Teaching Textbooks

Teaching Textbooks

Teaching Textbooks is often mentioned as a good homeschool math curriculum option for right brain learners because of the visual element on the CD-ROM. I was very concerned about which math curriculum to use when my oldest finished Mastering Mathematics. I knew I needed a Pre-Algebra or Beginning Algebra curriculum. Many people recommended Saxon. We are definitely not a Saxon Math kind of family, but I struggled finding other options. When I heard about this program, I decided to give it a try.

Teaching Textbooks initial offerings included Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1,2 and Geometry. They are now adding lower grades and a Pre-Calculus program.

This math curriculum carried on with the "making math simple" approach that has given us success in using Mastering Math. This program adds in the CD-ROM element in addition to the text. I liked that the CD did all the teaching because I would personally have to do ALOT of review to get back up to speed with the higher level math for high school. I also liked that the CD would repeat itself a hundred times if needed without every getting impatient. *grin*

My oldest child completed Math 7. It was a good review for what she had covered in Mastering Math, and since math isn't her strongest subject, I felt the review was worthwhile. She moved on to Pre-Algebra and again completed it with good grades and little trouble. I didn't spend much time reviewing with her because her assignment grades and tests scores were all acceptable. When she started Algebra, she hit a wall. She was not doing well on the assignments. My husband (math whiz) stepped in to help. Apparently, she had not retained many of the fundemental concepts that were presented in Pre-Algebra and in the first few weeks of Algebra I. Hmmm....that's a problem.

This math curriculum is a great option for many homeschool families and is quickly growing in popularity for good reasons. We needed a self directed program that really cemented the basic concepts before moving on. Perhaps if my daughter had better self monitoring skills, it would have been fine. However, since she clearly was missing skills we decided to review Pre-Algebra with her using a different program and have decided to stay with Life of Fred for higher math.

The colored "Teaching Textbook" link above takes you to the Christian Book website page that contains all the levels. You will want to click on the links on that page for the individual "parts" of the program to see other reviews and samples.

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