Fractions Struggles: Math Mammoth to the Rescue!

     Think back to your days in school.  When you studied fractions, were they a foe or a friend?

     Even though we often use fractions in everyday life as adults, fractions can be quite scary for children learning about them for the first time . . .or fifth time . . . or 25th time.

   
     As adults, we see fractions in gasoline prices, measuring dry and wet ingredients while cooking and baking, slicing pies and pizzas, and when our height is measured.

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     My youngest, Brittany, has had more than a few struggles in her math curriculum over the last six months.  What was the problem, you may ask?  You guessed it: 

                  FRACTIONS.

     Big sis, Kelsi, had the same difficulties when she was studying fractions hard core.  But after that particular book, when she began her next book of studies with decimals, she did just fine and dandy.  Whew!

     I think if we'd practiced fractions with cutting up and serving pie or pizza every day, Brittany would have learned about fractions in a way that would stick in her memory.  After all, she's a hands-on learner, and she loves food! 

     We would have gained a lot of weight, too, but that's beside the point.

     But since she's not big on pizza, and she's never been a big sweets eater, something tells me that this wouldn't have helped her.    :)

     We decided to give Math Mammoth a try, by helping Brittany gain a fresh perspective on the use of fractions and how they operate in mathematics.  Brittany wasn't too keen on starting a second math program that focused strictly on fractions (for the unit that we chose to use in our home), but she didn't complain about doing the work when it actually came right down to it.

     Good thing, because whining and complaining wouldn't have helped either one of us.  And she knew I would have assigned her double assignments if she was heard to be whining or complaining about her new math materials.  Constructive criticism would be okay, but not whining and complaining!

     At first, I wasn't sure exactly which level to pick and use for our Math Mammoth review.  We had some experience with Math Mammoth in the past, so I knew that whichever material we picked, as long as it was age-appropriate, would work out just fine.

     Maria, the owner and author of Math Mammoth, helped me select the correct program for Brittany's needs.  She does this for each and every customer who wants to buy her products from her site, if they'd like help. 

     That kind of personal, one-on-one care these days is amazing!

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     Maria suggested that we begin Brittany in Fractions 1, part of the Blue Series of workbooks.  She also encouraged me to download Fractions 2 and Fractions and Decimals 3 of the Fractions series. 

     There are four different series of books that can be downloaded from Math Mammoth:

• Blue Series - worktexts for different topics from addition to decimals.
  

• Light Blue Series - complete curriculum that goes by grade levels. Placement tests are available!
  

      The two series above contain explanations and problems, just like any regular math textbook. Also, the two of them are, in a sense, duplicates of each other:  they contain practically the same material, but it's "packaged" or organized differently.

• Golden Series - worksheet collections (or workbooks) for grades 3-8. These worksheets contain various problems in each sheet, and are not script-made.
  
  
• Green Series - as above, but by topic, not by grade.
  

      The two series above contain problems only, but very variable problems. Again, the two series above are duplicates. The difference is in how the material is organized: either into grade-levels or into topics.

     Math Mammoth texts are easily downloadable after purchase.  Fractions 1 only costs $4.50, so these worktexts are very reasonably priced!

As of November 2011, the PDF version of many of their books is now enabled for annotation!  This means that if you prefer, your student can fill it in on the computer, using the typewriter and drawing tools in the free Acrobat Reader (Version 9 or greater).

What we thought of Math Mammoth:

1.  I love the "mental math" concept of Math Mammoth; it approaches math in a slightly different way than our regular math curriculum, and at times, that's so helpful! 

2.  It's wonderful to have someone personally guide me toward the correct product that will meet my child's needs and struggles.

3.  The download process went smoothly and easily.  It was also simple to print out Brittany's workbook and place it into a 3-ring binder for ease of use.

4.  While Brittany wasn't loving the thought of working on a new math curriculum using fractions, she approached it kindly and seemed to really enjoy the lesson pages that she completed. 

5.  It's easy for the parent to correct the student's work. 

6.  I think Math Mammoth's Fractions series is helping to fill in a few missing gaps for Brittany.  Sometimes, just having concepts repeated in a slightly different manner can make all the difference.

Final Thoughts about Math Mammoth:

     Math Mammoth offers a sample of over 300 of their worksheets, so you can see what they're like.  Wow!  The workbooks are reasonably priced from $4 - $7, or in bundles for a one-year math curriculum.  This is our second time of using and reviewing Math Mammoth workbooks, and we haven't had any complaints or have been disappointed.  Check out what other TOS Crew members have to say about Math Mammoth!

Julieanne
Joy In Our Journey.com

Disclaimer:  I received a free download of Fractions 1, 2, and 3 in exchange for my honest review of these products.  No other compensation was provided.

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