Math Tutor - TOS Product Review

Sometimes, teaching math is just plain painful... for me, anyway! There are days when the oldest tells me something like, "step away from the math book, mom," and takes over helping a younger sibling. There are days, I have to say, when I slap the book shut and announce with firmness, "Wait till your dad gets here. He's the math guy!" And there are days, frankly, when I think, "You don't know how easy you've got it. You do school in your jammies on the couch and at the table during snack time and in the grass under the Florida sun. You should try sitting in a classroom for lectures!"

Enter the Math Tutor DVDs. Designed with parents like me in mind (well, maybe not that last one!), it is a series of topical training videos to help students with Math!! Most courses are 8 hours long, and cost about $27. Ranging from basic math, to physics, calculus, geometry, word problems, probability and statistics and many more, Math Tutor DVD's slogan is "Press Play For Success."

My children especially enjoyed the story problems DVD. Although it's really just a teacher in a classroom (aha! my wish is granted!) problems are taught slowly and in detail, with some humor thrown in occasionally to grab attention. The instructor, Jason Gibson, holds a long and impressive list of credentials including work with NASA with a full space shuttle flight control certification. As he says, though,

"Now, I am the first to admit that none of this amounts to a hill of beans when teaching a lesson. What really matters if the instructor take a complex topic and assume the student knows absolutely nothing about the task at hand and take him/her from zero knowlege to expert in step-by-step chunks. I personally get a thrill out of making seemingly complex topics suddenly easy to students. I have found over the years that the easy way to do this is to learn by working example problems, beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder ones."

I personally found in school that teachers who were likeable, were most memorable, and often their material was therefore somehow more palatable. I am thinking this guy comes across as a "nice guy" on video, and it just make harder math concepts more digestible! (His simple and straightforward methods of course would help.)

These videos could be a great add-on for days when teaching many stretches you beyond your dreams, or for supplementing the vital math studies to assure success in a given subject. Complete course listings are available online, as well as sample videos and verbal testimonials (VERY convincing!!). This is a neat discovery, and I love the money-back guarantee, although I suspect it rarely gets used.

...and another math book makes him happy.

E. loves his math. Reading is okay, if his siblings are doing it with him, or if he's reading "just for fun." But math, that will be a willing assignment on any given day, especially with this new book - it's bright and shiny and filled with a ton of new "projects!"
This book comes for our review from Critical Thinking Press. Here is a quote from their website:

We design critical thinking into reading, writing, math, science and history lessons so students carefully analyze what they are learning. Deeper analysis produces deeper understanding, which results in better grades and higher test scores. Over time, students who practice critical thinking learn to apply it throughout their education and life.

We do not teach through drill and memorization or teach to the tests—we empower the mind! Our goals are higher grades, top test scores, and problem solving skills to meet all of life’s challenges. The Critical Thinking Company is recommended by Mensa, Learning Magazine, The Well Trained Mind, Dr. Toy, Creative Child Magazine, and used by Sylvan Learning Centers, Club Z In-Home Tutoring, leading U.S. public schools, and gifted & talented programs in 57 countries throughout the world. We guarantee better grades and higher test scores—or your money back. Lofty goals and high praise!

For my non-homeschooling friends, this site is rich with resources for all learners, as well as traditional school teachers and parents.

I found this book to be a visual delight. I would not use it as a primary math curriculum, as it does not seem to be laid out in this way, but it is a neat supplemental material, and easy to grab one topic to work on.

My only criticism: (and some would consider this a "plus") the pages are not removable. I would like to pick-and-choose pages for E. to work on and save the rest for Littlest, but instead, we'll have to just save the whole book. This will bug my slightly-obsessive-in-small-areas self!

update: An email from a friend: Two words: EXACTO KNIFE!! When E is done with the math book, use an exacto knife to easily cut out the pages from the spine that he doesn’t use to save them for Isaac. Wow, what a great idea! I am TOTALLY doing this!