Using Math Mammoth in a hybrid school / co-op situation

We are a hybrid school... we meet 4 days a week. All math instruction is done in the classroom. Teachers will teach from the blue boxes (teaching parts) and then work a few in class. Students will circle problems for homework. And then they will move to the next section and repeat until the lesson is complete or until they are at a stopping point if they aren't completing the whole lesson that class period. So for homework, students will have problems to complete from each section.

We also require parents to check and initial the homework pages each night and rework any missed problems. This allows students the instant feedback they need. This has worked well for our school for the past 5 years.

Lauren M
Covenant Classical Community School

Suggestion from Iugo World Homeschool Community:

Inverted learning model for young learners to strengthen critical thinking and real world application.

Parent assisted day 1: Parent encourages learner to identify concepts familiar to them in the new lesson. Parent can review previous concepts and learning if needed. Parent and students watch MM corresponding videos on the lesson and student completes the book work prior to the classroom. Focus on solidifying any previous learned concepts needed, "learning" new concepts, but NOT do not aim for correct answers. This will happen in "class".

Parent assisted day 2: Connect lesson to real-world concepts (supermarket, at home (e.g. cooking), in the community, projects, etc.)

Classroom work (We call it "Discovery stage":
1) Pair up kids up and have them compare answers from work done at home.
2) Teacher guided correction based on student input. Teacher should guide by asking questions to focus on student-led learning and not instructor led teaching.
3) Instructor clarifies concepts.
4) Students share their experience with application in real world.
5) Group establishes other ways of application in daily life and are assigned "call to action" tasks. Students keep a journal of how the concepts were applied, what steps they took, and the outcome. They should be ready to share in the next class.

Windy Fama
Co-founder www.iugo.world

I am a hybrid homeschooler who uses your math at home. Our campus days focus more on project based learning, though we recently lost our school in the LA fires and have still yet to be rehoused.

I come from a Montessori background - my daughters also did Montessori until we switched to hybrid homeschooling and we really enjoy the clarity and ease of your math program. I’ve used it in conjunction with Montessori manipulative materials and ETC Montessori task cards.

If it’s helpful, my biggest suggestion with implementation is to make bite sized, child specific print outs as much as possible. I also let my kids check their own work when completed.

Emily D

Hi! We are using Math Mammoth at the hybrid school my son goes to. We have two days in class and three days at home.

As a parent, it is very easy to manage. At school, his math class is 1 hour long. The teacher teaches a lesson on math that is about the concept they have been working on (clocks, calendar, measuring, addition, money etc) for 20 min, they play math games as a class for 20 min and then the last 20 min they work independently in their math books. If a child forgets their book she always has practice sheets printed so they still have something to do.

All the kids are at slightly different pages in the book. As a parent, I'm responsible for doing all the correcting in the book, whether or not I choose to do tests and for managing how many pages are completed each week. So if he gets far in the book at school, he does less at home.

At the beginning of the year, the teacher said what needed to get done each week ie "By Friday be at page 22". Now, she just leaves it up to us to do the math and figure out our own pace for our kid since so many people were working ahead anyway but told us we needed to finish book A by Christmas break.

Sporadically the teacher has had the kids take a cumulative review in class to gauge where the kids are at.

I hope that helps!

Laura

I suggest... using STMATH as a supplement to your program [Math Mammoth]. I used it with two special education students, ages 14 and 16, as Math Mammoth was not producing results. It is free for home schoolers, and the two full time students I advocated for.

The older student could not grasp math concepts upon entering 9th grade. I had the teacher using Mammoth Math jumping from, 7th to 5th grade texts as needed. I had him add STMATH. In January of the ninth grade, the teacher told me there would be little hope that he could accomplish anything mathematically.

At the beginning of the 11th grade, he was correctly doing with no assistance, but there are equations and graphing problems on the PSAT 8/9 the teacher was ecstatic.

I had the teacher look at the PSAT 8/9, and use your program to teach ONLY those skills needed to ACE the test, as if a student does well on the PSAT 8/9, they have a high probability of passing the local community college placement test that is required to be passed in order to take college level courses... It is my go to gatekeeper test, along with the ASVAB test I use, to prepare students depending on their pathway as there are free practice tests :)

We found MM and STMATH a perfect fit. As MM can be bought digitally and one can jump back back and forth from one grade to the next (The teacher found out that an explanation in the upper grade sometimes was not being comprehended so he would jump back to a lower grade (often two grades earlier) teaching the same concept and it worked just fine.)

Because Math Mammoth can be easily tailored to the progression each individual student is making and can be tailored easily for an individual student that is having a problem in a particular concept going back to an earlier presentation of the same concept, it is extremely valuable to the teacher.

Your program is designed, quite frankly, to be used without a certificated teacher, and I have used it successfully with homeschool students.

I can definitely state your program works for the majority of students. But I strongly recommend STMATH which teaches math without using words as an essential supplement, as everyone's learning style differs, and a child that has difficulty with a paper and pencil approach can make excellent progress with a combination. Obviously, at some point, the child has to be able to do it with a paper and a pencil.

The student I was working with was having problems with math, and because I thought there was a problem with his coordination between doing the math and using his hand to write it, I had the teacher stand at the whiteboard and the student direct the teacher exactly how to solve the problem. It was very obvious that the student was capable of doing the mathematics if his brain was not being impeded by the processes needed to transfer the data from his brain to a piece of paper using his hands. Eventually this was no longer problem.

I was also having the teacher use BrainWare Safari to change the child's cognitive abilities and it did.

I suggest... people should consider STMATH if they are having problems with special needs children or with children that just do not seem to be not succeeding. It is free for home school students or a few in a class.

I believe MM and STMATH are a perfect combination!

They can use your program very successfully if they will think outside the box.

I have 20 years of experience with math programs that do not work as well as yours does and are a LOT more expensive!!

John A

We use Mammoth Math at our two-day per week hybrid homeschool for grades 1-5 (they used Singapore math for kg math). It's implemented a little differently depending on the class (grades 1/2 are a class and 3-5 is a class). Both classes have an hour of math at the in-school time, twice during the week.

For 1-2, kids go at their own pace and a teacher and adult helper help kids as needed. This can be a bit challenging for students who aren't strong readers yet. They also play math games and reinforce facts and concepts during part of the class time. Students just needed to be finished with one book at each semester. Kids were generally in about the same area of the book at the same time. Parents teach the lessons at home. Parents have the option of whether they give tests or not.

For grades 3-5, all of the students were given a placement test to see which book they should be in (all started at 3a, 4a, or 5a). The teacher made lesson plans/book pacing for each specific grade level so each student was at the same lesson in the book at the same time. She would then take each grade level and teach them for 20 minutes each while another adult would supervise and help the other students for the remaining 40 minutes. They would play math games if they finished their work. The teacher planned lessons that were more challenging to be done in class. On home days, parents would teach the lesson to their kids and/or they could watch the lesson video online from Mammoth math. Students were given chapter tests in class to help the teacher and parent know where they were at.

I'd say it has worked well overall even with the class format being a bit different. Mammoth Math is very parent friendly, so I think it was but a challenge for parents to use at the at-home days.

I'll also add that we decided to use Saxon for 6th grade on up mostly because one of the teachers was very adamant that she wanted to use it for algebra, and we wanted to provide some consistency before that. It was not a problem for kids who were using Mammoth math in the past to transition to Saxon. It was more difficult for students who came from some "weaker" math curriculum.

I hope that helps!

Becky H

We use Math Mammoth at home. Sometimes I am home teaching/helping my children actively with math, other days I am at work and the kids have to work on their math without my instruction/supervision. Not sure if this counts as a similar way of using the program.

Our experience:

We started homeschooling in the fall of 2023 when my son was 8 years old and my daughter was 11 years old. We first tried a different math program that did not suit us. We switched to MM after a couple of months. My son jumped into it right away and was off and running. It took my daughter a little time to get used to a different format than she was used to. My daughter has used the videos from time to time when she needs teaching/explanation and I'm not available. We have found the videos to be an excellent supplement.

At this point, my kids are really thriving with Math Mammoth. The work text is broken down in small and easily manageable steps, which allows them to do the majority of their work without me. Even on the days that I am home with them, they often don't need me at all. On the days that I'm at work, if they have any questions, they just mark them for us to look at later when we are together.

I think Math Mammoth is an ideal choice for a situation where the kids are not always with their teachers.

Kind regards,
Wendy

I use your math 6 and math 7 in such a setting!! We meet Tues-Thurs. On those days, I go over the lesson giving them practice problems on their lap white boards. Then they start the problems that will be homework. Usually what we didn't get to on their lap boards. On thursday, I go over 2 lessons and assign homework for Friday and Monday from those.

Pauline S

I have taught in this type of setting for 20 years. A few years ago, I used Math Mammoth Pre-Algebra for a year for a hybrid class. I thought it would be a good fit because it was a solid curriculum and there were videos available for parents or students on the at-home days. It was okay, but not great. The workbooks did not have enough information for a parent to understand the strategies and none of the parents used the videos.

The curriculum worked fine for the few on-level, regular-pace students in my class. It did not work well for my gifted students. On any given week, a third of my students could do the entire week's worth of work during a one-hour block. I ended up creating puzzle math pages or math games to go with each lesson. My struggling math students were lost 90% of the time when working through the workbook. I had to use or create other resources to help them learn the concepts.

Alternative school settings tend to have abnormal student distributions. These classes tend to have much higher rates of gifted, ADHD, autistic and other students who do not fit well in a normal classroom. This curriculum seems to be geared for regular class settings where the typical hybrid school/homeschool children are pulled from the classroom for gifted or remediation.

Carolyn L

Maria's note: I strongly suggest using the placement tests to make sure students don't get placed too high. Struggling students probably need to start at a lower level in Math Mammoth than the grade their age would indicate. Also, if gifted, regular-pace, and struggling students are in the same classroom, it will be challenging to teach, no matter what.

My daughter (age 8, 2nd grade) attends a homeschool-focused public charter school where she attends enrichment classes 2x a week, the other 3 days are dedicated to completing core curricula at home. We do Math Mammoth lessons on those 3 days at a pace of one lesson per day. Every once in a while I see that she needs more time on a lesson, and when that happens, I simply push the next lesson back by a day or two so we can focus on review.

I would advise this parents with 2 days of in-home learning to ease into Math Mammoth by using it only on those days. Then, once they and their child are familiar with it, they can determine whether it's possible to squeeze more lessons or chapter reviews into the week. I think working at a 2x a week pace might make completing one academic year of material challenging but not impossible, especially if they are able to review concepts from Math Mammoth during their classroom hours on the other 3 weekdays.

This is our first year with Math Mammoth and we couldn't be more pleased. We finally arrived here after trying half a dozen other math programs, and my math-averse kiddo says this is the one. She really enjoys the video lesson format with Mathy the Mammoth.

Best regards,
Alexis E

I teach at a co-op where classes meet once a week. We’ve used Math Mammoth Light Blue grades 4 and 5 for many years. I taught using Math Mammoth for a few years, then another tutor took over the classes.

I highly encourage parents to administer a placement test before registering. I suggest these classes for students in grades 5-7, but parents may register their students for the class that best fits the student’s skill level no matter the student’s age or grade level.

When a student does not master the material in one year, I encourage them to take the same class again.

Each class meets for 90 minutes. In class we cover two to four lessons each week. Some problems from each lesson are worked in class and the remaining problems are homework. Students or their parents score the lessons at home. Reviews and Tests are turned in without scoring. Scores on Reviews and Tests are used to give parents a suggested grade for their student.

If a student is struggling between class meetings, or if a student is absent, I provide a video lesson or a video showing how to work a problematic problem. I use Educreations to make the videos.

We play games every week. I tried to add a short game in the middle of class, then a longer game for the last 15-20 minutes of class. The tutor who is currently teaching these classes usually spends about half the class time on book work and the other half on games.

All in all, Math Mammoth serves us well!

If I was meeting with students three days a week, depending on how much class time was available, I’d likely have students do all lesson work in class and assign Reviews and Tests to be done at home.

Jan S

I use Math Mammoth in this way! My kids go to school 2 days a week and we work on it at home another 2 days. I find your curriculum perfect for this! All of the instructions they need are there to work independently, then I check their work when they get home, go over mistakes, work together on the more challenging concepts the next day together, then they work independently at school! I think it works amazingly! Often they can give up quickly and say “I don’t know how to do it” and even when I refer them back to the blue instruction boxes they often say “But I don’t understand what it’s saying and I’ve read it a bunch of times.” I think the instructions are very simple and clear so I’m not sure what’s going on there. For reference my kids are working on level 4 and 5.

Patrice

I use Math Mammoth in a hybrid situation. My children (8, 10, & 11) attend in classroom MWF and are home with me TTh. I assign all math work and send worksheets with them to complete at school. In our school the students need to work independently on their math because everyone uses their own curriculum. Math Mammoth works great for us. I introduce new topics on home days, and my 10- & 11-year-olds can follow the worksheets independently most days. If a topic is extra challenging, I save it for home days and send "easier" worksheets to school.

My 8-year-old struggles more with reading. This makes her less independent with some of the worksheets. I have the digital files, so it is easy for me to select which worksheets to send to school. We do a sample problem at home so she knows how to complete the page at school. Some topics we work exclusively at home and she does math facts practice sheets at school.

I haven’t been in class to see exactly how it works. I am told to send worksheets to fill about 15-20 minutes. During that math time, the teacher walks around and helps where needed. We are told not to rely on the teacher being available to help though. (Class sizes are ~15 students) They also have group math time where the teacher has general math activities for their age group. (Currently fractions in 6th grade, multiplication and division facts in 5th grade, and money in 2nd grade.)

We love your curriculum! It has worked well for us. The owner of the school that my children attend part time asked my son what curriculum he has because she liked how the worksheets explained the concepts. That was fun! (I don't remember what he was learning at the time. He was in worktext 6-A of the light blue series.)

I hope this helps!

Beckie

We are part of a co-op that meets 2 days a week. This year, which was the co-op's first year, the kids used different math programs (Abeka for the little ones and Saxon for the older). We are finding that it is very difficult to keep everyone on the same lesson, due to a variety of factors like illness, ability, and time spent studying math at home. In addition, many of us don't love those books and are using them because it was what the co-op chose for the year. So I suggested that next year we view math as more of a study hall time, where parents can give the children an assignment (or just ask the child to work on the next thing in their book) and they can work on it at co-op with assistance as needed from the teachers (who are parents in our co-op). We are hoping this is a good blend of letting everyone go at their own pace, using the curriculum best suited to them, while still having time together.

In my opinion (admittedly limited, this is my second year homeschooling and first in a co-op), skills subjects like math and phonics are much better learned on an individual schedule - part of why we left Catholic school was because my oldest seemed to need a faster pace than the school was willing to accommodate. While we haven't used Math Mammoth as a group this year, we have basically fallen into the model of everyone working at their own pace and it has been working well in my opinion.

Danielle