CTCMath REVIEW 2020

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. 

Another CTCMath review?  Yes!  What can I say, when you find a good thing it is worth passing on and telling others about it.  We have been using CTCMath since my oldest was in 4th grade (he's in 11th grade this year!).  I received a 12-month Family membership in this online full math curriculum.  When we first started it was not a full curriculum that now includes Kindergarten through High School.  There have also been many improvements as the years have passed in reporting and customization of lessons and reports.

When my 11th grader was younger he had a lot of struggles with math when we started 4th grade.  I was at the end of my wits until we found CTCMath.  The lessons were short and to the point.  The homework was simple and straight forward. But best of all, he was learning again!  He wasn't fighting to do math anymore due to frustration and boredom.  It was the perfect fit.  When Little Bug (our current 2nd grader) started Kindergarten, I just automatically took out a family subscription to CTCMath and we haven't looked back.  Even though she is a great student no matter what the subject, she was also excelling at math using this program.  She continues to progress well and says she "likes doing math."

Individual results for homework completed

I will put links to my previous reviews below for you to see how the program has changed.  Currently, two of the newest features are the ability to drill down to individual results in the homework and the ability to export all your data from the program into an XLS (spreadsheet) file.  I really like the individual results because I can print out her completed homework if necessary and see which problems she had trouble with.  For those of you that keep detailed records printing this out and saving in a binder is perfect proof of work completed.

Sample of detailed results of lessons completed

I really like the variety of reports that can be generated from detailed to summary.  It really helps you to get a picture of how your child is progressing.  In the parent dashboard, there is also an area to see what your child is doing every day.  It shows what time they logged on, what lessons they viewed, how much time they spent on each lesson, and when they logged out.  Unfortunately, I needed this when my son was younger and said he was doing his assignments but the log showed he really wasn't.  It was also helpful to assign him tasks to keep him on task and progress through his assignments.  The program is set up for your child to log on and progress through the assignments daily but if you have a child that likes to skip lessons or just skip around it might be helpful for you to set up daily or weekly tasks that require them to complete specific lessons by a due date.  It is then easier for you to check to see if the tasks have been completed or not.

The fun part of the program, especially for Little Bug is when she earns her certificates.  She just loves completing sections of her work to earn her certificates.  The level is based on your student's scores and ranges from bronze to silver, to gold.  These can also be printed and placed in a folder to show accomplishments.  Even my high schooler enjoys receiving certificates.

Question Bank Wizard

Need to customize some assignments or create printable worksheets?  Not a problem with the Question Bank Wizard.  Also, most lessons have printable pages and or "cheat sheets" to print for the lesson on hand.  These have been invaluable to both of my students when they can't remember a formula or chart from the video lesson.  We print out the lesson summary and voila, no problem!  If you need help with any tutorials you can view their how-to-videos.

So, to summarize why you might want to check this program out:

• Short, quick and to the point video lessons (about 5 minutes long for younger crew and averaging about 12 minutes or so for the older crowd).  Homework is generally only 10 to 20 questions.
• Instant feedback - homework is graded as the student answers each question
• Self-grading - as stated above, questions are graded as soon as student submits answer (this was key for my oldest who always needed to know right away if he was right or wrong!)
• Customizable Reports
• Customizable Worksheets -using the question bank wizard you can determine the skill level and duration of printable worksheets
• Progress and reports emailed to parent if requested
• Economical - Family memberships for up to 5 students are one price and you have access to all grade levels (this is perfect for those that may not be at grade level or need help in certain areas).  Also, homeschoolers get a 50% discount!
• Guaranteed - there is a 12-month moneyback guarantee if you are not satisfied, nothing to lose!

I feel that this program reaches out to so many different types of learners.  I don't think you will be disappointed if you give it a try.  Our family definitely gives CTCMath's 12-month Family membership two thumbs up!  Both my 2nd and 11th grade students say it's a win in their book.  You can connect with CTCMath on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, and YOUTUBE.

If you'd like to read my previous reviews you can check out my 2017 review and my 2019 review for even more information on this wonderful program.  Also, be sure to check out what my fellow Crew members thought of this program by clicking on the graphic link below.

Math Skills REVIEW

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. 

My struggling learner high schooler has needed some help with math lately so when we had the chance to review Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2 Middle Grades/High School from Math Essentials I submitted my interest.  I received a physical softcover copy of this 158 page math skills workbook.
I have reviewed for Math Essentials before when we chose No-Nonsense Algebra for a previous review.  I really like the format and the author's, Richard W. Fisher, simple teaching method.  The lessons can be completed quickly (generally within 20 minutes or so) and each lesson has an accompanying video lesson that you have access to.  The video lessons are anywhere from about 5 to 10 minutes long.  Some are a little longer.  To be able to complete a math lesson in about 30 minutes per day is a win.

Online video lessons available for each lesson

When we first received the book I was very disappointed when I realized that the math skills reviewed for most of the book were VERY basic.  Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are covered in the first section (chapter).  I was sure I had made the wrong choice before I realized (after beginning lessons) that my son had indeed "forgotten" the very basics.  He had become too accustomed to using a calculator and had lost some of his basic skill set, not good!  This review has been good for him.  He completes a lesson a day and I am feeling good about him solidifying his basic skill set.  It has also reminded me and made me realize that I will be taking him back through the Algebra book and any other books I think he might need a review in.  I want his math knowledge to be solid.

Sample workbook pages (we did not do the speed drills for this section)

The difference in this workbook is that each daily lesson consists of 5 parts that include 2 speed drills, review exercises, helpful hints, new material, and a daily word problem.  There are a total of 8 chapters that are as follows:

• Whole Numbers
• Fractions
• Decimals
• Percent
• Geometry
• Integers
• Charts and Graphs
• Word Problems

Sample workbook page showing different sections covered

The final section in the book includes a review and answer key. The final review section is kind of like a "final" for the entire book.  There is also a resource center at the end of the book and it includes:

• Glossary
• Important Symbols
• Multiplication Table
• Commonly Used Prime Numbers
• Squares and Square Roots table
• Fraction/Decimal Equivalents table

Glossary from the Resource Center at the end of the book

At the beginning of the book, there is a step by step instructional guide on how to use the book and teach the lessons.  It is especially important to read this as it explains how to do the speed drills.  I wasn't able to understand what they were without reading the explanation of how to do them.  There is a total of 110 lessons so the book is easily completed within a school year.  We are using it as a supplement but it could also be used as your main curriculum.  You could also easily use it to reinforce just certain math skills by completing the specific lessons and/or chapter that you wish to gain more skills in.
I am glad we got this book and it is a thumbs up for me.  It works well for my son and I am confident he can get his skills back up to par without a lot of trauma and tears.  The short lessons work well for us and the lack of "fluff" is appreciated.  I recommend you try Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2 Middle Grades/High School .  They have complete sample lessons available on their website for you to try before you buy.  You can connect with Math Essentials on FACEBOOK.



There are several other books available from Math Essentials so be sure to check out what my fellow Crew members have to say about the book we reviewed and the others since there are also reviews on the other books. Click on the graphic link below to learn more.

CTCMath REVIEW

If you are looking for a new homeschool math solution then I might have the answer for you.  I was so excited to get to officially review the Family Membership for CTCMath.  You can add up to 5 students with a family membership.  Those of you who know me know that I talk about this curriculum a lot.  It was a life saver for my son many years ago.  It has continued to be the go-to math curriculum in our family. It is an online curriculum with an annual membership.  At some levels, math worksheets can also be printed and then entered into the system when completed.  My middle school students sometimes prefer to print the lesson out and work it out that way.  Printed worksheets are not an option for my kindergartner.

8th grader working on his math

Middle School video lesson sample

We began our math journey using another math curriculum that worked great until we hit the 4th grade.  My struggling learner son was getting bored and frustrated with the endless problems he had to complete.  His frustration was severely hindering his ability to learn the material.  We tried many options and finally found our solution with CTCMath.  It covers grades K-12 including Calculus.  It is a full curriculum from grades K-8.  After the 8th grade they do recommend using it as a supplemental program but I noticed recently that they have added a LOT of new material so that may change in the near future.

K4 daughter working on math

Kindergarten sample video lessons

The lessons are short, to the point and focused.  The lessons consist of a short (3 to 10 minutes depending on grade level) video lesson and then a short set of questions.  There are generally only about 10 questions to answer for each lesson (but it varies as my K4 just completed a lesson with 20 questions).  This may seem like your student wouldn't get enough training but on the contrary.  The short math lessons keep your child's attention and help them to master subjects quickly.  There are ways to customize the lessons and one of the options I chose is to require the kids to pass with at least a score of 90% or better.  This helps me to feel confident they are mastering the material. They are allowed to retake the lesson as many times as necessary to pass.  This is also all recorded for you to see in the reports on each student.  The reports show you when and how many times it took a student to complete a lesson.

Detailed Middle School Report

Summary Middle School Report

By setting a minimum pass score it causes the kids to have to repeat the lesson until they can pass with a score of 90% or better.  The kids really like the shorter lessons and generally do not get frustrated with the lessons.  Once in a while, they hit a tough lesson that causes them to take a lot longer.

Student Dashboard

The lessons are broken into topics and within each topic grouping, you have the option to take a diagnostic test (used to determine what skills your child may need to work on) and a topic test taken at the end for testing purposes. We personally do not use the diagnostic tests regularly but I have heard that others use it to also test their knowledge at the end of the sections in addition to or instead of the topic tests.
There are so many wonderful benefits to this curriculum that  I like including

• instant results for the kids
• self grading
• ability to track everything the kids do
• reports emailed to me
• ability to assign "tasks" to keep kids on track

Assigned tasks

One of the main things that made this a success for my son was the instant feedback on whether his answer is right or wrong.  It was a problem he struggled with from the beginning.  It would take us hours to get through math because I had to sit with him and let him know after EACH question if he was right or wrong.  I detested this, but it was how he was wired.  He just melted down if he didn't know how he had done. CTCMath saved me from this agony. On the regular daily lessons, he sees after each question if he gets it right or wrong and it gives him the right answer if it is wrong. SCORE!

Another time saver is that everything is automatically graded for you and recorded.  If I am not sure he is staying on task or completing lessons I can just log in to see what he did for the day, when he logged on, when he logged off, how long he took on the lesson, how many attempts he made and if he passed it or not and what his score was.  It is wonderful!!  I have found that I do have to "assign tasks" with him because otherwise he jumps around and looks for easier lessons to complete and gets all messed up on his lessons.  That is one negative of this program is that it allows the student free access to any and all lessons (Yet a big positive for us since you can adjust grade levels per your student's needs).  He can jump grades and lessons at will.  It does not force him to finish anything in order.  When I go in and assign him lessons using the task feature I am able to track if he is keeping things in order and completing the lessons he needs to complete in the order I want them completed.  He can bypass this but it also shows that the task was not completed (I get emails on this also) and he, of course, has consequences from me (lost privileges and game time) when this happens.

The teacher, Pat Murray, is Australian so there is an accent and sometimes the foreign aspect comes through but it is not a problem for us.  He is a wonderful teacher and makes the lessons engaging.  My 7th grader noticed that "color" was misspelled the other day but I told her that the spelling of "colour" is also acceptable.  I currently have my K4, 7th grade, and 8th grade students using this and they all enjoy it (as much as a child can of math). 

I have my own PARENT LOGIN and each of the kids have their own individual logins with their own passwords.  Once I log in I see my parent dashboard which gives me a screenshot of all the kid's progress and overall grades. I can assign tasks if necessary or use the tools to browse lessons, export data, or print checklists that I can use to manually log their lessons completed.  I just recently realized that this is a good idea because with the menus being so complex it is time-consuming and difficult sometimes to keep up with what they are completing. If I manually write it down on the checklist sheet I can see at a glance what lessons they may have skipped or not completed.

Parent Dashboard

Checklist

Another fun feature that is easily missed is the math games at the bottom of each screen

• Speed Skills
• Times Tables
• Swap pieces (I have yet to master this!)

Speed Skills (covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and order of operations) and Times Tables provide some excellent practice with a lot of fun for the kids.

We have been very happy with this math curriculum and I wholeheartedly recommend CTCMath.  The Family Membership has been a perfect fit for us.  They have wonderful discounts for homeschool families. Currently, you can take advantage of their FREE TRIAL which allows you limited access to try the program out.  If you decide it is a good fit for you then you can take advantage of their DISCOUNT OFFER which includes 60% off retail price plus an ADDITIONAL 6 MONTHS FREE!  You just cannot beat that offer. 

You can connect with CTCMath on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PERISCOPE, PINTEREST, and YOUTUBE.

Please see what others are saying about this wonderful program through the link below

UnLock Algebra1 REVIEW

What perfect timing.  As we leave the 7th grade and enter into the 8th grade we were given an opportunity to try out UnLock Algebra1 from UnLock Math.  I was especially excited about trying this because it is an online video curriculum much like what we have been doing for math for the past few years.  This curriculum is a complete program but can also be used as a supplement.  It is accessible through a one-year subscription.




We have been using this program over the past month or so and find it pretty similar to our past math program.  You log in online and there are parent and student accounts.   From the Parent Login you are able to manage your student's account (assignment of courses, billing, payment info and passwords).  You are also able to login to the Student Account from the Parent Login.  If you give your student a password they can then login to their account by themselves.  The program tracks progress and grades for you.

The lessons are broken down into units and there is a 472-page Complete Reference Notes document (for UnLock Algebra1) that you can refer to or printout that covers the material shown in the lesson videos.  Each Unit consists of Daily Lessons and Review and Quizzes and Tests if applicable.  A lesson consists of:

• Warm up - to get your student in math mode
• Short Video (less than 10 minutes)
• Practice Problems - may be completed as many times as necessary and best grade will be recorded.
• Stay Sharp problems for review
• Challenge questions - can add 5% bonus on overall grade
• Reference Notes - a link for that particular lesson

To start each unit the student clicks on the Unit to activate it then the Launch icon to begin that unit.  This unlocks the unit and allows the student to begin lessons in that unit.  Once lessons are complete they are graded and entered into the students record.  There is also a Pacing Guide available as a pdf file to print or view online.  It lists how many days it takes for each unit and the total days in the program.  Each lesson is expected to take approximately 30 minutes (takes us closer to an hour).  There are 170 days worth of lessons, reviews, and tests.  If you work 4 days per week it can be completed in 43 weeks (10 3/4 months).  If you work 5 days a week it would take 34 weeks (8 1/2 months).

The weighting of the grades is as follows:

• Warm-ups - 0%
• Practice Problems - 30%
• Stay Sharp - 10%
• Challenge - 5% bonus to overall grade but not penalized for bad grade
• Review - 0%
• Quizzes - 15%
• Test - (can be taken multiple times with best grade recorded) 30%
• Midterm - (can be taken multiple times with best grade recorded) 5%
• Final Exam - (can be taken multiple times with best grade recorded) 10 %

The program tracks your student's progress in all areas.  You can see if they are completing the warm ups, practice problems, stay sharp, and quizzes.  I really like this program and think it is a good fit for how my son learns.  The short video lessons are great for him.  The lessons are not too long or cumbersome.  The only challenge that I don't like compared to our old program is that he does not get immediate feedback on each problem.  In UnLock Math when he answers a question he does not know until the end of the lesson what he got wrong or right.  In the past this was a necessity for him (knowing immediately if he got problem right or wrong) just because of the way his mind works.  But I can see a little maturity in him and it didn't seem to bother him as much as I thought it would.  Score!  Based on our experience we recommend this program for your consideration when looking for a math curriculum.

You can connect with UnLock Math at FACEBOOK, TWITTER, or PINTEREST.

They also provide courses in Pre-Algebra, Algebra2 and now their newest release, Geometry!  Be sure to check out the other reviews on UnLock Algebra1 and the other courses they offer by clicking on the banner below.