Homeschool Math Blog

I know it's time when many families are choosing curriculum for the next school year, and I also know how important it is for people to use PLACEMENT TESTS prior to starting Math Mammoth. So here it is, finally (I do wish I had gotten this video done a bit sooner!) ...  some basic principles about how to use Math Mammoth placement tests, in video format. (And, these tests also work as generic math assessment tests -- you can use them even if you don't use Math Mammoth.) Brief summary: - Choose a test you THINK your student will pass. - 80% is a passing score; students scoring 50-79% probably just need to study the areas where they have gaps - Based on the results, you may need to administer the next lower or higher level test also... or in some cases, even three tests... to get a good grasp of what your student knows and doesn't know. - If a student does well overall, except in one particular area (such as geometry), consider administering parts of the low...

Do you perhaps have questions concerning the various Math Mammoth products? Feeling confused about the many options? I have completely revamped and updated the email "tour" around Math Mammoth website... Math Mammoth Tour , I call it. This email tour takes you "around" the various series of Math Mammoth books, plus a few other important topics, in seven different emails (TOURSTOPS) over the course of a week. It's completely free! Simply click here to sign up!

This video gives you an overview of Math Mammoth Blue series books: In case you don't know, the Blue Series books , being topical, are perfect for filling in gaps, to provide additional instruction & review on a certain math topic, or to help a student who is seriously behind to catch up. There are nearly 50 different books, which cover all math topics for grades 1-7 -- from addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to fractions, decimals, percents, geometry, equations, statistics, and so on. Learn more at https://www.mathmammoth.com/blue-series.php  !

Watch this video to learn the basics of Math Mammoth Light Blue Series - the complete curriculum. You'll learn about what is offered, mastery versus spiral, what kind of review the curriculum supplies, and where to get started .

A new kid on the block! Math Mammoth Data and Graphs is a worktext that covers common statistical graphs and some related topics for grades 2-5. It is a worktext, which means it includes both the "text" (instruction) and the "work" (exercises and problems). The book starts with the easiest topics: reading and making bar graphs, pictograms, histograms, and various kinds of line graphs .  Toward the end of the book, we also study average (also called the mean) and mode , and how these two concepts relate to line and bar graphs. Sample pages (PDF) Contents and Introduction Making Bar Graphs, part 2 Reading Line Graphs Mean, Mode, and Bar Graphs Average Prices & ordering PDF download $4.20 Buy at Kagi

Did you know? Math Mammoth grades 1-3 printed books are now available as color versions through Rainbow Resource . Currently you need to access them via their search function: search for "math mammoth color". Hopefully they'll get their own category page soon.

I've had several people ask me if I'm planning to write algebra 1, algebra 2 and other high school math courses. The answer is no. I'm planning to stop at pre-algebra. The main reason is, I've seen some fantastic high school math books other people have written -- people with lots of teaching experience etc. -- and I feel I could not surpass what those people have done. Especially when I don't have lots of experience teaching high school math to students. You see, with elementary math, there exist numerous homeschool math curricula. I've seen most of them and I can tell many of them  are not written by someone who has a good background in math. To write a math text, it really helps to know what concepts the students encounter later on. But beyond that, math is strange in the fact that many of the FOUNDATIONS of math are only taught at university level. For example, the axiomatic foundation of real numbers; logic and the different proof techniques; the whole idea...

Three new books in the Blue Series! These books deal with some pre-algebra level topics. Check out their free samples! Math Mammoth Expressions & Equations This is a worktext covering the order of operations, equations, expressions, and simplifying expressions in several different ways in 6th-7th grade level. The main principles are explained and practiced both with visual models and in abstract form, and the lessons contain varying practice problems that approach the concepts from various angles. We also touch on inequalities and graphing on a very introductory level. In order to make the learning of these concepts easier, the expressions and equations in this book do not involve negative numbers (as they typically do when studied in pre-algebra and algebra). Sample pages (PDF) Contents Expressions Writing and simplifying expressions 2: area The distributive property More equations Math Mammoth Rational Numbers In Math Mammoth Rational Numbers w...

  Math Mammoth South African version is now available for grades 4 and 5! Math Mammoth South African version, Grade 4 Math Mammoth South African version, Grade 5 You can read detailed descriptions and download free samples at the above links. The South African version has been customized to South Africa in the following manners: The names used are South African names (instead of Jack and Jill, there are Ansie and Mampho). The currency used in word problems is rand. The money chapter teaches both rand and cents, of course. The material is "all metric". In other words, the US customary measuring units are not used. Spelling is British English instead of American English. Paper size is A4. Geographic locations used emphasize South African locations (such as Pretoria, Johannesburg).

Here are the winning entries for the photo contest I ran recently. I asked each participant to provide a photo showing a child/student(s) doing math work from a Math Mammoth book or materials. Click to see a larger version. Enjoy! 1. I felt this picture was just so cute and also the composition is great. "Isabelle is proudly showing her mom her correctly formed 3's. She wrote them backwards at first. She is working out of her big sister's 1st grade workbook from Math Mammoth's Light Blue Series." The second place was a tie — I just couldn't decide. 2. A. First, school work upside down - quite creative! "Here is a pic of my son doing his Light Blue 4 work. I have the download version and printed and bound it in parts because he likes to move around a lot while he works." 2. B. From Amy (no description). I feel this also is a creative shot and shows students with a very happy disposition. 3. "My daughter loves to ...

  Actually... These three books from Math Mammoth Blue Series aren't technically freebies, but they have been set to "Pay What You Want" at Currclick, which means you choose how much you pay. You CAN get them for free if you cannot afford to pay :) Math Mammoth Place Value 2 (for grade 2) Math Mammoth Add & Subtract 4 (for grades 4-5) Math Mammoth Percent (for grades 6-7) They allow you to get a good overview of my products -- for free!

Now available for downloading - catalogs for Math Mammoth products. Choose from the list below. All are PDF files. Light Blue Series Catalog (PDF download, 6.8 MB) Blue Series Catalog (PDF download, 14.4 MB) Golden and Green Series Catalog (PDF download, 4.8 MB)

I just wanted to share this testimonial that Lisa K. sent in a few days ago. I find this situation is fairly common among children who come from public school and start Math Mammoth - they are behind in math, sometimes very much so (many grade levels). Yet, it's not a time to despair, because it IS possible to catch up! It is often necessary to go back and make sure all the basics are mastered. Then, the child often progresses at a much faster pace, and within a few years they usually attain grade level. The idea is not to have a race to keep up with public school, but to gain a solid  understanding of math for life. Here's Lisa's comment. Her daughter still has some more catching up to do, but she's progressing at a good pace! Maria, I just have to thank you for your wonderful math program. I emailed you late last summer about my 6th grade daughter who was terribly behind in math. You suggested I start her back in the grade 1 book to give her a fresh and s...

Math Mammoth Grade 5 revised version is now out! If you are an old customer and would like the updated files, please use the contact form here and include your purchase information (email/name used, if at Kagi or Co-op). Currclick customers can log in to their account at Currclick and download it from there. Download below: 5-A contents and samples 5-B contents and samples Here's a summary of the changes between the old and the new. You can also find this information here . The biggest changes in grade 5 are that the two optional chapters (percent and integers) have been removed, and the topics in geometry chapter are different. However, overall, the structure and contents of this grade is very similar to the old. Chapter 1 starts out like the old version, with some review topics and multi-digit multiplication. There is now more focus and practice problems on long division with two-digit divisors. One big change is that the lessons on problem solving and equation...

Questions about Math Mammoth and the Common Core Standards alignment? I made a new, hopefully comprehensive FAQ on this topic. Please refer to that document, and hopefully it will answer everyone's questions.

So, Math Mammoth Grade 4 is now aligned to the Common Core Standards. I will mention here some of the main changes as compared to the previous edition. The main changes in the revised edition of Grade 4 are that some topics were taken off and moved to 5th grade, and several topics were added in. Again, this is all due to the CCS. Other than that, the basic framework and conceptual development did not change substantially. Of course, I edited the lessons to make them better, added more space or grids for calculations, etc. so there were many cosmetic changes. Topics moving to 5th grade: Numbers beyond 1,000,000 multiplying a 3-digit number by a 2-digit number 2-digit divisor in long division multiplying decimals by whole numbers circles volume In measuring, the problems about conversions between units are easier, and the more challenging conversions will be in 5th grade. Topics added that weren't in 4th grade before: divisibility prime numbers finding factor...

A new book for the Math Mammoth Blue Series topical books.... South African Money . This book covers counting South African coins (rand and cents), solving simple money problems, counting change, and adding money amounts. The cost as a download is $3.25 USD . See these free sample pages: (PDF) Contents Practicing with Coins Counting Change Rand Adding Money Amounts I hope this is of help to our homeschooling friends in South Africa! And teachers too!

Math Mammoth Grade 3 is now aligned to the Common Core. In this post I try to outline what is same and what is different about this edition compared to the previous one. What is same? -  The focus on single-digit multiplication and division is the same. I did add more varied word problems to these two sections, and other little 'enhancements' as I edited the lessons, but no major changes here. - Also, much of the addition,  subtraction, and place value topics are the same. There are some slight differences, yes, but not major ones. - Time and money sections are the same. What is different? - The geometry chapter has been pretty much redone. Now, it concentrates on the concepts of area and perimeter (according to Common Core standards). Before, I did have one lesson on area, but also other concepts, such as right angles and parallel lines. Those will be moved to 4th grade. - In measuring, I have removed most of the content that dealt with conversions between the ...

Math Mammoth Grade 2 Complete Curriculum is now aligned to the Common Core Standards. Here is a document listing the lessons and the corresponding standards .  I will record here the main changes in its content as compared to the earlier edition / version (through April 2012). You can tell the new edition and the earlier ones apart by their cover image: the edition aligned to the Common Core Standards has these new cover images. The topics of rounding and finding 1/4 of a number were taken off as they are not in Common Core Standards for grade 2. The topics of regrouping in addition and regrouping in subtraction are now split so that 2-A contains regrouping in addition, and 2-B contains regrouping in subtraction. There is now more explicit (more scaffolded) instruction about adding four single-digit numbers, and then adding four two-digit numbers in columns (in 2-A). Regrouping in subtraction with three-digit numbers is also scaffolded more (the progression of...

Math Mammoth Grade 1 Complete Curriculum is now aligned to the Common Core Standards. Here is a document listing the lessons and the corresponding standards . I will record here the main changes in its content as compared to the earlier edition / version (through April 2012). You can tell the new edition and the earlier ones apart by their cover image: the edition aligned to the Common Core Standards has these new cover images. What used to be chapter 4 (Place Value) switched places with Chapter 3 (Addition and Subtraction Facts within 0-18).  The topics of rounding, even & odd numbers, and parenthesis were taken off as they are  not in the Common Core standards for grade 1. There are many new lessons about adding and subtracting within 20, and adding and subtracting two-digit numbers without regrouping, explaining basic  mental math principles. The lesson "Exploring Measuring" is split into two lessons (Measuring Length and Exploring Measuring). B...