Inside: If you are looking for an online math curriculum, let me tell you about our experience using CTCMath since the spring of 2016!
Disclaimer: I received this product for free and was compensated for my time. As always, I’m honestly sharing my opinions and experiences.
Every time I had a new baby, I had a “Mommy’s helper” fantasy. I would daydream about this competent helper that will walk into my life and take a bit of the weight of life off my shoulders.
Have you also imagined the kind of helper I’m talking about?
A calm and gentle person who intuitively senses what needs to be done and does it. I would never need to explain or correct anything. Reclining on the couch breastfeeding my baby, I would not have to worry about jumping up and fetching something for my toddler every three seconds. I would suddenly even have time for a quick nap or a shower…
When I think of the CTCMath, it honestly reminds me of that mommy’s helper. It can take a significant weight off your shoulders (by teaching your kids math for you) and not just when you have a new baby.
The CTCMath Curriculum
CTCMath is an online, subscription-based curriculum for grades K through high school. If you read my blog, you probably know that we are about as unplugged as can be. However, I’m okay with allowing CTCMath into our lives for several reasons I talk about below.
This program can be used as your core math curriculum. You don’t really need anything else. That said, in my family, I like to use more than one resource because I think that the best learning happens when the information comes from various modalities.
The company was founded by Patrick Murray, a math teacher and a homeschooling father of 10 (10?! Yep! That’s right! Ten kids!)
When I sat down to write this review, I logged into our CTCMath portal to poke around our statistics and history.
I was a bit shocked by what I found out.
Collectively, my three older kids have finished one thousand three hundred and eighty-two lessons!
Yep, 1,382!
I hope you take it to mean what it means, that we love CTCMath and that my kids do it willingly and regularly.
We first started using CTC Math in the spring of 2016, when I was pregnant with my fourth child. It was wonderful to know that my kids could get in a good math lesson even on the days when I was too busy, too tired, or had any other “too” on my mind.
12 Reasons We Still Love CTCMath
(even after 5 Years)
1. Hey, Mom, Go Have a Break!
I love to engage with my kids’ learning materials and bond with them over textbooks, but I can’t do it all the time or with every subject. If I invest all of my “free time” into science lessons (as we did recently with our Science Curriculum), I need some math help. The CTC Math lessons teach my kids math, and my involvement is truly not required. It’s like that perfect mom’s helper that takes the weight off my shoulders while asking nothing in return
2. Shake It Up and Break It Up
I don’t know how he does it! Patrick Murray, the founder of CTC Math, takes each concept apart and then explains it in a few short minutes. And when I say “explain it,” I don’t mean “let’s put the checkmark it’s done kind of way.” I mean that kids really “get” the lesson. I love this brevity, and my kids appreciate it too.
3. Goodbye, Wasted Time!
No wasted time, seriously! I’ve tested online programs with a ton of instructions and downloading time that allowed me to paint my nails one by one between each math problem. “Loading, loading, loading…” Aaaaaaa! The CTC Math lessons move efficiently from short explanation to short practice, and kids are done before they can even get bored.
4. Consistency
Patrick Murray teaches every lesson in every grade. As my kids got older in the last five years, their love for his cute Australian accent didn’t fade. It also helps that all the lessons follow the same format throughout. He’s like a family friend.
5. Stick with It
Even though it’s an online program, it’s one marked by minimalistic taste. You won’t see flashing images, loud (annoying) noises, ads, or busy graphics. I find that the program offers just enough of what is required to capture a child’s attention and keep them challenged without overstimulating or frustrating them
6. The Whole Scoop
Progressive lessons cover a wide range of core topics. When your kids are done with CTCMath, they will be proficient in multiplying and dividing, fractions, decimals, graphing and measurements, algebra, and geometry. As I mentioned above, it’s now designed to be a core curriculum for math education.
7. Friendly Family Competition
The family subscription includes a master account for the parent and one for each of your children. It means that your kids can compete with each other.
Who can get the highest grade today?
What about becoming the one to finish the most number of classes in a week?
And hey, even who can get through their grade the fastest?
Fun!!!
8. The Secret Ingredient
The way the course is organized and presented makes it easier to see all the lessons completed at a glance. It’s always breath-taking for a child to see how far they’ve come. For example, my oldest son finished 752 lessons. Yes, if you do a little every day, it really does build up!
So, the secret ingredient is the fact that CTCMath is a huge self-confidence builder. I often notice my kids going over the covered lessons, admiring their achievements, and sharing their success stories.
9. When the Going Gets Tough
With CTC Math, kids have the freedom to go back at any time. Once kids get deeper into the trenches, the going might get tough (dividing fractions has always been a challenge for my kids).
No problem.
They can take the same topic in the previous grade and review the “difficult” lesson two times, three times, 1 million times. They can work at their own pace and keep trying until they get it.
10. Finding the Right Way to Motivate Your Child
All my kids are athletes, and they’re highly motivated by medals. (I know, I know, I did read Alfie Kohl’s book Punished by Rewards, but I don’t necessarily agree). With CTCMath, kids get gold, silver, or bronze depending on how well they performed in a lesson.
There is even a highly coveted platinum medal reserved for kids who got 100% in a lesson. My kids are highly motivated to get higher medals, and they’ve been known to take the same class multiple times to improve their results. It’s a great way to impress on them that it’s not about learning fast but learning well. Score!
11. Diagnostic Tools
They can be used as a pretest before starting the program or post-test to see the level of understanding the program has imparted.
12. It Speaks for Itself
You want your kids to learn math? With CTCMath they do. Nothing speaks as loud as the results.
In a Nutshell
CTCMath is your best option for a comprehensive online math curriculum. It’s user-friendly, well-organized, cost-effective (all your kids can use it), and it works – kids learn math and like it!
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