How to Teach Homeschool Math (A Plan for Non-Math Lovers)
Homeschool math . . . I have to admit that just the thought once made me feel a twinge of queasiness.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love school. Like, absolutely love it. I’m the kid who was always counting down the days until the new school year. I love learning new things, love the smell of school supplies, and actually find lectures fascinating.
BUT, math and I are not friends.
Sometimes I think I would rather jump in a lake of fire than open a math book. OK, maybe not quite that drastic. But it’s clearly safe to say I struggle with math. It’s never been my strength. I did graduate (and actually got A’s, even in math), but not without a river of tears and a mountain of stress to go along with it.
As you can imagine, I became very nervous about teaching homeschool math. It’s true. I would rather get a root canal than figure out the % of a fraction. But as my kids grew and I actually tried teaching math, I have found math to be far less threatening than I expected.
Let me share some of my favorite solutions for teaching homeschool math (even if you aren’t friends with the subject).
Why on earth do we have to learn math?
When you are tackling a subject you don’t enjoy, it’s super helpful to understand why it’s necessary for your educational well-being and hopefully for your development as a person, right? Math has traditionally been one of those subjects we can’t put our fingers on. Why in the world do we need to know and understand it?
It’s hard for us to understand why we need algebra in the grocery store or to balance our checkbooks. I spent years wondering the same thing until I began to grasp that math, like every other subject, gives us the knowledge to realize the true awesomeness of God.
For a Christian, the purpose of math is to better help us to behold the incredible glory of God through a more exact understanding of creation and the world around us.
Math helps us understand the miracle of it all by helping us better define and explain it. Larry Zimmerman with Answers in Genesis says it like this, “One cannot see Christ physically, but one is able to physically view evidences of His power and glory in the creation, the basis of which is mathematics.”
If you are geeky like me and want to read more about that, read this article.
I love telling my kids this truth. After all, the Bible tells us to work as if we are working for the Lord (which includes school), and it tells us to obey our parents. But knowing that the subjects we are learning help us better know God, understand our faith, and defend it to others is FAR more motivating than the first two.
Math mastery is about basics.
There are probably 100 great math curriculum options out there. But if you skip to that, you’ll miss the point. Math is a subject systematically built on tiny blocks of information. If you miss the foundation, the top will crumble. Period. Sadly, this is why so many kids struggle in math.
Take the time to lay the foundation and be sure you get a math curriculum that makes this the focus of elementary school. The two skills we focus on are skip counting and basic addition and subtraction facts.
We start skip counting as early as possible with fun jingles and songs. My personal favorite is the skip counting songs written by Classical Conversations. You can get them in this app. It’s not free, but it’s no more expensive than a CD, and you can still play it in the car. You can get a physical CD from them directly here or on Amazon. I found many skip counting CDs on Apple Music with a quick search. Just make sure you stick with one and go all the way to skip counting by 15s. Don’t stop at 2s and 5s.
My older kids were vigilant with learning skip counting, and as a result, learning multiplication was easy. My son wasn’t as vigilant (OK, Mom wasn’t on the ball), and we quickly realized multiplication was a much bigger struggle until we went back and did it right. Laying the foundation here is key!
For addition and subtraction math facts, daily practice is required. Be careful because most math curriculum does not cover this in-depth enough. They move on to other topics, and kids are lost. Don’t let that happen. Focus here, EVEN if nothing else gets done. Remember, math is a cycle, and the same concepts are taught year after year. They just go a bit more in-depth as kids get older. If you focus on getting the basic facts very strong, the other stuff will be simple to pick up on.
We use XtraMath for daily fact practice. I’ve used so many different things, but this one wins every time because each child has a login and can practice the exact facts he or she is struggling with. The website is smart, and that makes mastery much easier. Oh, and it’s totally FREE!
When you get stuck in homeschool math
Most people get stuck in math when they can’t figure out how to do a problem the way the book is teaching. They quickly think it’s too hard, or they simply are unable to understand. What you need to know is that there is ALWAYS another way to think about it! Put the book down and find another way. This goes for basic facts like 1+5 as much as for difficult algebra problems.
When your kids are little, look up ways to teach simple addition. Pinterest is a great resource for this. You’ll find many resources showing you a different way to help your kids understand.
As they get older, YouTube the specific task (i.e., how to divide fractions). We find Khan Academy to be very helpful at getting us outside of the one way we were taught and helping us actually grasp the concept. Just type the topic in the search bar of YouTube and look for answers from them.
There are more ideas for when your child struggles with math in this post.
Curriculum for teaching homeschool math
We are rather simple with our math curriculum. It’s easy to fret and overthink things. Don’t give in to that. Stay simple and use what works for your family. And if unexpected life circumstances come your way, that’s OK too! Here’s how to adjust math when life throws you a curveball.
Kindergarten: Mathseeds computer program, Skip Counting Songs
1st-2nd grade: Christian Light Education, XtraMath
We have loved using Christian Light Education for math in the early years. It’s great at building a strong foundation and helping kids with math facts. It’s also inexpensive, which is a plus. The lessons are laid out to teach in an independent format, which is also high on my list of priorities.
It’s not colorful and “fun” according to some, but I’ll be honest—my kids have never once noticed or complained about that. Color in math doesn’t seem to make it any better or worse. (Haha)
3rd grade and up: Teaching Textbooks, XtraMath
Once they are old enough, my kids always want to transition into Teaching Textbooks. They love that the computer teaches the lesson for them and that there aren’t 500 problems to answer when the lesson is finished.
As a mom, I love the instant grading feature. This makes my homeschool day so much easier. I also love that my kids get immediate feedback when a problem is incorrect. So often, students do the whole page wrong only to learn they have to start over again. Teaching Textbooks doesn’t allow that to happen.
Read more about why we love Teaching Textbooks here.
We sometimes use Khan Academy and YouTube videos as a supplement to help with things we don’t understand, as mentioned above. Looking at it in a different light is always helpful.
One final thought: If math really is more than you can handle as a homeschool parent, rest assured you can always outsource it to a co-op or online class. Sometimes taking the subject outside of your realm is good for your student and your relationship!
If your child struggles with math, I would encourage you to check out this post for ideas too. My friend Toni over at Happy Housewife has another great review for Teaching Textbooks here.
Homeschool Math Tips, Tricks, & Curriculum Ideas
For more homeschool math ideas and practical tips, watch this video. We’ve created it to give you a short glimpse into some of our favorites.
More Christian Homeschool Curriculum
Need guidance on curriculum for other subjects? Read more about our Christian homeschool curriculum tips and favorites.
Free Homeschool Planning Boot Camp
Feeling overwhelmed and need some help? Remember, you are not alone! It’s pretty easy to get lost in all the details, but our FREE Homeschool Planning Boot Camp will show you how to put a plan together in just 5 days!
Your turn—> So, what is your favorite math curriculum or idea? Share it with us here.
Through practical tools & Bible-based resources, Kim Sorgius is dedicated to helping your family GROW in faith so you can be Not Consumed by life’s struggles. Author of popular kid’s devotional Bible studies and practical homeschooling tools, Kim has a master’s degree in education and curriculum design coupled with over 2 decades of experience working with kids and teens. Above all, her most treasured job is mother and homeschool teacher of four amazing kiddos.
We love teaching textbooks!!
I am beginning teaching textbooks at 5th grade with my son. My daughter is going into 3rd grade, but isn’t ready for teaching textbooks yet. I’m struggling with trying to figure out what to get for her. I was thinking maybe something that included K through 2nd grade in one so we can go over what she didn’t understand previously and skip what she did understand. Does that make sense? Anyway, any suggestions would be great!
Look at Math Mammoth.
Over the years (I have just this past May graduated my first), we have used a few different math programs with varying levels of success. However, I do not know why I twice wavered away from the one curriculum that has worked wonders for all three of my kids…Math-U-See. It uses a mastery approach so we don’t move on until they solidly understand it. Yes, it means some mom time for each of them, but the results have made that aspect so worth it. I do watch the video with them, pausing where I choose to give them opportunities to answer Mr. Demme’s questions or to make sure they are grasping it. We do a few problems together to make sure they understand. Then, they are on their own, with mom checking each day. I do also make them correct everything. So much learning and understanding is gained by having to correct your mistakes in math. We tried Teaching Textbooks for my younger two last year. I thought it would go better for them to have the computer teach and check their work. For us, it was a total disaster. We essentially in the end lost an entire year of math instruction…not good when one is an already behind in math 9th grader. But, I have definitely learned. MUS all the way for this family!
I would love to know why it was a disaster for you guys. I’m thinking of starting it next fall for my 3 rd grader.
Starting teaching text books so far so good!
Teaching Textbooks with a side order of Life of Fred!
We use Saxon Math with DIVE Teaching/Guiding CD Roms
For the early years we used Mathseeds, MathWhizz, and Time4Learning. Starting in 3rd grade the older used Time4Learning, and CTC Math if she didn’t understand the concept well, with Xtra Math for fact practice the last year. After 3rd grade the younger used just CTC and the math fact practice in CTC, because he does better with short lessons and a review worksheet, rather than lots of practice and mastery. We’ve never done well with the exhausting spiral Saxon type programs, which is super excessive for the kids who understand concepts easily and super frustrating for kids who work to focus. The older the stepped from Time4Learning 5th grade to Thinkwell 7th grade math last year for 6th grade and this year is using Thinkwell 8th grade math for 7th grade, so she can do Algebra I in 8th grade. She is supplementing with the Art of Problem Solving materials for some challenge.
Adding: we stayed away from TT, even though it looked cool, because it was too easy. So if kids are not math oriented it’s probably a good option. But if your kids excel in math it’s just not rigorous enough for STEM track.
I have used CLR for math and my son is now going into 4th grade. I was considering teaching textbooks because it’s independent but I worry that my son won’t thrive in math. I feel like it would be too easy
I have 2 boys in high school and homeschooled from the beginning. Math U See has been our go-to. We occasionally tried other programs when we ‘hit a wall’, but always we come back to MUS. It definitely requires Mom or Dad to be involved, but that worked best for us. FYI: one of our boys is math talented (taking pre-calculus as a junior) and the other struggles with math (finishing Algebra 1 as a senior).
Adding: we also used Xtramath to help nail down the basics.
I have used CLR for math and my son is now going into 4th grade. I love CLE but there is SO much review and my son is starting to dread math. I do like that is advanced and I have considered TT but I’m worried it won’t be as advanced and he wouldn’t excel at math. Your thoughts?
Wonderful article! We use Singapore Math/Primary Mathematics and we love it. I think it’s an excellent curriculum and often say I wish I had learned math this way. I have learned to adapt the curriculum based on each of my children’s different strengths and weaknesses. My oldest son zips through the lessons and I purposely slow down and review to make sure it is all sinking in. With my daughter, I move a lot slower with and take the time to do the extra activities to help her understand. I see that they are getting a great mathematical foundation. ?
We also do the CC skip counting songs! I just looked on YouTube and found people who recorded their kids singing them. The songs are easy to memorize so we learned them and sang them on our own.
Thank you for always posting such wonderful, Christ-centered information. ❤️
We use Singapore Math as well. This year, we paid for the instructional videos as well. They were very helpful! The videos are short and go right through the curriculum and help us understand anything that we couldn’t figure out just using the teacher guide.
We love Singapore math, too!
Thank you for this post we use Math U see and we have been at a stand still bc my son needs to master the math addition facts and I’m tired of just giving him worksheets. I downloaded the math app you suggested. I think you’ll be excited to play math on the iPad. And also thank you for the reminder of the purpose of math I told my children something similar to this for years but I like this quote that you put on there I think I might use it. Thank you!!!
We’re using Rightstart math for the early grades as it lays a good solid foundation for maths. We’re planning on moving over to a more independent curriculum for higher grades.
The level A book finished my year 4 student on level (NZ). (I started him at 8 and moved slowly through the book.) It uses games and and manipulative a to imprint concepts to move over to mental maths. My son grasps concepts easily and automatically figures out how to make that concept easy to implement. When he does struggle with something we slow down. We generally try to finish a lesson a day but some lessons are a bit long or my son needs more time to grasp a more difficult concept. But he gets it and retains it well!
My youngest (7) finds it too advanced in some areas so I’ve printed out a couple of lessons of the free good and the beautiful math 1 curriculum. He likes that more so far though it’s not as thorough as Rightstart math. If it gets too hard we’ll leave math off until he’s ready and try again.
We don’t have great internet so we’ll be looking at a hard copy curriculum once we’ve finished these early books.
Wow this is so good!! Thank you for posting this!! I am saving this email. I already know I will be coming back to it.
We have adored Kate Snow’s new Math With Confidence series. As of 2022 it’s K thru 2nd grade available. After working through Life of Fred, Beast Academy and some Rod & Staff math with my older Kate Snow has outdone herself with simple and fun math that sinks in.
I find it very interesting that I didn’t see anyone mention MasterBooks. I have been using Elementary Algebra with my daughter, and will continue with Geometry after we finish it. The lessons are quick, they move one step at a time with new concepts, and it’s something she will actually do independently! She actually requested not to use Shorman Math this year because she wanted to learn from a book instead of watching videos. She hasn’t really complained, except the fact that it is math. Haha!