This blog post is part of a three-part series of how we make the different curriculum we use for our home school and how I adapt them to work for us. In this second part of the series part I will share some tips and tricks of how we use Math U See. Part one of this series talked about how we use Sonlight and part three will discuss how we use All About Reading.
Our oldest is currently, nearly completed with the Gama level of MUS and has completed all the other MUS levels up to that point. Our youngest has completed Primer and is almost all the way through the Alpha level of MUS. At this time, I feel confident in sharing a few tips and tricks we have learned or are using to help us complete this program. We are however still learning and developing, so in the years to come I will probably add to this list.
I will say that this curriculum is a mastery program in that you child needs to show mastery of the concepts in order to go on to the next lesson. This mastery can happen the first day or several days (or months) after the worksheets run out. This program builds off the concepts from the previous lessons, and therefore the mastery needs to be in place to make it successful. Mastery to us for MUS means that the child does not feel the need to use the manipulatives to find the correct answer. The child also can tell you or teach back to you how they cam up with their answers.
With here are a few things that I have found helpful for us when using this program.
1. Watch the Video and Do Worksheet A Together: I am all about independence learning, but independence does not mean fending for yourself when you didn’t understand. I like to watch the video with my child (so I can be sure to use the same language that Mr. Steve uses) and to refresh myself as well. I also do Worksheet A with them because it helps clear up confusion from the video to the actual lesson on paper. I can also anticipate how long the lesson might take to master, with how quickly they are able to do the work with worksheet A.
2. Alternate worksheet pages. Our worksheet order is video/a on day one and then we do D, B, E, C, F, G and Test. By alternating the worksheets, the go back to the skills they worked on previously but still work on the new concepts as well.
3. Offer to Skip Worksheets or Double Up: Usually by day 3 I can tell if my child has grasped the concept and can move on. At this point I usually ask them if they want to double up their work or if they are ready for the test. My oldest is usually more hesitant to skip ahead now that we are on multiplication but often did this during the easier concepts in the previous levels (skip counting, money and telling time units). My youngest likes to double up the work instead.
4. Find reinforcing activities: I often found various skip counting songs or found ways to incorporate math into our everyday. Such as setting the table. I might say we usually have four people at our table, but tonight we are adding one more, how many place settings do we need? Real world examples help a lot. I also found that to solidify math facts flash cards and online drills helped as well.
5. Be Prepared to Stop: We have had to stop several times with my oldest and create more worksheets (a worksheet generator is available on the MUS website in the parent resources)to keep working on a concept that she wasn’t confident in yet. I have even had to raid the Dollar Store/Tree and Amazon for extra workbooks to practice. Its ok to do this. It does not mean that MUS’s program isn’t working. Your child just needs more time to process the information.
That’s it 5 tips to help make using MUS easier. It has saved my sanity numerous time and I believe it has helped our girls develop a strong base in the math foundations.
I will end this post with a disclaimer, like the one I shared with my How We Make Sonlight Work For Us post. I am not being paid by Math U See for this blog post. I have not and don’t foresee myself receiving money for this post. I do not have an affiliate program with them either. I spent the earlier years of my oldest daughter’s life researching home schooling. While I have a background in teaching, I did not have the training in teaching anything related to mathematics. I researched many curriculum’s and found Math U See during that search. The mastery approach to concepts and the use of manipulatives appealed to me and I knew would be a good fit for my oldest daughter’s learning style. This also fits my younger daughter as well.