Homeschool Math Newsletter, Vol. 19
March 2008

Hello again! This is Maria Miller from HomeschoolMath.net and MathMammoth.com. We're heading towards summer, but the newsletter is packed full of good info this time also. Summer newsletters will be on a less frequent schedule, though.

This is the first time that I have a paid advertiser in my newsletter! You may see other ones in the future as well, but don't worry, I'm only planning to place a maximum of ONE such ad per newsletter. I hope this advertiser's offering is of interest.

FREE math homework help on www.phatmath.com
40 Math forums for grades K-12 & College

Post/view math problems & solutions

Blogs for students, parents, teachers

In this month's newsletter:

1. Math Mammoth reviews?
2. Kindergarten math
3. High school geometry: a review
4. Tidbits

1. Math Mammoth reviews?

People sometimes wonder why they can't find any "reviews" of Math Mammoth on the web. I assume they do a Google search on "math mammoth reviews" and don't find that many.

Well, it's because not many third-parties have done in-depth reviews. Sol Lederman has done one. Amy Beth has done one. I have solicited a review from someone but it's not done yet. I have gathered lots of them from my own customers, posted here.

CurrClick customers have posted some for individual books. If you scroll down the list of my books at Currclick, the books with some stars have at least one customer review.

I noticed that HomeschoolReviews.com site has recently added Math Mammoth and Math Mammoth Blue Series to their curricula list, so maybe we'll soon see some there. Maybe YOU can post a review there!

People also discuss my books on various discussion forums and email lists (see an example and another) and on their blogs (see an example and another). You won't find these in Google though if you put put the word "review" into your search query, because it's just people "chatting" in an informal way or asking and answering questions.

You can try find them by searching for Math Mammoth homeschool curriculum or math mammoth blog homeschool, and scrolling past the top results that point to my sites or to the store sites, on into the 2nd, 3rd, etc. pages of the search results.

If I'm missing some, please let me know! (Just reply to this email.)

2. Kindergarten math

People occasionally ask me about kindergarten math, and if I'm going to write kindergarten level books for the Math Mammoth series. The answer is no, I don't feel there's any need for me to write books, because there already exist plenty of good materials for these very basic and easy concepts.

BUT I did write a comprehensive article about what you can do in kindergarten math, including many games you can play, and what basic concepts should be covered in order to prepare for 1st grade.

In it, I discuss for example the importance of counting, 100-bead abacus, games for number recognition, free worksheets, workbooks you can buy, and more.

See it here: Kindergarten math curriculum ideas and recommendations.

3. High school geometry: a review

I have reviewed a "combo" package for high school geometry course, consisting of three different products:

The book Geometry: A Guided Inquiry. I really liked this book! It is a problem-centered textbook. Each chapter starts with a central problem, which acts as a starting point for developing important concepts and theorems.

The problems worked on lead the student in a step-by-step manner to important theorems and results. In essence, the student is guided in his geometrical inquiries by the questions presented, as if a teacher was guiding him by hand. For this reason, I feel this text is an excellent choice for anyone who is studying geometry by themselves, or without a teacher..
A Home Study Companion which includes solutions and about 300 interactive demonstrations!
Geometer's Sketchpad - dynamic geometry software.

I encourage you to read the review even if you don't need a high school geometry book right now... because you'll get valuable insight just HOW GOOD geometry instruction can be, how the book handles proof, or what to think about an axiomatic vs. discovery based geometry text.

Read it here: Review of Geometry: A Guided Inquiry with Geometer's Sketchpad and Home Study Companion.

4. Tidbits

Gas price math. See example questions you can ask your student concerning a comparison graph and a comparison table about gas prices. Interesting information anyway!
Points on math education - what Mathmom thinks of calculators, spiraling curricula and other "hot topics".
Backwards math − This is just a really cute story of a 3rd grader who on her own figured out a way to do "backwards math"...