Math U See took the tears out of math!

by Jana
(Woodinville WA USA)

Product: Math U See
Subject: Math
Levels Used: Alpha & Beta
Dates Used: '07-'08, '08-'09, & '09

Likes: Math was never my strong point. I always struggled with understanding math. So did my mother, who was also my homeschool teacher. When I asked "Why do we do it that way?" the answer was usually "because we just do".

When I started homeschooling my own children, I realized that I had a child with learning problems. Math was incomprehensible for her. After working through two other programs and getting two years behind, we finally switched to Math U See. We no longer have tears of frustration during math! We're slowly plugging away trying to catch up but we're getting it.

My son is naturally gifted in math but he could never put into words why he would choose to do something a certain way. He just instinctively knew it should be that way. Math U See's concept teaching methods gave him understanding enough to be able to explain the why behind his math. They advocate mastery of a lesson being gained when a child can verbalize why and what they have done in their math procedures.

Math U See is so easy to understand and extremely easy for homeschool teachers to use. The DVD is nicely laid out and easy to navigate, not to mention a huge blessing for busy moms.

Dislikes: My main dislike stems from the fact that if you buy this program second hand and your DVD breaks, you are in a fix. You cannot buy a replacement DVD. I called and talked to the Math U See rep who said that if you buy it from them your name will be in their files. If you ever have problems with a DVD, just give them a call and they will work with you. However, if you don't have a name of file as purchaser, you get to buy a whole new Teacher's set at $55. So be aware of this when making your purchasing decisions.