Unofficial Reviews: Teaching Textbooks (Math)

By unofficial review, I mean that I was NOT asked to review the product and I have NOT received ANYTHING AT ALL for reviewing it.  I am simply reviewing a product because I LIKE IT!  : ) 

When my oldest (9-year-old Isaac) started Kindergarten, we used Singapore Math because it was recommended in the program we were using (Little Hearts for His Glory by Heart of Dakota).  For 1st-3rd grades I had already purchased the entire Miquon Math set at a yard sale; therefore, I felt obligated to use it (for whatever reason).  For reasons I won’t go into here, Miquon Math did not prove to be a good fit for us (although I still love the Cuisenaire Rods).  We persevered until half-way through 3rd grade before I realized my son despised math and was not progressing very well in it…well, realized it enough to know we had to make a change.

I did my research and read lots of reviews on programs such as Singapore Math, Math-U-See, and Saxon Math.  I was on the verge of trying out Singapore Math again, even though Isaac had not done well on the diagnostic tests they have on their website, when I read a review of Teaching Textbooks at Homeschool Creations.  Jolanthe’s description sounded like the perfect fit for Isaac.  The only downside was the price.  After much consideration of the costs of other popular math programs and the need that Isaac had to improve in math and gain his confidence back, we decided it would be worth the money.

Now that Isaac is halfway through the 4th grade program, I feel I can give you an honest opinion of Teaching Textbooks.  So here goes!

Teaching Textbooks is a program on CD-ROM.  If you buy the entire kit, it comes with the CD-ROM set (4 disks), a textbook, and an answer key.  I read on several reviews that at the 4th grade level, you don’t really need the textbook.  Most of the reviewers hadn’t used it at all.  The only place I could find that sold the CDs only (at, of course, a lower price) was Christianbook.com, and they were out of stock at the time.  Because I needed the program soon, I went ahead and ordered the whole kit from a different company.  The other reviewers were right…we really haven’t touched the textbook.

Some reviews I’ve read have made a point to say that Teaching Textbooks is NOT an advanced program or even that it’s NOT up to grade level.  I have taught in public schools, and this program seems to be close enough to grade level in my opinion.  While it may not be advanced, why should it have to be?  If your child does exceptionally well at math and needs an advanced program, you can either get a higher grade level or choose a different program that is advanced.  However, for a child who hates math, has no confidence in his or her ability to do math problems, and has struggled to understand math, I feel you certainly do NOT need an advanced program!  In fact, an advanced program would only make matters worse.  I believe children need to  fully understand basic math concepts before they can advance to more difficult concepts.  Advanced programs tend to speed quickly through concepts, which is great for children who comprehend math quickly and easily but disastrous for children who don’t.  Teaching Textbooks has been a perfect fit for my son, and he’s progressing very well this year, so I’m well-pleased with it!  It was so worth the money that I’m going to order the 5th grade level soon.

Another benefit of Teaching Textbooks is that the program does all the teaching.  I don’t have to do anything really.  The program has a gradebook and automatically figures up the scores.  It also has tests and math fact bonus quizzes.  After Isaac completes a lesson, he goes to the gradebook so I can see how he did.  If he misses any problems, I can go back and see what he did wrong, and he can click on the problem again to have the solution explained.  I suppose that I could assign extra work in the textbook if he was struggling with a concept, but so far we haven’t needed to do that.

Teaching Textbooks starts with 3rd grade, so Moriah (my 1st-grader) is using a different program (NOT Miquon).  Since she also did Singapore Math in Kindergarten, I decided to continue with that program into 1st-2nd grade.  If she does well with it, I’ll keep it for 3rd as well.  For Isaac, Teaching Textbooks has been a life-saver.

Here’s a video if you want to know more: