Week 5 - Taking it easy with lots of Reading

We sort of took it easy this week.  We did our regular lessons, and the kids did a ton of reading for the summer reading program.  Caty's goal is 80 tickets.  I need to re-add her books, but I think she may be pretty close now.

Sunday we used our Read to Success tickets we earned from Six Flags.  We all had a really good time.  Even Brayden had fun.  I think we will be going back to Six Flags next year instead of the amusement park by us.  We were very impressed with how clean it was and how nice the people all were.

 We worked on schoolwork.  This week we started learning about Rollercoasters.  We read a couple books we found at Barnes and Noble and also worked on a small unit study on Rollercoasters I found at Teacher Pay Teachers.  This was mainly about roller coasters in the US.  There is some graphing and map work which I thought was cool.

 We used paper and a ping pong ball to try and make a roller coaster.  Unfortunately we didn't get far because our ping pong ball was not heavy enough to make the loop.

 Even though she isn't on a horse, she still is working on her arm strength.  Or at least when I argue with her she is.

 Working on her spelling book.

 Working on her CTC Math.

 He does do schoolwork...but only when I am angry.

 Enjoying ice cream with daddy.

 He made brownies one day.  He was proud of himself.  He even tried to crack an egg all by himself.  Normally he won't touch eggs.

 We spent a lot of time at Barnes and Noble.  We went to their Dr Who event.  The kids won a bunch of Dr. Who items.  They thought that was cool.

 The next day we went to the Magic Tree House event they hosted.  That was fun.  All the kids enjoyed this.

 It started raining hard while we were there, Lydia started reading Caty a book.  They do like each other!

Next week is our last week here.  Then we are home for a month or so.  Back to the at home activities that we leave while we are on the road.  Lots of 4H activities coming up.

CTC Math Review

Product:  CTC Math - 12 month Family Plan

Age Range:  K - Grade 12

Cost:  On Sale - $118.80 for 2 or more students (Regular Price $297.00)

I am very nervous about teaching math.  It's not the add 1 and 2 and get 3 problems.  It's the more advanced stuff.  Some days it's really hard though working with the simple addition.  It's usually days where the kids want me to be mom and not their teacher.  But those same days are the ones that I feel like we are not getting enough schoolwork done. 

I have been looking for a little extra help in math.  So I was very excited to get the opportunity to try CTC Math.  CTC Math is a online math program that provides extra help for students who may be struggling in various areas of math.  

CTC Math offers video instruction which can be repeated as often as a student needs.  To go along with each lesson, there are quizzes to reinforce and provide practice in the skills that your student needs extra help in.  

CTC Math provides:

• Almost 1,400 math videos and interactive lessons
• 57,000 interactive questions
• Diagnostic tests
• Instant feedback for both parents and students
• Help with higher level math such as algebra, trigonometry and calculus
• Math lessons are available for students in levels from kindergarten through high school

CTC Math can be used as a supplement or as your math curriculum.  It allows students to work at a pace that encourages them to master a skill, not just learn it.  The videos are short and yet full of information that helps those with short attention spans.

We have been using the 12 month Family Plan for a few weeks now.  The Family Plan allows up to 5 students in one family to use CTC Math at their own level.  So we started using CTC Math right away.

At first I thought of just using it as a supplemental material to go with what the kids are already using.  But I really like the video instructions for each lesson.  They are not flashy or full of cartoon characters, so they are not distracting.  They explained the topics well.  So we have gradually started using CTC Math as more of our Core and we use games now to supplement the topics we are working on.

Caty is working at the Kindergarten level currently.  The lessons are not lengthy.  The videos for her level last roughly 2 - 5 minutes.  Depending on how well she grasps the new concept, we continue on to the questions.  If I think she needs a little more work on the topic, we will play a game or practice using a whiteboard.  The next lesson, we'll watch the same video again.  If she is ready, we move on to answer the questions.  The look on her face when she sees her score just makes me smile every time.  She gets so excited.  

Lydia is actually doing to reinforcement exercises as we prep into third grade math.  I noticed that she was missing a few facts in her math memory, so we are doing some lessons in both first and second grade level to reinforce skills she may have missed or was struggling with.  So we are using CTC Math as her curriculum right now.  She watches the videos, which are roughly 3 - 5 minutes each.  Then answers the questions provided.  Lydia is very much driven by seeing high scores and those green checks that she got the answers right.  The instant feedback is such a wonderful feature for her.  She is so proud and I have to print off her certificates right away!

Joey is my struggling math child.  CTC Math has been helping him as I took him back to basic concepts that he is still struggling to grasp.  These past few weeks have provided him with more confidence.  He will always struggle with math, but the videos have really helped him.  The length of the material is not overwhelming.  He can easily navigate the website without help.  Most of the questions are read to him.  I do wish a few more were read to the students or an option given to them to have the questions read to them.  Joey would have really benefitted from this as he has a reading comprehension delay.

We have been using CTC Math for a few weeks now, and we will continue to use the program.  I am going to keep using the program as Caty's primary math program.  She enjoys the videos and I know that she is covering topics that she needs to be doing at this level.  This level also allows us to incorporate puzzles and games to reinforce the videos that she is watching.  For Lydia we are going to continue doing our review schedule that I have set up so she is on track for 3rd grade math.  Joey we will continue following the schedule I have set up for him to follow to continue to give him confidence in completing his math assignments.

I know that the price seems a little high, but when I sit down and figure how much I spend on textbooks and other curriculum sources for math, I can justify it since I can have all the kids on one program.  I am easily able to make a list of lessons that I want them to complete.  I like that I can print the quizzes for their portfolios, and can print the certificates they earn to hang them up to show off the kid's accomplishments.  CTC Math is easy for the kids to navigate on their own.  Even with her trouble reading, Lydia has been able to finish quite a few lessons almost completely on her own.  That means her confidence is boosted even more!

I am going to mention one more of my favorite things about CTC Math.  The simple videos.  My kids like playing math games online.  But sometimes the flashier the program, the less they learn.  The videos on CTC Math are simple and to the point.  They give a good explanation.  I found one or two videos that confused Joey just a bit, but after watching them a couple times he was able to grasp the basic concept.  

We are going to continue using CTC Math for all the kids.  The ease of use for myself in helping the kids with their math education is priceless.  We are definitely at a busy spot in our lives where CTC Math came in at the right time and is able to help our family.  Here are some links to a few lessons so that you can see how the lessons are presented and how material is covered.....

Several other families from the TOS Review Crew had the opportunity to try out CTC Math.  Be sure the visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to see how CTC Math worked for their families.