If you are a homeschooler and are looking for a good online curriculum for math, you have come to the right place. We have rounded up some of the best programs for your student’s needs.
The best programs are conceptual, mastery-based and hands-on. These approaches help students understand the subject matter while also building their confidence.
RightStart Math
RightStart Math is a hands-on math curriculum that uses manipulatives and fun card games as a way to review and reinforce concepts. It also incorporates back-and-forth dialogue, helping students develop a deeper understanding of math concepts and how they relate to one another.
Its lesson guides are thick, spiral-bound books that contain more or less everything a parent needs to teach a given grade level. It’s an ideal program for parents who like teaching math and have the time to commit to a teacher-led learning environment. You can find more information on official education resources here.
The main difference between RightStart Math and other math curricula is its emphasis on using a specially designed abacus throughout Levels A through F. This tool is designed to help children visualize numerical quantities in groups of fives rather than counting them up by number.
It’s also known for its extensive use of card games, recommending that students play these a couple of times per week in addition to their regular math lessons. These games, which include variations of War, memory games, and other operations-based card games, provide a fun and engaging way for students to reinforce their math skills.
CTC Math
If you’re looking for a high-quality online math curriculum for your homeschool, CTC Math is a great choice. It offers a free trial, and is very affordable.
This curriculum is designed to make learning math easy for students of all ages. It includes lessons for K-6, Pre-Algebra, Geometry, Algebra, Algebra II, Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus.
Another great feature is the ability to create printable worksheets and question banks for each lesson. This allows parents to differentiate the level of difficulty based on their individual needs.
The program also makes it easy to track student progress with weekly summary reports sent directly to the parent’s inbox. This information helps parents track their student’s time spent, quiz and test scores, and assignment completion.
In addition to online tutorials and worksheets, CTCMath also offers in-program PDFs that can be printed and worked on offline. This is a huge plus for parents with younger children who may not be used to doing math on the computer.
ST Math Homeschool Games
ST Math Homeschool Games is a PreK-8 visual instructional program that leverages the brain’s innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems. It provides more than 35,000 puzzles that align to all state standards and learning objectives that target key grade-level concepts and skills.
The program is best used as a supplement to classroom instruction and can work well with a variety of different curricula, both standards-aligned and on-grade in nature. The individualized visual software also allows schools to customize their ST Math implementation, tailoring what students play and how long they spend on the program.
The site subscription model allows districts and schools to purchase access to the program, with a starting annual price that varies by enrollment. The program also offers an option for families, allowing them to subscribe and access it at no cost. The program was made free on March 14, 2020, due to COVID-19 and resulting school closures, and will remain available through June 2022.
Math-U-See
Math-U-See is a manipulative-based program that uses video instruction and colorful blocks to teach kids how to do math. It is a popular choice for homeschoolers who are looking for a hands-on curriculum that emphasizes computation skills and conceptual understanding.
It also provides students with a lot of practice and drill, which is helpful for developing their math skills. But it may not offer the challenge some parents desire, especially for advanced math learners.
The program is ordered by Greek letters and does not follow traditional grade-level progressions, which can be a little confusing for some parents. Rather, it starts at a lower level and works up to a higher one without the child feeling they are behind.
It focuses on one concept at a time, so that each student can master it completely before moving on to the next. This can be a bit tedious for some children, but it is worth it to see their confidence grow. You can read more about it here.