Homeschool Math Blog

I have just posted a comprehensive review of this book that is popular among homeschoolers for a high school geometry course. Click to read: Review of Harold Jacobs Geometry book

I recently received Math Jokes 4 Mathy Folks from the author, Patrick Vennebush. This is a very comprehensive collection of math-related jokes that all "mathy" people will definitely enjoy, and math teachers could use this book to enliven their lessons. I have seen several of the jokes on the Internet, but never such a large collection. The jokes are categories into chapters such as One-Liners, ("A hungry clock goes back four seconds.") Graphic Jokes, (For example, "Cube Roots" picture you see on the cover of the book.) Three Dudes, (An engineer, a mathematician, and a chemist are...) Conversion Chart, (10 9 antics = 1 gigantic, or 454 graham crackers = 1 pound cake) Professions, ("The secretary of defense informed the president, 'Yesterday, three Brazilian soldiers were killed. 'Oh, no!' the president exclaimed. ... 'How many is a brazillion, anyway?' ") And so on. In each section, the jokes that require the le...

The Soma cube is a dissection puzzle. It has seven pieces that have to be assembled into a 3x3x3 cube. So, that is the main challenge, but you can also arrange the pieces into all kinds of other interesting 3-D shapes. The seven pieces of the Soma cube I received a wooden Soma cube from Monkey Pod games. The cube comes in a neat, good-looking wooden box that can be showcased in your bookcase as a decorative item. But, it's certainly not meant for decoration only! It is quite a fun challenge ! The Soma cube from Monkey Pod games comes with a little booklet that shows you the solution so you can get the pieces back to the box, but it also shows you several dozen other 3-d shapes to make with the pieces. I enjoyed trying to put together some of those. And the kids enjoyed just playing with the pieces, trying to come up with something interesting, and of course they did! It was great fun for them. I let a neighbor family borrow the cube, and the results were similar: adu...

Math Apprentice is a new free website, meant to show students how math is used in real world. In the game, you are like an apprentice at various companies, applying your math skills to challenges similar to those encountered in the real world and real companies. Main Street - Click to enlarge To begin, you click the button on the home page of the site that says "Explore the Math". Then choose your character, and you'll be on the main street (see screenshot above) . Then use arrow keys to move right or left, and click to select a company to visit. The companies you can visit are: Sweet Treat Cafe - baking pies Sweet Treat Cafe - Click to enlarge Wheelworks - constructing bicycles and exploring gear ratios Game Pro! - keep track of the distance between superhero and the villain in a computer game, using Pythagorean Theorem Spacelogic - study speed of a spacecraft & slope, and then angle & distance commands to get the space rover where it needs go. Trigon Studi...

This review has been moved here .

The review of Multiplication Mountain has been moved here .

I have completed writing a comprehensive review of Mathletics website . It is an online math practice system for K-12 that includes: a regular "curriculum" section where you practice various kinds of math problems; a Live Mathletics section where you race with math problems against other kids around the world; Rainforest Maths - a separate website filled with math activities; and a parent center with yet more resources such as printable workbooks and videos. Mathletics is a subscription service, but it offers a lot! Please read my review and see screenshots .

Well, folks, you might be in for a surprise, but when I was thinking what to name my math program.... You know, first of all, English isn't my native language. Secondly, I'm not super creative when it comes to naming math programs. I chose "mammoth" because it sort of rhymes with "math". I thought people would be able to REMEMBER it easily! You know, let's say a person stumbles on my website, and days later they try to remember what was it called? Maybe, just maybe, the woolly animal would have made a connection, even if an amusing one, in their mind. So there you have it. There are no hidden implications. It's not ancient math, nor "humongous" in any sense. The math in "Math Mammoth" is pretty normal and logical. All this was spurred by a really enjoyable and fun review of my books by Mary Grace at Books and Bairns. She really has a knack for writing!

I've written a review of IXL.com (from "I excel"). It is an online math practice system - would be perfect for those of you who want your kids to have something for the summer months. IXL has unlimited questions on hundreds of math topics and a comprehensive reporting system. Their pricing is $9.95 per month for 1st child and only $2 for the next child. Read my review here .

Here's another alternative for an algebra 1 course for homeschooled students: Algebra 1 by Paul Foerster (the textbook), and accompanying Home Study Companion video lessons made by David Chandler. I've just written an in-depth review of both .

Sol Lederman from Wild About Math blog has posted a review of my Math Mammoth Geometry 1 book . I appreciate the review very much and want to thank Sol for it.

The review of Flatland: The Movie has been moved here . (Please update your links, if applicable!)