mmckee12
- Reviewed on Wednesday, December 30, 2009
- Grades Used: 9th
- Dates used: Aug-Dec. 2009
I am new to home schooling for 4 months now...home schooling a high schooler no less! My daughter has wanted to be home schooled for 3 years begging. Well, Teaching Textbooks Geometry is what we are using & it has been WONDERFUL!!! My daughter is very good at Math & came out of the public schools having been in Advanced Math for 2 years (7th & 8th). She has taken Algebra I last year in 8th & we went to Geometry (probably should have taken Algebra II...but didn't know).
The TT Geometry is very easy to understand with the teacher CD's. I was told that this was a "pretty good curriculum" so I went with it & did very little research before ordering it. I saw where others have posted that it grades the work, however, this class does not but that's ok too. I am not good in math at all....she got it from my husband! I finally had to tell her to start grading her work herself with the CD. I was having a hard time b/c she was using short cuts such as the congruent signs, SSS, SAS.....many others too. I just found that it was getting to difficult for me to understand if she was getting answers right or wrong. Now, she works the problem & then uses the CD to see the answer & if she gets it wrong she watches how to do that problem. She is very trustful in this area & tells me what she has missed & also on the proofs (which I found very difficult to grade as she has gotten into Lesson's 60 & forward). I think it helps her to see how to work the problem.
I can also say over these few months she has found just a few answers that were incorrect in the teacher answer key vs the teacher CD answer. Again, I think it's best to check the CD for the answers being that it shows how the problem is worked. I was grading incorrectly on these few.
I plan on using TT for these next years in High School & we are planning on bring our son home for his 6th grade year this next fall out of public school.
It has been an answer to prayer in that both my kids love math, my husband has a math minor & me, NOT!!! He has had to help her very little but when he does, he goes straight to the lecture & CD problem to see how it works.
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momlove7
- Reviewed on Thursday, October 29, 2009
- Grades Used: 5th-6th
- Dates used: 2009-10
Finding the right curriculum is definitely trial and error and we have used several math programs; ACE, Abeka, Rod and Staff, Math U See, Teaching Textbooks then back to ACE (Accelerated Christian Education). The incremental or spiral review didn't work for my children so we switched back to a gentle mastery program. We are much happier! It's strange that we went all the way around the world only to get back to where we started. LOL!
Teaching Textbooks has wonderful video presentations of the material. There are several practice problems after such and then 20-22 assigned problems. In the upper levels (we used 5 and 6), the practice problems are correctable but the regular problems are not. I contacted TT about this and this feature was not designed in these levels so if your child misses a problem or two, the grade if calculated and set. TT calculates the grades for you and quizzes are scattered throughout after so many lessons.
I found myself slowing down to re-teach a few concepts that my children had difficulty in comprehending but the biggest complaint was the review. My children wanted more review of new concepts before moving onto the others.
Some mention that the scope and sequence of TT is behind most maths and it appears easy but I think it's a great program. Just didn't work for my children. Actually, ACE's scope and sequence is very similar to Teaching Textbooks but it has a more gentle mastery approach. We really needed that.
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edmondsgang
- Reviewed on Thursday, August 27, 2009
- Grades Used: 4th, 5th, 6th
- Dates used: 2008-2009
I love TT.
I agree with several of the other reviews that TT is not as advanced as other companies out there, but it is great to use as a base and build from it. It makes math enjoyable for my kids, which is half the battle.
My girls are 3rd and 5th grade, but using 4th and 6th TT. I also supplement their math with the appropriate grade level Horizon's math worksheets each day....since Horizon's doesn't have a worksheet for every day, sometimes I copy a worksheet that they may need more practice with (multiplication tables/long division - etc.) and have them do them more than once. I set a timer for 15 minutes and tell the girls that when the timer goes off, they are done with the worksheet. It seems to create a challenge for them, and they like to see how much of the sheet they can get done...hopefully finishing...if they don't finish, I just give it to them again the next day to finish. Sometimes they're are new concepts covered on the worksheets (the gaps that TT seems to becoming famous for) but they are normally easy enough to explain, the gap is filled in, and if they need more practice, I just copy the worksheet.
As far as customer service, I can not say enough. But let me back up...first of all, if you read their website, they actually say under the FAQ's that you are welcome to re-sell the program as many times as you like, and if you need another registration code, just call. They are true to their word!!! So, unlike other CD texts, you can resale without any fear that the buyer won't be able to use it. On top of this, if a CD is lost or damaged, their website says that they will replace it for $15 - not bad. But here's the "going the extra mile" kicker. I borrowed 6th grade from a friend. When trying to load it, the 1st disk wouldn't work...figuring I was going to have to buy the disk (still a deal at $15) I called the co. told them the issue (setup.exe file missing) - even told them I had just borrowed it from a friend. Customer service apologized for my inconvenience and is sending me a new disk FREE of charge!!! Now, how do you beat that???
Using TT makes my kids look forward to math. Yes, there are some gaps, but with my kids excited about math, I'll gladly fill in the gaps. And when I'm through with the program, I'll sell it on ebay and make some of my money back!!! AWESOME!!!
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vamama
- Reviewed on Thursday, August 06, 2009
- Grades Used: 5th
- Dates used: 2008-2009
Wow! What a relief! My son turned 11 in Oct. 2008/5th Grade. This was his 2nd year of homeschooling. 1st year (4th) we used Singapore which I don't dislike, but it sure involved me a lot! I had to check the answers, etc. But with Teaching Textbooks, HE handles it totally. Rarely, he will ask me something - usually because he has misread something. TT gives him independence and keeps me out of it so we aren't locked in a struggle - he doesn't want ME to teach him ANYTHING. If that sounds familiar to you, you will thrive with TTextbooks. He does not use the book at all, just uses scrap paper when needed to do problems. A book would feel too much like school! I would say we basically have been "unschooling" except for math. I can't think of anything that would improve it. We are planning to "skip" a year and move on to 7th grade math. Why? Much of math is repetitive. While my son is not good at memorization like the multiplication tables, he seems great at concepts. So I am thinking he will get bored if we keep plodding. And you can't just skip a year later, like Geometry. So it is now or never I think. He took the placement test Teaching Textbooks gives and it validates this. So we will buy the CDs only for the 7th grade level for a boy who turns 12 in October. Hope this info helps you. Good luck!
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