My Homeschool Math Curriculum, Games, and Books

Almost as soon as my baby can sit up, I read lots of books to him/her. Many of the books include basic math concepts like counting, shapes, etc. I will also count out loud as I put away toys, books, clothing, etc. We also have numerous baby toys that involve sorting shapes and colors.

Counting Bears: My preschooler (age 3) loves when I pull out counting bears. She sorts them, continues a sequence pattern, groups them, counts them, lines them up them into various shapes, etc.

Number Tiles & Flashcards: We also have number tiles and flashcards with numbers on them. I'll pick up a number and ask her to find that same number. She is also learning to identify numbers from any board game we play that has a die with numbers on it. We also count them together and I'll ask her what each number is. The number tiles are nice because they don't bend. When my preschooler was younger she had a tendency to bend up some of the flashcards.

Books: As with all my children, we also read a lot of books together. Many of the books contain math concepts. Toward the bottom of this page I have listed some of our favorite math picture books along with a website listing many great ones.

Cooking: As soon as my toddler can stand pretty well on his/her (typically around 16 months), s/he gets to help out in the kitchen. We count to 20 as everyone takes a turn stirring up batter. We discuss measuring cups and their equivalents. We talk about doubling a recipe. By the time my children are introduced to fractions in their math workbooks, they consider that part to be a breeze!

In order to teach my oldest son basic addition and subtraction I tried so many methods and nothing worked. Finally I came across the game Sum Swamp. He was adding and subtracting within days of us getting the game. He begged to play the game dozens of times a day. My second son also learned basic addition and subtraction from this game. Even my 4th grader still enjoys playing this game!

After my second son (currently age 5) learned how to add and subtract, I started him on Singapore Math 1a. I like Singapore Math because it includes real world applications of what you're learning. Beware that the pages are black and white. If your child wants colorful pages, try A Beka.

We also read books that contain math concepts and also go through addition and subtraction flashcards. Toward the bottom of this page I have listed some of our favorite math picture books along with a website listing many great ones.

Singapore vs. A Beka: My 4th grade son uses A Beka for math. It seems to go at the same pace as Singapore Math. They're both fine choices. I didn't look into Singapore Math until after he'd started A Beka math. That's why my boys are using different curriculums. I would say the only big difference is that A Beka has colorful pages whereas Singapore Math has black and white pages. Also, Singapore Math does a slightly better job of instilling an understanding of the concept. I think both a great curriculums for math!

When my oldest son was younger, we also looked into Saxon, Making Math Meaningful, and Math-U-See. I think those are all great math curriculums. I think Math-U-See is great for a child who struggles with math and needs to learn one concept at a time (i.e. all addition) rather than mixed concepts (like addition, temperature, graphing, and money all on the same page). Saxon Math (great if your child needs lots of repetiton) and Making Math Meaningful (great for making sure your child understands the concepts) didn't go at a fast enough pace for my oldest son. They're both good curriculums but not the right ones for us.

Buying Tip: I have purchased numerous great homeschool products (including math books) at homeschoolclassifieds.com. I usually purchase my A Beka workbooks at an A Beka curriculum fair (at which you don't have to pay shipping costs) since workbooks are usually not available for resale. You can easily buy used curriculums, tests, and teacher answer keys though.

Math Board Games: I love Learning Resources math games! Here are our four absolute favorites: Sum Swamp (teaches addition, subtraction, and even/odd numbers), Money Bags (teaches money), Dino Math Tracks (teaches place value), and Totally Tut Math (reviews +,-,x, & /). We've owned them for years and have played them over and over again.

We also own Learning Resources Measuring Monkeys (teaches measurements), Head Full of Numbers (reviews +,-,x, & /), and Iguana Factor (teaches multiplication). The children love to play those as well, but I think they are slightly less educational than then the first 4. We have owned all those games for years and still play them. We do not yet own the Learning Resources board games Step Right Up Estimation Game (teaches estimation), Timing It Right (teaches time), Cross-Town Coordinates (teaches coordinates), or Angleside School Adventure Angle Measurement Game (teaches angle measurement), but I plan to buy them some day.

In addition to Learning Resources games, we play Monopoly and Battleship, both of which also teach many math concepts.

Buying Tip: Many of the above board games go on sale at amazon.com around the first few weeks of December.

Snacks & Flashcards: We also go through flashcards a few days a week during snack time. I have all the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division cards mixed together and divided into 5 stacks. We go through 1 stack each time. I'll set out a snack (sliced apples, popcorn, Cheerios, raisins, etc.). For every card my son gets wrong, I get to eat one of the snacks from his bowl. I always make sure to give him plenty of food so that even if he gets some wrong, he doesn't lose out on snack time. I also only give him 5 seconds per card. Now that my 5 year old knows some math, he joins in on this game. If he gets the answer before my oldest son does, my 5 year old gets the snack instead of me. My kids LOVE this game!

Superstar Math: To challenge my son to excel in math, I also give him Math Superstar Worksheets which have challenging math problems graded with stars depending upon the problem's difficulty. These worksheets are free to print off the Intenet. Just click on the appropiate grade level on the left-hand side. For every 100 stars my son gets, he earns a Happy Meal at McDonald's.

Since my oldest child was a baby, I have spent lots of time reading quality books to him and now to all my children. Reading books to your children is one of the most important ways to teach them. There are so many excellent story books out there that do an amazing job at teaching even the most complex concepts in an engaging manner. You can find an extensive list of great math picture books at livingmath.net.