greytmom
06-03-2008, 07:02 AM
Name of curriculum: Shiller Math
Common abbreviation: Shiller
Educational Approach: Montessori
Grade level: six numbered books plus a book on fractions
starting at age 4-5 so K-5th or 6th grade depending on how long it takes you to work through the books.
Worldview: (neutral)
Website: www.shillermath.com (http://www.shillermath.com)
Review: This is a very hands on approach to learning math that is structured somewhat differently from other curriculum options on the homeschool market today. Because it is very tactile it is good for my right brained child, he is allowed to explore the bigger picture of what he is doing and the math concepts before he is expected to learn his math facts. It is highly oral and manipulative based so the need for actually writing things out is minimal although now in book 4 that is increasing a bit. It is fun and the kids enjoy it. It is easy to understand and implement for me the teacher, although it is teacher intensive in that most of the lessons are done with the child. It is not something that you can just hand them to go and do. It does include a lot of manipulatives so storage of those is an issue but they are quality pieces that our kids enjoy using even outside of math time. Our favorite aspect is that their is no set amount of progress to be made in a given day it is all based on time, 20 min a day for a 5 yr old and then add 5 min for each additional year of age over that. Then you work at your own pace during your block of time. When the time is up you put the book away and start up where you left off tomorrow.
A quote from the website: " Everything you need to know to help your child build math skills and self-confidence, and to make learning enjoyable and rewarding for both of you."
Have you used this curriculum? Yes What levels? Books 1-4, I bought both complete kits so I have all the books and we will continue to work through them.
Strengths: It is parent and child friendly, It is not tedious to do for the child. It gives a good solid conceptual base. Good option for children who lag in fine motor skills such as writing, or are for whatever reason resistant to writing.
Weaknesses: Not a lot of written out worksheets, It is time intensive so if you have multiple children working at multiple levels you have to be prepared to spen time individually with each of them. Math takes me about 2.5 hours due to working with 3 kids individually.
Comments: We have enjoyed this and it is a good fit for my son who hated math and when I took him in for achievement testing the first time I was told Saxon was the wrong math to use with him. My mom actually found this at a conference and bought it and although it does take a huge chunk of my time it is worth it to me for the progress I have seen in that son. To make it more do-able for us I am supplementing with a workbook, I work with 2 children a day and the other gets a workbook page then the next day a different one gets their workbook, this has cut my time from about 2.5 hrs to only about 1.5 hrs and has made a big difference for me. I do not add the workbook until third grade, by then they know what they are doing and I do not need to explain their workbook pages much to them. Even though my oldest two work in the same book I split them up to the every other day method because my daughter likes to work at a much faster pace where my son likes to take his time, I finally realised that I was either slowing one down and losing her interest or pushing one fast and losing his motivation, so for us this is how we make it work.
Any other users who have anything additionally to add or think of something relevant that I may have left out are welcome to post and add their thoughts, this is my first review so I am new at this. Thanks
FTC Disclosure: PLEASE NOTE: This is a “For Profit” site. The Library makes commissions on products sold through affiliate and advertiser links. The products reviewed here may or may not have an affiliate link (most don’t), but we want you to be aware that it is a possibility. Whether this affiliation affects the objectivity of the reviews here is debatable. We don’t think it does, but that’s up to you to decide. If you want to know about a specific product, please feel free to ask. For a full list of current affiliates, check out the Affiliate Forum.
Common abbreviation: Shiller
Educational Approach: Montessori
Grade level: six numbered books plus a book on fractions
starting at age 4-5 so K-5th or 6th grade depending on how long it takes you to work through the books.
Worldview: (neutral)
Website: www.shillermath.com (http://www.shillermath.com)
Review: This is a very hands on approach to learning math that is structured somewhat differently from other curriculum options on the homeschool market today. Because it is very tactile it is good for my right brained child, he is allowed to explore the bigger picture of what he is doing and the math concepts before he is expected to learn his math facts. It is highly oral and manipulative based so the need for actually writing things out is minimal although now in book 4 that is increasing a bit. It is fun and the kids enjoy it. It is easy to understand and implement for me the teacher, although it is teacher intensive in that most of the lessons are done with the child. It is not something that you can just hand them to go and do. It does include a lot of manipulatives so storage of those is an issue but they are quality pieces that our kids enjoy using even outside of math time. Our favorite aspect is that their is no set amount of progress to be made in a given day it is all based on time, 20 min a day for a 5 yr old and then add 5 min for each additional year of age over that. Then you work at your own pace during your block of time. When the time is up you put the book away and start up where you left off tomorrow.
A quote from the website: " Everything you need to know to help your child build math skills and self-confidence, and to make learning enjoyable and rewarding for both of you."
Have you used this curriculum? Yes What levels? Books 1-4, I bought both complete kits so I have all the books and we will continue to work through them.
Strengths: It is parent and child friendly, It is not tedious to do for the child. It gives a good solid conceptual base. Good option for children who lag in fine motor skills such as writing, or are for whatever reason resistant to writing.
Weaknesses: Not a lot of written out worksheets, It is time intensive so if you have multiple children working at multiple levels you have to be prepared to spen time individually with each of them. Math takes me about 2.5 hours due to working with 3 kids individually.
Comments: We have enjoyed this and it is a good fit for my son who hated math and when I took him in for achievement testing the first time I was told Saxon was the wrong math to use with him. My mom actually found this at a conference and bought it and although it does take a huge chunk of my time it is worth it to me for the progress I have seen in that son. To make it more do-able for us I am supplementing with a workbook, I work with 2 children a day and the other gets a workbook page then the next day a different one gets their workbook, this has cut my time from about 2.5 hrs to only about 1.5 hrs and has made a big difference for me. I do not add the workbook until third grade, by then they know what they are doing and I do not need to explain their workbook pages much to them. Even though my oldest two work in the same book I split them up to the every other day method because my daughter likes to work at a much faster pace where my son likes to take his time, I finally realised that I was either slowing one down and losing her interest or pushing one fast and losing his motivation, so for us this is how we make it work.
Any other users who have anything additionally to add or think of something relevant that I may have left out are welcome to post and add their thoughts, this is my first review so I am new at this. Thanks
FTC Disclosure: PLEASE NOTE: This is a “For Profit” site. The Library makes commissions on products sold through affiliate and advertiser links. The products reviewed here may or may not have an affiliate link (most don’t), but we want you to be aware that it is a possibility. Whether this affiliation affects the objectivity of the reviews here is debatable. We don’t think it does, but that’s up to you to decide. If you want to know about a specific product, please feel free to ask. For a full list of current affiliates, check out the Affiliate Forum.