Last year I was really struggling with teaching Math to my then 6 y/o. It had never been my strongest subject in school, but I had thought I could handle it till the upper grades! WRONG! Math became a daily battle ground as the material just didn't make sense to him and was very frustrating for us both.

   What I realised is the I was using basic math workbooks that you can pick up in WHSmith's, and other shops around. These books assume that the child has been 'taught' the method in class and is just using these books for extra practice. That means that they include no actual instruction in them.

   We had missed some major math concepts because they were assumed and not mentioned in the books! I looked into Mathsphere because it is on a disk and available in the UK. It was highly recommended by some teacher friends of mine, but then another homeschool Mum told me that she had it and though it was a great resource it still assumed that the material had been covered and didn't help you know how to teach it.

   Then I came across Math U See!  (cue orchestra with tada type of music!) This program (which I researched amongst MANY others) was the best I could find in homeschooling math curriculum. It came with a DVD, teacher's book, student workbook, test booklet, and manipulatives. The manipulatives are a little expensive to pay out for but they last for several years, so well worth the investment, and they are different to cusinaire rods, so you really need to get the ones that go with the set.

   The system is that the parent watches the DVD which contains Mr Demme (the author and a teacher) standing in front of a class of children and teaching the lesson. This enables you to learn how to teach the material. In our house though my now 7 y/o decided that he liked Mr. Demme better than me and now watches the lesson for himself and then carries on with the work. If he gets stuck or still doesn't understand, then I sit and explain it again to him.

   Each lesson has three practice sheets to cover the material learned. (we usually do two of these unless he is struggling with the concept) Then there are three cumulative review pages. (we usually do one of these unless he is struggling with it) Then there is a lesson test. Not a high pressured test, just to make sure the material is understood completely before moving on. Every so many lessons there is a two page unit review test to make sure the material is still remembered before starting a new concept.

   The basis of the lesson is that they can build, write and say every problem and number. If you say a number they can build it with the blocks to show what it represents, and write the number you said. If you write a number they can build it and say it. If you build it for them they can write and say it. This ensures that there is a complete comprehension of the material.

   We have gone from hating math (both of us that is!), to loving it and doing it first thing every morning. It is fun now that we understand it!!

   Why am I reviewing an American homeschool product that you have to order from the states? Because they have actually done a British version of the curriculum! OK. So the teacher is still Mr. Demme with an American accent. But the books use Mum instead of Mom in the word problems, english money, and metric measurements instead of imperial. It isn't often that the companies take the time to redo their product to meet the needs of the British homeschool market - especially as the demand for curriculum here is not huge!

   Now, a word of warning. The cost of postage is high so it is probably worth ordering a couple of years at once as this cuts down on the postage charges a little. Also, be ready for another charge on arrival from customs and excise. (the friends here who ordered it paid the price of postage again in tax!)

   All of that said I still think this course is excellent value for money! It is a wonderful, sound, basic math course with none of the silly 'new math' concepts currently being taught here in the schools. I would also say that if sales go well, we might be able to get a UK supplier for the course which would hopefully cut down on the postage costs in future.

   So, click on the link above and you can see the international versions and then take a look around the website to check out how it works. Oh! And before I forget, they also have an assessment test on the website, so that you can pinpoint which level to start you child with. Have them take the assessment test and where they get several wrong is where you should start them off, so it takes the guess work out of 'which year would they be in in an American school??' Go on! Check it out! It is truly wonderful!