If you’re homeschooling, you know that math can be a tricky subject to cover. With multiple children or a busy schedule, it can be hard to keep up with the lessons.
Best Homeschool Math Programs
When choosing a math program, you should consider your child’s learning style, the standards of the curriculum, and the price tag. We’ve rounded up 10 of the best homeschool math curricula for your family to consider.
Horizons Math
Horizons is a comprehensive, advanced math curriculum that integrates a strong Christian worldview into all of its lessons. It also uses a spiral learning approach to teaching math that involves introducing concepts quickly and frequent review.
This is a great way to build skills for future math tests, as well as help students master the fundamentals of math without becoming overwhelmed by lots of practice and repetition. Additionally, the program uses a variety of hands-on learning activities and supplemental worksheets to reinforce and improve student retention.
Horizons Math includes a Teacher’s Guide and two Student Workbooks. The teacher’s guide includes lesson plans and teaching suggestions, as well as answer keys for all of the student worksheets.
Singapore Math
Singapore Math (r) is an approach to mathematics that uses a progressive learning process to help students develop a strong sense of number. The program’s emphasis on conceptual learning compared to quantity taught helps students build a solid foundation in mathematics, resulting in consistently high marks on international math tests (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study).
Rather than teaching children to memorize by drilling concepts into their memory, the curriculum teaches kids how to mathematically think so they can rely on theory and logic. This approach to learning is unique to Singapore Math and is a great way to get kids thinking in mathematical ways.
Another ingenious strategy used by the Singapore Math program is bar modeling, or model drawing. This technique helps students visualize abstract mathematical quantities and their relationships so they can better understand how to solve word problems. This helps students apply their math skills in a variety of situations, which is important for problem-solving in algebra.
Miquon Math
Miquon Math is an educational program based on the belief that mathematical insight grows out of observation, investigation, and the discovery of patterns. The company’s six student workbooks, two for each grade level, teach children a variety of math skills and concepts through a hands-on approach.
The workbooks are designed to be uncluttered, simple, and visually plain. This format provides a distraction-free environment for students to focus on the task at hand.
It also features the use of Cuisenaire rods (wooden rods in 10 color-coded lengths), which offer a tactile element that helps children grasp and visualize math concepts. These rods can be purchased separately, or the complete program includes them as part of the package.
The company is dedicated to helping students learn math through the use of hands-on and active exploration, which is a hugely beneficial strategy for kinesthetic learners. For these reasons, Miquon is a favorite among homeschool moms who want to give their kids a head start in the world of mathematics.
Art of Problem Solving
Art of Problem Solving is a company that produces books, classes and other materials for outstanding math students. Founded in 2003 by Richard Rusczyk, the company is dedicated to helping students develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and problem-solving methods rarely taught in school.
Their textbooks for middle and high school math are designed to be a comprehensive curriculum that provides instruction, practice problems, and hints. The curricula are usually over a couple hundred pages long and include several sections per topic.
Unlike many math texts, these are discovery based and are often quite challenging for students who may be used to more traditional formula-oriented learning. They are also very conceptually strong and will take a little time to get into.