We’re trying different programs to see what will “click” for him.
I love how the program is divided into easy-to-accomplish chunks. My kids are learning a lot but don’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of daily work.
We have been using MUS for SEVERAL years. We love it and I recommend it to anyone looking for a math program.
My son thinks MUS is a game and loves to do it. That’s definitely my favorite part!
https://twitter.com/senora_m12/status/513122463278854144
I like the curriculum. We will be homeschooling and the kids both love music so this would be a great way for them to incorporate one thing they love with what they are learning (to love also? hopefully :))
Thanks for the giveaway. My kindergartener would be so happy if we won!
I really want to try this. I just started homeschooling my kindergartener. I had picked something out to use for math and it didn’t work out. It was actually pretty bad!!! My BFF uses MUS and recommends it. It looks like a great program and I like the manipulatives and that it has music with it! I have four kids with one on the way, so I know they would all enjoy using it as we go through the years! Thanks for a chance to win!!
We love Math-U-See. It has helped both of my boys have a love and strong foundation for math skills. It would be a great blessing to win a free year since my 3rd son (out of 4) will be starting next year!
I love all the hands on activities that are a part of Math-U-See. We recently adopted 2 children from rough backgrounds and are homeschooling them to help them develop a firm foundation. They would benefit from this program in so many ways and it seems like it would be a lot less stress for all of us, which these days would be a huge blessing. I would love to win this giveaway!
This is our 3rd year of homeschooling and our kids love Math U See. The multi-sensory teaching method is the key for our household. Math is now our favorite subject!
I love the video. The boys love the blocks!
I would love to try this with my son he has a really hard time with all his school work I homeschool him and he will say he is confused. Thanks and God Bless
Just started Primer this year with my 5yo daughter, and so far, we love it! She insists that Mr. Demme is her math teacher (not me!). I love the simple instruction given on the DVD, and the way lessons lead her to concept mastery.
Would love to win this – I’ve been eyeing this product for quite some time and think it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. Thanks for the giveaway and the review.
I’ve heard so many good things about MUS. I’d love to win it for my daughter. This is our first year homeschooling her and her current curriculum just seems lacking to me.
This is our first year using Math U See and we love it! Love the instruction on the videos and the depth that it goes into. I feel my children are getting a true grasp of math that will stick with them!
I love Math U See because my son asks for his math every day!
I love the manipulatives that go along with math u see. Switching to math u see made a huge difference for child’s understanding of math! Thanks!
This is my 3rd math curriculum with my youngest. None of the things that worked with the first 2 worked for her. Finally I tried mathusee &. The hands on is really helping. For the first time she is understanding place value. She enjoys and gets the manipulatively. Yay,
I would love to win this , I have a pre kindergartener and this would be great to start her on Math.
My family and I love Math-U-See! I love the DVDs and how my helping my daughters learn mathematics has helped me strengthen what I was reluctant to learn as a youth. 🙂
The absolute best part of Math U See would have to be the freedom that’s built into each lesson. After introducing each concept in a straightforward manner, the option to do as many or as little of the lesson practices and reviews gives me and my son the freedom to move on after mastery or to continue working on it until mastery. This gives him a sense of “I got this really fast” or “I need to do all of this lessons work”, but without making him feel defeated when it’s a concept that he doesn’t master immediately.
I have literally been homeschooling my son since he was 1. He is 4, going to be 5 in December. He has Aspergers, Sensory Processing Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Pediatric Feeding Disorder, and he amazes me every day! He has always loved to learn and is definitely my auditory/visual/kinesthetic learner. He loves hands-on things and Math U See seems to be right up his ally! His two favorite subjects where he is fully engaged and focused is Math and Science. He loves working with numbers, playing games with numbers, and loves my hands-on science experiments we set up together. I am part of a couple homeschooling groups in my area and some use Math-U See and they love it! So I would love to win and give it a go with my special little man:) Thank u! Take care- Jen
My daughter has been through a parade of math curricula. Nothing works. People keep saying she should try MUS, but I have spent so much on math curricula. I hate to spend another chunk of money for another math program only to find that it won’t work for her either. If I could win it, we could try it risk-free.
We have been using Math-U-See for 10 years! My favorite feature is that MUS works for all learning styles. I have three children, all with different learning styles, and each child can use the program and master math! If I had a twitter, I would tweet about this valuable resource that has been with us since the start of our homeschooling journey!
This is our second year homeschooling and have enjoyed using Primer so far. I didn’t know they had CDs to sing along, this sounds cool! Would love to keep building our MUS library! Thanks!
My daughter is in 5th grade and she struggles with math. It doesn’t help that I am also weak in math. From the sound of this review, it might be just the thing to keep us on track!!
My daughters have been so successful with this program! My youngest loves the manipulatives for hands on learning, and my oldest just digs right into the clear format of the work sheets. We would LOVE to get the next level!
I like Math U See video lessons. Makes thing easier for me when I don’t have to teach the lesson or try to explain it. If I need to, I watch with my kid and then I know how to further explain and reinforce if they need more help.
It’s the only math that works for all 5 of my different learning styled children. So grateful for it!
I love that MUS is multi-sensory and sequential. We are doing some back tracking with my son through homeschooling and this is just what he needs.
I used MathUSee nearly a decade ago with my (now adult) stepson & loved how it focused on mastering concepts before moving on. And now there’s an app for that?!
I tweeted!
https://twitter.com/foster2forever/status/513516766626983936
I have heard such great things about this program. I love that it is so hands on. I really think that my kids and I would both love it if we won this!
Would live to win mathusee primer for my little 3yr old to start next year. She loves numbers and blocks and counting but is quite the kinetic learner.
I tweeted : https://mobile.twitter.com/catbenedict/status/513525860712718336
I would love to win this and get my preschooler started off in the right direction with math! Thank you.
This sounds awesome. Math is not my favorite. I imagine the CDs would be a great help.
This would be a HUGE blessing!! This is our third year homeschooling and we are still struggling trying to find a math curriculm my daughter likes/understands. She is a hands on learner, so this product sounds amazing!!! 🙂
I don’t have twitter, what I do have are 7 children that can do Math!! I love that there are numerous worksheets to practice the new skill and then the past skills are brought back in for review, so it keeps building the Math. We can stay on a skill or fact until it is mastered and they (my kids) know it is mastered and confident in their skills.
Thank you for this chance, as I am just now beginning at the beginning of MUS all over again!
I think my favorite feature is the manipulatives. We’ve used Saxon in the past and it’s just not as hands-on.
I appreciate the mental math, practice pages, and DVD for the times I am working with another child and I need “another” teacher.
This is our 2nd year using Math-U-See. My daughter hated math before. While it’s not her most favorite subject- we no longer have to fight about it. My son absolutely loves Math-U-See and I am shocked at how quickly he has picked up and absorbed Math. Both of my kids adore Mr Demme 🙂
This would be such a blessing! I love Math-U-See!
I am math phobic being scarred as a child by many math teachers who didn’t realize I was number dyslexic. This looks like it would be a blessing to start my Kindergartner off right!
My ASD son could really use the manipulatives. He is a tactile and visual learner. Would love to win!
We LOVE Math U See! It is so exciting for my son and he is such a visual and hands-on learner that this program works very well for him! We would love to win!
We love the videos. It takes the pressure off me to teach and the kids love MUS so far! They actually work ahead now;)
Math-U-See changed our math hour ever day! My son was getting extremely bored and so I thought I would change it up a bit. I researched Math-U-See and thought I would give it a try. SO glad I did! He loves it!!!
I stay home with my four kids, ages 6, 5, 2 & 1 yrs. I’ve been hoping to add a math program in for my oldest in the near future, and I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Math U See, but I have yet to get the chance to do that. This would be such a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to try Math U See and hopefully fall in love with the program as I’ve heard so many others do!
I have wanted this but was reluctant to take my Kids back to the beginning. After trying two other curricula, I’m ready to do it right! With MUS!
Thanks for the review and giveaway! I have tried, unsuccessfully, two math programs with our DD and have been recently introduced to MUS. Have been excited and hoping to purchase this program for her as I think she would benefit from the DVD instruction and the manipulatives. What a blessing it would be to win! Thanks again!
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/considerfields/status/515497068874727424
I would love to win this as I have been struggling to teach my kids math for a while now, with no help from the school they go to !
We are looking to begin using Math-U-See! This giveaway would be a wonderful jumpstart! 🙂