How does Math Mammoth compare with other homeschool math curricula?

The discussion here refers to the Lightblue series books - the complete curriculum, which is ready for grades 1-4, and I'm working on 5th. This does NOT apply to Blue or Golden or Green Series books.

with Saxon:

Saxon math's incremental approach results in that with each new concept or thing, the child only gets to do a few exercises about it, and most of the problems in each lesson are from previously learned concepts. Math Mammoth books provide plenty of exercises for the concept at hand, which is a major difference to Saxon.

I love the way a new concept is introduced and then practiced, practiced, practiced! My kids hated Saxon, because it would introduce a new concept, then only give them 5 problems to do to go with the new concept then the rest of the lesson was a review from previous lessons. By the next day, they forgot the concept that they had learned the day before and were really lost after having to learn a new concept that day. Saxon just goes to fast without giving the students time to master the concept they are introducing. I really love how your books give my children the practice that they need to master the concept BEFORE moving on! My 11 year-old has learned to like math again thanks to you! Thank you!

Stacey Clay

The same is true of Abeka.

with Singapore math:

I have tremendous appreciation to Singapore math. The main complaint people seem to have with it is that it does not have enough practice, and then of course for some people it's too "different". I'm trying to make mine a little more traditional as far as the sequence of topics goes. I do like their approach to word problems with the little diagrams and have included similar diagrams in my books as well, though probably on an easier level.

with Math-U-See (MUS):

Disclaimer: At this point I have NOT personally seen Math-U-See. All I have seen are the samples and text on the website.

Math-U-See uses a complete mastery approach. I will outline their system for lower grades below:

I am not building my complete curriculum series to be as totally mastery-oriented as Math-U-See. My approach is more like a blend of some spiraling with mastery. I tend to include SOME ideas and concepts over several grades (such as addition/subtraction connection), whereas some are with mastery approach (for example addition facts or times tables).

For example, in Math-U-See, children learn multidigit addition up to 5 digits in level 2 (Beta). In my books, I have some easy multidigit addition in 1st grade, a lot on 2nd grade but not up to 5 digits, and then a little more with bigger numbers on later grades.

This comparison is lengthy, please complete reading it here.

with Miquon math:

Miquon is not a complete math program but more like workbooks with very interesting problems. I do like their problems and the various approaches. I tend to write texts that go much slower with new concepts than Miquon. Miquon is an excellent supplement to kids who excel in math.

with RightStart math:

I have not seen RightStart math except the few samples on their website, but I have seen their geometry course, which I thought was really good.

In general I've gotten the impression that RightStart is well thought of and rigorous. The big difference anyone can spot is that it's not workbook or worksheet based but instead teacher-led and scripted. In other words, teacher-intensive and teacher-led.

I've written Math Mammoth to have pages printed out for the student to fill in, the explanations right in the text and written to the student, aiming to make it as self-teaching as possible.

with Developmental Mathematics by George Saad:

I am not very familiar with Developmental Mathematics. I found that www.christianbook.com has samples of each of their books, which is nice. All the samples and the problems in them generally looked fine to me, but that really doesn't give you a full picture of how the concepts are developed over time. It says they use picture problems at first, then written problems, and lastly word problems in each booklet.

There are similarities, such as having one book concentrating on the basic concept of multiplication or division.

One difference is: Developmental Mathematics does not cover clock, measuring, or geometry (!). Statistical concepts such as bar graphs are only in booklet 16 - the last one. So you need to find some other resources for those topics.

I would be curious to know how Developmental Mathematics deals with problem solving for problems that require several steps and the usage of several operations. I would guess that Math Mammoth might be better in developing student's overall understanding of tying mathematical concepts together and using them in various kinds of problems (I hope someone having used both could chime in!). I do consider the lack of geometry a significant lack in Developmental Mathematics.

Some thoughts

Basically I'm trying to build Math Mammoth lightblue books to be mastery-oriented but there is going to be some "spiraling" of similar topics over the grades. For example, I include borrowing over zeros on several grade levels.

However, I do not want to spiral ever so slowly either, as can be seen in some books. Some topics will need to be with "mastery" approach, with no repetition over the grades, or the books would grow to be some 500-page monsters. With some topics I include repetition as I can. I'm aiming for a balanced approach with mastery vs. spiraling.

I am also trying to keep the order of topics (sequence) similar to what is typically found in public school books. It is not going to be exact, of course, since I have some of my own ideas and preferences and since even those books vary. By following that sequence loosely, parents will find it easier to relate to the grade levels, students find it easier to switch to Math Mammoth from other curricula (than, say, to Singapore or Miquon), and public school teachers will find it easier use my materials.

Comparisons from users

I have only used developmental math and since using Mammoth Math I am relearning how to explain math concepts along with my children. It is a great independant math curriculum that requires very little prep work if any. Developmental math was great until I realized the lack of explaining certain concepts. Mammoth Math shows many different ways to do the same problems and gives the child the choice to use which makes sense to him. The most beneficial part, I feel is Maria's newsletter and blog so that you can ask questions and get help when you need it. The cost can't get better than Mammoth Math either.

Thanks for your committment to us homeschoolers
Raina McGrath