I want to share some thoughts on curriculum we’ve used in the past in our homeschooling, in the hopes that it will help you as you make your choices for the coming school year. This first review is for Math Relief, a program for teaching Algebra I and II.

My husband teaches college math. More than that, my husband LOVES math! He sees beauty and truth and God in math. I’m afraid he sees a whole lot more than I see in math. but the really sad thing is – all 8 of my children are like me. So, I am not a great one to teach them the JOY of math or the BEAUTY of math. And, even worse, I kind of got stuck in the upper math courses.

We used Saxon in the elementary grades and our first 2 children used Saxon Algebra I and II. But they really did NOT do well. They muddled through but it was really hard (it was easier for my son than my daughter). The the next 2 children came along and Saxon Algebra was a TEARFUL event! I had to find something else that didn’t rely on ME having to try and remember things from 35 years earlier (that I barely got then). My husband tried to teach them, but with his schedule it just didn’t work.

Then I stumbled across Math Relief. AND WAS IT EVER!!

Math Relief is a DVD based curriculum that teaches Algebra I and II. It is put out by Keyboard Enterprises and is written and taught by Leonard Firebaugh. These courses are thorough and clear with no bells and whistles, without excitement and razzle-dazzle but you can tell that Mr. Firebaugh really loves math himself and he is an excellent teacher!

We had no more tears for math. We will be starting our 6th child on Math Relief this fall and it is a HUGE relief for me, knowing that they WILL learn. And if they get stuck along the way, you can call and speak to the author himself to help you through a problem!

Each class is divided into modules (so you can purchase as you go and not have to shell out all the money in the beginning of the school year). AND if you have the children write the answers on a separate sheet of paper, it can be reused for all of your children. Each module is 49 lessons long. It comes with hole-punched lesson pages along with the DVDs. There are answer pages and worksheet pages.

To keep everything protected and organized, I got two 1 1/2″ 3-ring binders. One was for the answer key (labeled: Algebra I Module 1 Answer Key) and I put all of the answer sheets back to back in clear plastic sheet protectors. NO ripped pages! I did the same with the Lesson sheets. I also bought CD sheets for 3-ring binders like these from Walmart.

I found that the 2 binder system was easier to use than 1 larger binder (they tend to get really wonky and don’t hold together very well). Yes, it is a lot of binders, but organization is not easy for me and this ended up being the best way for me to keep things usable year after year with my children.

I HIGHLY recommend Math Relief for any homeschool math program. (this is NOT a paid endorsement – just a seriously satisfied customer)

I’m linking up with these lovely blogs.