Homeschool Curriculum Review: Teaching Textbooks

I have tried many math programs while homeschooling four children. It took me a long time to figure out what works for my kids and what does not. When I finally discovered Teaching Textbooks, I did a happy dance. The program is self contained, easy to follow and it relieved a lot of stress that teaching math was causing in our household.

Program overview

Teaching Textbooks is available in grades three through seven, Pre-algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Pre-calculus. Grades three through Algebra 1 have automatic computer grading. Geometry through Pre-calculus use answer sheets for grading.

The program comes with CDs and a workbook-teacher guide. Some families like to use just the CDs and others prefer to use the workbook only. The only difference is that the CDs are computer scored for most levels and there is a video instruction for each lesson on the CD. The same lesson is written out in the workbook.

Teaching Textbooks follows a very simple approach. Teach the concept, practice the concept, and then do exercises pertaining to the current concept and review previously taught concepts. Only one concept is taught per lesson. The exercises will never have a topic that has not yet been taught.

My experience

I currently use Teaching Textbooks for my 6th grade student and high school junior. For high school we are using Algebra 2. We used it for 5th grade last year. I like the program and would not use anything else. We have tried Saxon, Calvert Math, K12 math, Math-U-See and K12's Algebra 1. None of these programs worked for us. It resulted in my youngest child crying at every math lesson. With Teaching Textbooks, there was no crying.

I like the way the videos talk to the kids. The videos deliver math concepts to the child without talking down to them. The voice is friendly and approachable. It is not a lecture, with someone standing there demonstrating a concept. Instead, it is like an interactive white-board where the concept is illustrated and the child is asked to enter in information.

The videos deliver the concept in a clear and concise manner. They are short, never longer than 10 minutes with only one concept taught per lesson. For example, perimeter is taught in one lesson and area in a later lesson.

The program will work well for children who read slowly and have difficulty with reading comprehension. If you choose to watch the videos, the concepts are spoken to the students, they do not have to read to follow the lesson. Auditory learners will excel with this feature. For children who prefer to read the lesson, there is the workbook which has the same lesson as the video, but without the interaction. The most important concepts are highlighted in gray, so kids who speed read or who excel in math can skim over the lesson and still focus on the important concepts.

We use the CD's almost exclusively for 6th grade math. The automatic grading for grade 6 makes my life a lot easier. If a problem is solved incorrectly, your child can see it explained again. Most problems allow for a second try. The only exception is true-false questions. The entire lesson never takes more than 30 to 45 minutes from start to finish.

From a parent's perspective Teaching Textbooks makes for an easy school year. The CDs allow for the child to work independently of a parent. For homeschool families with multiple children, independent work is important. If the child uses the CD, all problems are logged in the grade book . A parent can see exactly how many attempts a student took on each problem and if they viewed the explanation. A numeric grade is given to each set of exercises and for each test. The grade book is password protected so that only parents can access it.

Technical information

Teaching Textbooks will run on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. We use the Windows version. A Mac compatible version is available for most levels. Internet access is not required for using the CD, however you must have the CD in the drive for the program to work.

Cost

As of August 2011, grades three through seven are $149.90 for the CD and workbook combination. A CD only option is available for $129.95. If you have the CDs and just need the workbook, you can call Teaching Textbooks customer service to order what you need. Pre-algbra through Pre-calculus costs $184.90. Prices include free shipping.

Customer Service

Customer service is top-notch. My orders are always shipped promptly. I was very impressed with them when a friend of mine had her house destroyed by a tornado on New Year's Eve. I called Teaching Textbooks to see if they could replace the curriculum that was lost. The company was glad to replace the curriculum for the family.

Teaching Textbooks works for our family. If you are looking for a different approach to homeschool math, you may want to give them a try. You can view a demo lesson or download a free placement test from their website.

I based this review on purchased copies of Teaching Textbooks Math 5, Math 6 and Algebra 2.