If you go to a fair, chances are good you’ll get to meet one of the Curriculum Counselors from Math-U-See. Susan Crothers is one of these talented and experienced individuals who has been with us for 16 years and used Math-U-See to teach her (now 25-year-old) child all the way through school. We sat down with her and asked if she would recommend visiting Math-U-See at a fair if you have a chance. Not surprisingly, her answer was a resounding “yes!” for several reasons.

New Homeschoolers
One of Susan’s true joys of staffing the Math-U-See booth at curriculum fairs is the chance to talk to new homeschool moms who are trying to put together the important curriculum for their child’s first home learning experience.  What a blessing to be a part of such an important decision. How does Math-U-See work? How much time does it take each day? How can it be tailored to your child’s needs? Each of our Curriculum Counselors is able (and willing) to spend all the time you need to feel comfortable with the Math-U-See program (of course, that doesn’t end when you leave the fair – we’re only a phone call or e-mail away).

Advice on Where to Start
Our Curriculum Counselors have over 100 years of combined experience with Math-U-See, and they are a parent’s best resource for placement advice. While competency exams are available online and at the fairs for placement assistance, nothing can take the place of an experienced counselor who will take the time to chat with you about your child (or chat with your child) to determine his or her levels of math fluency, specific learning quirks and preferences, and long-term math goals. Or have your student take the competency exam in advance and bring the results to discuss with a Counselor. We’ll help you feel comfortable that your student is placed at his or her proper level.

Learning Styles
Our Counselors can give you advice on how Math-U-See works with different learning styles, as well as how to teach multiple children at various levels of ability. Homeschooling a 5-year-old beginner, an 8-year-old math-phobe, and a 12-year-old prodigy? We’ve dealt with that before and can give you concrete and immediately useful suggestions on how Math-U-See can work with your kids, your schedule, your personality—your specific situation. Susan says of her own experience, “I love that when teaching my daughter, not only did she have the opportunity to become math-minded, I did as well.”

Now, so far, while all of this might be more fun in person, we have to admit that you can do all of this stuff on the phone or online (when our Curriculum Counselors aren’t jetting around to glamorous curriculum fairs, they’re right here at Math-U-See, talking or chatting online with customers just like you).  So what’s the big draw to come to the booth? The BLOCKS.

Yes, the blocks. We don’t call it “Math-U-SEE” for nothing. Come to a fair and see how Math-U-See works in person, with your own eyes and hands. Visit Decimal Street™ and review place value. Build your own multiplication problem. Factor your own fractions. Polynomials with colorful manipulatives? You better believe it—but it’s much easier to believe it if you see it with your own eyes. Susan says, “I continue to be amazed at how all the concepts of math work together, build upon each other and even make sense. It is so much fun to see when the moment comes….wait for it…their eyes light up, they “See it” and there it is… “oooh”. And you know they’ve got it!” So come and see what all the fuss is about and start developing your own math-minded child.

Can’t Get to a “Brick and Mortar” Fair?
Visit Math-U-See at the new online Homeschool Virtual Convention from Home Educating Family. Our online booth has many of the advantages of our physical booth, with sample lessons from each level, information about all of our books and manipulatives, and demonstrations and testimonials from users at all levels. Leave a message for us, and one of our Curriculum Counselors will get back to you as soon as possible. You’ll need to register to visit, but once you do, you’ll have access to all the free information, workshops, and giveaways from Math-U-See and dozens of other quality homeschool curriculum providers.

1. We’re Multi-Sensory, so we’re better in person. Get a feel for our Manipulative Blocks and build your own multiplication problem. Listen to an explanation of how to teach place value or polynomials. See a lesson for yourself and learn how Steve has simplified the teaching of math. (As for taste and smell…well, we’ll work on that.)
2. Get advice from our expert Curriculum Counselors. From assessment questions to help with specific math topics, we’re there to help. Remember, all of our Curriculum Counselors have had extensive training, and many of them have taught their own students. We’ve been there and can relate to your questions. We have demonstrations of lessons from each of our courses, so you can get a feel for how Math-U-See works all the way from Primer through Calculus. It’s a chance to meet the people who are most familiar with Math-U-See, who are best equipped to help you meet the challenge of teaching math to all levels of students. They can offer suggestions on how to tailor your teaching to best meet your student’s needs. And they love to hear your tips, too – we learn so much from our users every day.
3. Free shipping! If you ever buy curriculum at your local fair, you know how heavy all those books and bags and boxes get as the day wears on. We offer free shipping promotions for orders placed at fairs, so save money and save your back – it’s one less set of heavy books you’ll have to lug around all day. We’ll ship them right to your house. It’s always an exciting day when the Math-U-See boxes arrive.
4. Meet other Math-U-See users. Share ideas and suggestions that have worked for you and your kids. We find that our customers are a friendly and encouraging bunch. At our booth, you’ll find users who have been successfully using our curriculum for a decade or more, as well as newbies who are looking for advice and tips, and all levels in between. Whether you’re looking to advise, ask, or socialize, you’ll enjoy your visit. Maybe you’ll connect with other users and find support in your local area. Homeschool conventions in general are often designed as more than curriculum sales. With workshops, seminars, and opportunities to meet and fellowship with other homeschoolers, you will come away refreshed and encouraged in your task – possibly the most important job you’ll ever have.
5. Meet your Math Teacher. Steve will be at several fairs this year. Often, he is a featured convention speaker, sharing his wisdom about homeschooling and parenting with his typical humor. As a former homeschooling dad of four boys, one with special needs, he has a lot to share. But even if he’s not speaking formally, he loves to hang out in the booth and meet all of Math-U-See’s fans, answer questions, and pose for photos. (And yes, he’s just as fun in real life as he seems on the videos) Visit our events page to see if he’s going to be at the one nearest you, and check your local homeschool convention’s website to see if he’s speaking there!

Visit Us At a Fair Near You
Our 2012 Fair Schedule is on our website – find out when we’ll be in your neighborhood, share some fellowship time with us and your fellow users, and get free shipping on your Math-U-See supplies.

Get Support Teaching Secondary Math
Not feeling quite ready to support your independent learner through higher math? Our new 2012-2013 Summer and School Year Online Co-op Class schedule is available now and is an economical way to get support from an experienced teacher in a small-group, online class setting. We offer online classes for each of the Secondary Math courses, from Pre Algebra through Calculus. Taught by lifelong learners who have tutored students and edited curriculum in all levels of Secondary Math, these courses meet online each week and include assignments and tests to be completed at home during the week.Tests are provided with the instructional materials and are corrected automatically online. The multiple choice format of the tests help prepare students for standardized testing. While Math-U-See will provide test results and percentage for each course, parents are responsible for assigning a final grade in the course. Visit MathUSee.com/onlineco-op for the current summer and fall course offerings and fees.

Here are two missives I received from April, a homeschool mom. I was intrigued by her first email and asked for more information. She sent me the rest of the story in email number two.

Email 1
We have been using Math-U-See for the past 8 years with our son and 2 daughters. Over the years, I have had several other homeschoolers say that they switched to a different curriculum because the higher level courses seemed too easy. However, after getting half way through the Algebra 2 curriculum, our son tested into PreCalculus/Trigonometry at the local community college as a high school junior. So much for those homeschoolers who say that your curriculum is not challenging enough! I think they confuse easy to understand with too easy. It shouldn’t be Math-U-See, it should be Math E Z to Understand!

Email 2
My husband has helped tutor several homeschoolers struggling with math, as he was a math major in college. He always suggests that they switch to your program and before long he is out of a job. Praise the Lord for a math program that is successful with so many different learning styles!

Thanks, April, for this affirmation that Math-U-See works throughout the upper levels.

Math-U-See is Trying to Work Itself out of a Job
We are continually improving our curricula and making it more customer friendly. In the last few years we have added complete step-by-step solutions (thanks to many of you for the kind suggestion) to the upper level books and activity sheets to some of the general math books.

We have always had competent and willing customer support staff to walk you through difficult material. Recently, we added online co-ops, for students who needed regular assistance with upper level courses.

Our goal is to make Math-U-See so teachable that you will not need to access any of our customer support services.

-Steve

From Ethan – A Lifelong Learner
I was born at a young age and from the moment I entered the world my parents have been involved every step of the way. They raised and educated my three brothers and me at home with a philosophy of building lifelong learners. With four boys who each had a very different learning style, they were able to adapt and creatively develop an approach that produced a good outcome for all of us.

More importantly than just having me memorize and repeat facts, my parents taught me how to learn and how to apply that learning. I believe this is what every home educating parent wishes for their children. If we can’t apply the skills we are learning, then why are we learning them? Education needs real-life application, and in teaching children how to learn, we are equipping them with the skills they need to succeed in college, at the workplace and most importantly, in life. An old Chinese proverb states, “If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he can eat for a lifetime.” We want students to learn to “learn for a lifetime.”

Here at Math-U-See we are in the business of building lifelong learners, not simply math students. Our complete K-12 math curriculum is skill based, parent engaged, and multi sensory. Steve Demme was a homeschool dad (mine) whose desire was to teach his kids to grow up and become lifelong learners. Math-U-See is a tool to help parents reach that goal.

To that end, we believe that education should be skill-based, applicable, and build on itself. The parent should be involved, and, because of the variety of learning styles of our students, education should be multi-sensory. We are proud to say that our beliefs about education are borne out in our curriculum.

National Summit on Education Reform
I recently attended the National Summit on Education Reform hosted by the Foundation for Excellence in Education and was excited to learn about the ideas for reforming America’s education system. Many of those ideas will seem quite familiar to our Math-U-See family. During one of the sessions, I commented to legislators and education directors at my table that Math-U-See has been training parents to teach this way for the last 21 years.

The main themes discussed during the conference had a strong correlation to the methods of teaching that I recognized from my experience as a homeschool graduate. For example, research indicates that it is important to assess the student’s level and move at his or her pace, focusing on key concepts and mastering those items before advancing. Progress should be monitored with continual assessment, and students benefit from a digital component to curriculum that allows the teacher to be a tutor rather than a lecturer. Not surprisingly, teachers that  teach the same child for multiple grades are better equipped to meet the needs of the child.

The difference between the 20th and 21st century education models is in a focus on application and preparation for life. Students learn better when teachers focus on application and make the learning relevant to the students’ lives. The focus should be on mastery rather than on grade levels. Teachers need continual training to ensure these best practices are being implemented, and in order to achieve the best results for the student, parental engagement is necessary.

It is encouraging to see the Math-U-See model and my own personal experience echoed in these proposed reforms in educational methods presented at the Educational Reform Summit. The philosophy of home education and Math-U-See are on the right track, and I believe that the larger world of education can benefit from the innovations that have come from parents getting involved and taking responsibility for their kids’ education from home.

-Ethan Demme

Growing up, our family had a tradition. Every year at Thanksgiving each of us would write a list of what we were thankful for in the past year. This year at Math-U-See we are thankful for many things and we wanted to share them with you.

Peter, who teaches our online co-op classes, is thankful for the students that he has the privilege of teaching.

Susan from customer service is thankful for many things:

1. Customers with faithful hearts that are dedicated to their family core values and upbringing of their children.
2. A country where we have the freedom to homeschool.
3. Mentors and friends who helped her through years of homeschooling.

Kevin in accounting is thankful for his wife, his job and moving to Lancaster.

Joseph (our video guy) is thankful for the Math-U-See team and looking forward to decorating for Christmas.

Amanda from customer service is thankful for too many things to list, but most of all for her Savior Jesus Christ, family, friends and co-workers. She is also thankful for her country and the freedoms that allow us to worship and school our children at home!!

Jamie in IT is thankful for

1. The Lord who provides for us.
2. His awesome wife and kids .
3. Having a great job after looking for a full time job for 18 months.

Andy in shipping is thankful for God’s grace and healing!

Miriam, our Sr. Editor, is thankful for a job that she loves, and for the great young people that she gets to work with.

Christina from customer service is thankful for:

1. The moms and dads who do their research and choose Math-U-See for their children.
2. A job where she gets to encourage home educating moms.
3. Being in her 18th year of teaching Math-U-See to her children.

We are all thankful for old and new employees, and most of all, for our wonderful customers.

What are you thankful for?

Please tell us on our Math-U-See Facebook Page.

Ethan Demme

I have been asked this question several times by a parent who has several children and is interested in maximizing her time. As an example, let’s say she has a seven year old student and another who is eight and a half. Perhaps the seven year old, who I will call Seth, is more adept in math than the eight year old, who I will name Jake. She thinks it will be a good idea to move them along together to save teaching time and energy, and she writes and asks my opinion.

There are several factors to consider, but generally my experience is that this is not a good idea for the following reasons. There is one exception addressed in point 3 below.

1. Generally one of the students will emerge as the brighter student and answer most of your questions when you are teaching. In my example, this would most likely be Seth. While Seth is actively engaged with the lesson, Jake will shut down. Classroom teachers have this same dynamic where the brighter students raise their hand and ask questions, while those who are not as quick to comprehend, sit back and observe.

   The advantage of tutoring (versus classroom teaching) is that you the teacher, have the ability to teach one at a time, adapt the lesson to his learning style, and move at his pace. When presenting new material one-on-one, you are able to discern more readily if they comprehend what you are teaching. And you will know when they are ready to move to the next lesson.

2. Rarely do two students, even if they are identical twins, learn the same way and at the same pace. Since math is a sequential subject, a good teacher will make sure each concept is mastered as you are building their math foundation line upon line and precept upon precept. A student should have 100% understanding before progressing to the next level. My observations have been that one student will score high and the other significantly lower.

   When we were teaching our three sons from 12 years old to 7 years old, we taught them reading and math separately. But then we studied other subjects together, such as science or history, using a unit study approach.

   If I were in a room full of moms with years of wisdom and experience in teaching Math-U-See, I would ask them this question. I am sure that many have tried to teach two (or more) at the same time and it would be edifying to hear their combined wisdom. I am pretty sure, that while it may work for a short period of time, it will not be beneficial for the long haul.

3. One place where a mini-classroom approach may work is reviewing what you have learned already. Over the summer, skills will diminish, since what we aren’t using we are in danger of losing. Instead of jumping in where you left off in the spring, print out some worksheets from the worksheet generator and review addition, subtraction, or multiplication together as a family. Depending on where your students are in their math progression, go back to the previous level(s) and watch key lessons on the DVD and review key concepts. Maybe the young scholars could take turns being the teacher, and teach previously studied concepts to their siblings.

If you have any ideas that have worked for you, feel free to write and share and I will pass them along to your fellow laborers.

I trust you each have had a good month,

Steve Demme

Testimonial of the Month from Nikki-Lynn in Sarasota, FL

We are using the Alpha & Primer in our homeschooling curriculum with our girls and when ordering took your recommendation and started a level back – to make sure they had ’no gaps’ in concepts and I have to say I’m SO happy we did this.

I am seeing lightbulb moments each and every day with the girls as we watch your instruction videos together then work on the practice pages / sheets.

I have always had a difficult time with math myself, so teaching it to them was a bit overwhelming. With your program however its been nothing but amazing!

It literally IS MATH YOU SEE !

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU !
You are amazing and your program IS fantastic!

One of our twin daughters said “Math used to hate on me but now its starting to like me more every single day and I’m not so scared of it anymore”.

JOY JOY JOY !!

Sincerely,
Nikki-Lynn
Sarasota, FL

Prose on changing seasons:

In the springtime, Math-U-See employees are busy with fairs in every state. Our reps fly to and fro across the country, while the warehouse crew works overtime to ship fair orders. Trucks roll up to our doors with pallets of books, and other trucks roll out with packages for customers.

Finally, the fair schedule lightens as we move into the summer, while parents breathe a sigh of relief and go into vacation mode.

Math-U-See HQ

In beautiful Lancaster County, the sun shines, the showers fall, and the corn grows. In the Math-U-See warehouse, the shipping of books continues at a gentle pace. At the same time, our printer works to fill gaps in inventory, getting us ready for the back-to-school season. Outside the office windows, the corn keeps growing, and all is peaceful.

Suddenly, all across America, a startling phenomenon occurs. I call it the “turning of the calendar.” One by one, on the morning of August first, gentle hands turn up the calendar for the new month. There is a collective gasp that ruffles the leaves in the corn fields, and voices cry, “School will be here before we know it. I must order books!”

Our trusty sales staff and shipping crew spring into action as the orders pour in. The corn just keeps growing, but inside the warehouse, the pressure increases as each week goes by. We happily ship 2nd day and overnight, so school can start on time. As the tempo builds, we realize that all of you did an exceptional job this year of telling your friends about Math-U-See.

Thank You from Math-U-See.

Does your child have number sense? Success in mathematics seems to be linked to a few basic skills that are collectively known as “number sense.” Lack of these skills makes it very difficult to progress to more advanced math. Here are some ways to help your young child become aware of numbers and begin to use them.

The first step is to count everyday objects with your child. Count the toys as you pick them up, count the buttons on a coat, and count the spoons as you set the table. Once your child begins to count objects, ask for three blocks or four crayons. When he or she is comfortable with that, say, “I have three raisins. How many more do I need to make five?” Notice that children often can recite numbers before they are ready to match them one-to-one with objects.

Begin to teach number recognition by pointing out numbers on signs, package labels, and other places in your everyday surroundings. Check the library for picture books that feature numbers. Keep this light-hearted and fun for young children. The goal is to make the child aware of numbers and familiar with them, not to put pressure on him or her for mastery.

Another important skill that can be taught in the context of everyday life is comparison of amount. This involves ideas such as more and less, bigger and smaller, longer and shorter, and lighter and heavier. Get in the habit of using these words and others like them whenever appropriate, and you will have started your child thinking mathematically.

Other skills mentioned as part of number sense are skip counting, understanding place value, understanding the ideas of addition and subtraction, and fact fluency. The first three of these skills are introduced in Math-U-See Primer and again in Alpha, which goes on to teach all the addition and subtraction facts with the goal of fluency. Gamma introduces all of the multiplication facts using skip counting, and then works towards fluency with these facts as well.

The time you spend working with your young children on their basic skills is immensely valuable. Help them to be comfortable with numbers and aware of how our number system works on the most basic level, and you will have given your children a solid foundation for their future success in math.

Tip 1

In a class on early education I recalled the story of how Rabbis used to make school enjoyable. After a little research I found this article, from which I have chosen a few excerpts.

Around the twelfth century a custom developed in Germany of bringing a child to school for the first time. … The rabbi reads every letter of the alef-bet and the child repeats after him.

Then the rabbi puts a little honey on the slate and the child licks the honey from the letters with his tongue. A child who licks honey from a slate … will immediately understand that the Torah is “as sweet as honey”.

Since attitude is a big part of education, let’s do what we can to make learning enjoyable. I don’t have a long list of suggestions, but here are a few that may help to prime the pump.

Perhaps you could begin every day with what some schools call “free exploration.” This is where the classroom teacher encourages each of the students to play with their blocks for 10 minutes to begin each class.

Or, take the number of the date, and express it in different ways. For example, if it is September 5^th, use the 5 and express that number as 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5, or 4 + 1 = 5, or 6 – 1 = 5, or 2 x 2 + 1 = 5, or 10 ÷ 2 = 5. You could do this with all of your scholars around the breakfast table and see the older and younger students each use their skill set to contribute a suggestion.

Perhaps the last one to get up in the morning would have to sing a skip count song when he or she appears at the breakfast table. Well, maybe this wouldn’t be fun for the person who is late; it sounds too much like boot camp.

Tip 2

Part of making learning enjoyable is experiencing success. As school begins for the year, take it slow at first, do some review, and let the brain have time to recall what has already been learned. Maybe you could review the last three lessons from last spring by watching the DVD and working the example problems in the instruction manual.

Or perhaps you, as the teacher, could walk through a lesson step-by-step: building, writing, and saying. Work several problems while the student just observes, with no pressure to do any by himself for a few days. When the student does begin to solve problems, make sure they are doable and within the grasp of his or her math abilities. Nothing succeeds like success!

May you and your student each have fun and experience success this school year,

Steve

Enjoy the testimony of the month from a home school mum in Canada. Aye?

Hi Steve,

Just wanted to let you know that after 12 years of Math-U-See, our son is on a 120K scholarship to the Royal Military College of Canada to become an engineer. His feedback, ”Mum, I’m over-prepared!” What a blessing to see the fruit of our labour. Math-U-See was definitely a highlight. The program was so easy to use and obviously the lessons were learned.

Thank you!
Stephanie

This is what my son of 8 did the min he saw these blocks. He is super excited to do math this year!

My other son age 5 helped me unpack our boxes and arrange out two sets in the wooden box, and while we were putting themaway I was telling him how they all had families and such, he fell in love with the units immediately and liked the tens, was impressed with the hundreds but….when we came to the end, he saw we had two tens that didn’t fit….he was all dad and cradled them in his arms and told me that these two tens would be sad without their family….then while holding them, he said in his sorrowful voice, “mom, can I take care of them? I won’t let them be lonely.” awe!!! So sweet, right…he loves to talk about family and loves to point out how many people are in our family, so I think this was the best choice of curriculum for my two boys! Thank you for coming up with such a great idea!!!!!
-Jessica