Today, we’re going to review the top 10 homeschool math curriculum options. We have a lot of math curriculums to look at, so let’s get right into it.
Math U See Homeschool Math Curriculum
First on our list is a popular mastery based math curriculum called Math U See. This company has math curriculum options for kids in prek all the way through calculus, so if you start this math curriculum in the elementary years, you could end up using it for your child’s entire homeschool math curriculum all the way through high school.
The Math U See program can be purchased as a set for each grade level, and each set includes an instruction manual, student workbook, and video lessons either on DVD or streaming online. You’ll also get a tests booklet and an integer block set with most of the elementary level sets.
The instruction manuals are detailed and help parents to easily teach the lessons, especially if you use them along with the videos. The student workbooks include some fun exercises, although I do wish they were in color.
If you’re not sure what level to start with, you can view the scope and sequence for each level on their website. They also have a placement tool that you can use to help you decide.
This seems like a really solid choice for an elementary math curriculum, and it comes highly recommended from a lot of homeschool families. But for now, let’s move on to the next math curriculum on our list.
Math Mammoth
Another popular mastery based homeschool math curriculum for grades 1 through 8 is from Math Mammoth. You’ll get a complete math curriculum for each grade level, including student workbooks, tests, and more, and there are also free online videos available that match up with the books.
The Math Mammoth curriculum does not come with a separate parent manual. It’s designed to be self teaching, so all of the explanations are in the student workbooks. If you pair that with the videos, there shouldn’t be much prep or teaching needed from parents.
This homeschool math curriculum focusses on conceptional understanding, mental math and number sense, and teaches one concept at a time. You can view samples from the workbooks on their website to get an idea of what they look like. Keep in mind that these are all PDFs and not printed books. However, you can purchase printed versions of the books in either black and white or color if you order them from Rainbow Resource Center.
If you’re not sure which level to start with, there are also placement tests that you can download.
Dimensions/Primary Math
The next elementary math curriculum on our list is actually the one that I use in my homeschool, for my 5 year old twins as well as my 10 year old. It’s called Dimensions, and it’s another mastery based math curriculum based on the Singapore math method.
With Dimensions, you have the option to include a home instructor’s guide, textbook and workbooks for each level. And if you want the option to include instructional videos to go along with the lessons, they have that for grades 1 through 6. The workbooks are colorful and straightforward, teaching one concept at a time. I know it shouldn’t matter, but to me, the colorful pages really were a selling point. And I also love that you can write in the textbook.
You can view samples pages and the scope and sequence for each grade level on their website. There are also placement tests which can be super helpful when switching to this curriculum. We switched over from Horizons, and we actually had to go backwards a bit because some concepts were covered in earlier grades that we had not yet gotten to in Horizons. With the twins we are using this right from the start so we don’t have to worry about that.
Dimensions is designed to be a robust homeschool math curriculum, covering math concepts in more depth than you would find in a typical public school curriculum. If your child really struggles with math, you might want to try Primary Math instead, which is from the same company but it is different than Dimensions. They have a guide on their website to help you decide which curriculum is best for your family. And I also have a video on my YouTube channel going over the options in more detail.
Life of Fred
Next is another popular homeschool math curriculum that we also use in my home called Life of Fred. You may have heard of this curriculum and been wondering about it, because it does seem really different than what you think of as a math curriculum. It’s more of a storybook about math than a math curriculum. But some homeschool families do use this as their main math curriculum. We use it as a supplement and just to give my 10-year-old a more real-world view of math. I also like that it introduces concepts of algebra very early, so I’m hoping that might make algebra easier when we get there.
Life of Fred does mention God somewhat throughout the curriculum, so just keep that in mind if you’re looking for something strictly secular. I also think it’s a difficult curriculum to switch to. You kind of need to start at the beginning in order to follow the story, which really continues through each book. My daughter is now on the 6th book, and since she’s really into the story, I assume we will be continuing with it. I am not totally sure if it’s helping her with math, but she doesn’t really love reading that much, so we’re certainly going to keep it for reading practice since she likes it.
The books are not babyish in the way they’re written, so if you want to start this with a slightly older kid, you should be fine starting at the beginning. I think my daughter was 7 when we started with the first book. The books are short so you can do several in a year. If your child is 10 or older and has a strong grasp of the basics, you can start with the fractions book. I’m looking forward to when we get there, but I just don’t know if I want to skip over any of the books in between. So we’ll see how it goes.
Saxon
Next on our list is a popular tried and true homeschool math curriculum that many homeschool graduates gripe about called Saxon. I do not think it’s a favorite among students, but if you can get your child to do it, it might be a good choice for a homeschool math curriculum, especially if high scores on standardized tests is something that’s important to you. Just be prepared for a lot of involvement in the early grades as this program uses a lot of manipulatives.
They do have scripted lesson plans to help make teaching easier for you. And if you stick with it after 3rd grade, students will start to be able to work more independently.
Unlike the homeschool math curriculums that we’ve reviewed so far, Saxon math has a spiral approach. So there’s going to be a lot of review and repetition, which honestly is something I do miss having. But there might be a little too much with this curriculum. It really depends on the student.
With Saxon math, you’ll need to get the student workbooks as well as the teacher’s guide which will include the lesson plans and detailed instructions on how to teach each concept. Of course, you may be able to do without the teacher’s guide if you feel comfortable teaching math. There is also a supplemental book called the meeting book which you may find you don’t really need. And of course for the elementary grades, you will need to make sure you have all the necessary manipulatives.
The problem with Saxon from what I’ve heard is that it doesn’t really explain the math. So you need someone to teach it, or you need to find videos to accompany it. This is more of a problem in the later years when it’s supposed to be more hands off for parents. There are some different options out there where people have created videos specifically aligned to the Saxon math books, but you aren’t going to be able to just get a DVD or streaming course with your purchase like you can with a lot of the other math curriculums on our list.
Right Start Math
Next on our list is another popular math curriculum that many homeschool families swear by, especially for the first years of math. It’s called Right Start Math, and it is a very unique curriculum. They use a special Abacus that is supposed to help kids learn to visualize math quantities instead of just focusing on counting. It’s designed to help kids build a strong foundation in number sense, and it also emphasizes problem-solving and place value early on.
It’s hard to find a negative review for Right Start Math. From what I can see, the biggest complaint people have is about the cost. And it’s true, if you’re new to this program, you will need to buy the manipulatives kit, which is more than $200. But it is possible that you could piece this together yourself and save a bit of money. You will still need the lesson book and worksheet books for each level, and if you buy these separately, they are still a bit expensive.
They have a placement test on their website if you aren’t sure where to start, but it is not very detailed. Unless your child already knows their addition facts up to 10, they’ll be starting with level A, even if they’ve already completed a kindergarten math program.
The books look nice, although not colorful like some of the other books on our list. The lessons are nicely scripted for the parents, so it should be simple to teach, even if you’re not a math wiz. I think if you’re just starting out this would be a great program to use for the elementary school years. I just don’t know if it would be good to switch to after you’ve already started with something else.
Horizons
Next on our list is another spiral learning math curriculum called Horizons. And this is actually what we started with when we first started homeschooling my older daughter. There was no particular reason for it. I was new to homeschooling, and I bought a bundle, and that’s what I picked.
Horizons comes with a teachers guide to help you teach the lessons along with student workbooks. One thing I did like about the workbooks is they were colorful, and there were a lot of different activities to do so it didn’t get boring. The repetition of concepts did get a little tiresome though especially once my daughter knew how to do something. So I did end up letting her skip over a lot of it once she had a concept down.
While I don’t remember there being any religious references in it, this is from a Christian curriculum company, so there definitely could be some references to God in it. If you are looking for a strictly non-religious curriculum, this may not be a good choice. But if your child needs a lot of practice and repetition with each concept, this might work well for you. You can review the scope and sequence of each grade level on their website to help you decide which level to start with.
Evan Moor
If you’re looking for an affordable elementary math curriculum, you might want to try Evan Moor. You can get a full grade-level math curriculum set for just $42.73, which is a really great price. You’ll get a teacher’s edition and student book of daily math practice as well as their math fundamentals teachers resource to help you teach new concepts. If you’re not sure which level to start with, you can check out the scope and sequence if you view the sample pages of the books on their website.
And looking at the samples here, you know I’m going to say that I wish they were in color. But I still really do like the way the Evan Moor workbooks look. At least there are some pictures to make it interesting, rather than just pages of numbers that can really make a younger kid just dread doing math.
This is another spiral math curriculum, so your kids will get to revisit skills they’ve already learned to help keep those skills sharp. So if you’re looking for a straightforward, simple, spiral math curriculum that’s also very affordable, this might be the one for you.
Math With Confidence
If you’re looking for a simple and fun open and go math curriculum for your elementary student, you might want to try Math with Confidence. This is yet another spiral math curriculum that has children continually revisit topics to make sure they really grasp the concepts. But is also focuses on mastery, focusing on one topic at a time with each new lesson building upon the previous one.
It’s fully scripted, and it includes some fun games and hands-on activities. But it won’t break the bank with a huge pack of manipulatives like some of the other programs on the list.
The Math with Confidence curriculum includes an instructor’s guide for you to use to teach the math lessons, as well as a student workbook. The workbook pages are very colorful which I love, and they include some fun activities, so they’re not boring for younger kids. They’re also really affordable. You can get a full year with both the student and teacher guides for around $45 on Amazon. So that’s definitely a plus.
If you’re not sure which level to start with, they do have a guide on their website that should help you choose the right one.
Beast Academy
And finally, last on our list is a math curriculum that’s supposed to be especially good for gifted students called Beast Academy. If you’ve heard of the Beast Academy online math program or even seen my review on my YouTube channel, you know it’s a pretty great program. But today we are just looking at the print curriculum, for which they offer a full curriculum for kids ages 6 to 13.
Beast Academy is really interesting because it uses comic books to teach the math concepts. So that’s where the actual math instruction is from. There isn’t any kind of teacher instruction manual. Just the comic books to read and then practice workbooks to do. But you could certainly pair it with the online program which does also include instructional videos.
The Beast Academy math curriculum is definitely designed to give kids more than just a basic understanding of math. There is a big focus on problem-solving and critical thinking, and not so much of a focus on memorization and drills. I’ve heard the curriculum is very challenging and is especially great for kids who already like math. But it may not be the best choice for kids who struggle with math, or for parents who need more support in teaching math to their children.
So that’s our list of 10 homeschool math curriculum picks. There are some really great options here. If I had to do it all over, I think I might have chosen Right Start Math. Of all the math curriculum options on our list, I do like their approach a lot, and I think it would have been great. But I am still very happy with Dimensions and have no plans to switch any time soon. My twins are doing well so far, and my older daughter doesn’t hate it, which is saying a lot coming from her!
If you have any questions about any of these math curriculums, please let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to answer!
