Month: February 2022

Math Mammoth (review)

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Math Mammoth is a staple for many in the homeschooling community. I know we’ve used their products in the past, and I’ve been on Maria Miller’s mailing list for a long time. Their workbooks for elementary and middle school students are excellent. Because my fourth son, Dragonfly (6 years old), has been working through only some very basic math in other programs, I decided to request the Math Mammoth Grade 1 curriculum for him. We also received the Math Mammoth Skills Reviews workbook (same grade level), which I’ll talk about later in the review.

Math Mammoth was designed and written by Maria Miller, a homeschool mom who saw some serious learning gaps when she was teaching math at a co-op one day. She decided to use her math knowledge to create a series of books to help parents teach their children in an easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand way. Her Math Mammoth Light Blue Series is a complete homeschool math curriculum available for grades 1-7. You can purchase the curriculum as a digital download, a CD-ROM, or a printed workbook (we received a digital download). Everything you need to teach and have your child practice the concepts is included, and each year is separated into two books (one for each semester). The coursework is designed as a “worktext,” which means it’s a combination textbook and workbook. Everything you need to teach the math is all in the same file as the practice problems. This makes a truly open-and-go product, which is perfect for many homeschooling families.

Because we received a digital download, I was able to easily print out the pages we needed each week. I then hole punched them and placed them into a folder (one of those that you can get for a quarter at Walmart). This kept everything tidy, while also not being overwhelming for my 6-year-old, which very easily could have happened with a giant printed book. Because we worked just a week at a time, he never had to worry about feeling like he wasn’t doing enough each day. (Knowing Dragonfly, he would have easily had that feeling. He is very much an overachiever who hates when he gets a wrong answer or leaves work undone.) I was able to go over the concepts with him and then he could easily work on his own for a few minutes to get the worksheet portion of the day done.

In addition to the Light Blue Series, we also received a copy of the complimentary Skills Review Workbook. This is a product (available in the same formats as the Light Blue series) that offers additional worksheets that you can print when your child needs extra help with a specific concept. Because it’s designed as a supplement, it doesn’t have quite the same level of explanation as the Light Blue series books; it really is just extra practice worksheets. This was also particularly helpful for Dragonfly because he is a memorizer. He is very good at memorization, and simply printing extras of the regular worksheets wouldn’t have worked for him because he would just remember the answers. (This trait of his has made it tricky to teach him to read because he easily memorizes his books after just one read through.) He really needs different problems for additional practice, not just more problems.

If you’re in the market for a new math curriculum, I highly recommend Math Mammoth. The books are reasonably priced considering how much you get in it. There is literally nothing else you need thanks to the instruction and practice being an all-in-one.

What’s your favorite math curriculum for the younger grades?

Blessings,

 

 

Remember to check out additional reviews from other members of the Homeschool Review Crew!

Tiger Rising (film review)

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through Momentum Influences Network.

When my teens were little kids, they loved Kate DiCamillo’s books, especially Scorpion. He was a total bookworm from the time he was 6 until about 12 or 13. He joined book club at the library, and his favorite book he ever read as part of that group was The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. He liked it so much that we got him his own copy of the book for his birthday that year. That is one of Ms. DiCamillo’s least famous books, though. You might know her better for Because of Winn Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux.

It was because of our family’s past experience with her stories that I signed up for this review. I wanted to share her work with my younger kids, and we were unfamiliar with The Tiger Rising, so it seemed like a pretty good opportunity. For this review, we received a special code to watch the movie (temporary – like a rental). I wasn’t able to figure out how to send it from my phone to the TV so we ended up watching it on the smaller screen, just me and the little kids (ages 9, 6, and 3).

About the film:

Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid star in this beloved tale based on the New York Times best-selling book by Kate DiCamillo. When 12-year-old Rob Horton (Christian Convery) discovers a caged tiger in the woods near his home, his imagination runs wild and life begins to change in the most unexpected ways. With the help of a wise and mysterious maid, Willie May (Queen Latifah) and the stubborn new girl in school (Madalen Mills), he navigates through childhood memories, heartache, and wondrous adventures in this heartwarming adaptation.
You can watch the trailer on YouTube.
 
A family and faith discussion guide has also been put together for the film.
 
Our Thoughts:
 
My kids and I really liked this movie. It was exciting when the tiger showed up for the first time; I’d told Grasshopper (9) about the film, but not the other two, so they were really surprised to see a tiger n a cage. All through the movie, we kept pausing a bit to discuss, and it was a very valuable learning experience. I wish I’d had access through some sort of Roku channel so we could have watched on the TV instead of the phone, but it was good anyway. We loved watching Rob’s experiences as he moved through all the things he was going through and came out the other end of it all better than he started – a good lesson for people of all ages.
 
Make sure to watch the trailer, and see if The Tiger Rising is playing in a theater near you! And if it’s not (it was released in late January, so it might be out of many theaters by now), find it on your favorite streaming service. I know it’s one that we will likely rent and/or buy again in the future so we can show it to the rest of our family for movie night!
 
Blessings,

Crochet Vertical Rib Infinity Scarf

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I have a fun crochet pattern to share with you today. A couple of weeks ago, Ballet Boy asked me to make him a long cowl, but I’ve been so busy with other projects that it took me a while to get done. I finally found the perfect yarn for the project and was able to get started. It only took a few days for me to make (it was one of two projects I had going at the time), and we are both so happy with how it turned out. He gets compliments on it everywhere he goes (so he tells me).

I used Big Twist Party yarn in the color Beach, but you could use any worsted weight yarn you’d like and it would turn out beautifully. The ribbing on the scarf is so well defined all the way through, and I think it’s a really nice texture for a scarf. It gives a lot of visual interest without being difficult to crochet. And because of the infinity scarf style, there are a thousand and one different ways you can wear it! Ballet Boy’s favorite way (which turned out to be a surprise to us both as it wasn’t something he’d been considering before I finished the creation) is to put it around his waist, cross it over his chest, and loop it over his neck. This gives him extra warmth around his body as well as up around his neck for those really cold days.

Crochet Vertical Rib Infinity Scarf

Chain 35.

Row 1: HDC in second chain from hook and each chain across. Chain 1; turn. (34)

Row 2: Slip stitch into the back loops only (BLO) of each stitch across. Chain 1; turn. (34)

Row 3: HDC into the BLO of each stitch across. Chain 1; turn. (34)

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until scarf is desired length. I made Ballet Boy’s 55 inches, using a size I crochet hook. You use whatever hook and yarn you like, though, so long as they play nicely together.

End the repeat with a row 3. Loop the two ends together, right sides out, and slip stitch through the front loop of one side and the back loop of the other side to join.

Blessings,