I was paid a wee bit to write this review, but just like with all things from The WOLFe Pack, what you will find here is an honest opinion from a seasoned homeschool mom with a Master’s Degree in Education and a decade of experience in the classroom…who also happens to be a mom with way too little sleep, too many dishes to do and only 9 months left on her homeschool clock.
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Master Books – Math Lessons for a Living Education – Level 4
By the time the fall rolls around, I will have traveled to 14 homeschool conventions in 2024. I do it as part of my job as the Customer Connection Manager for Nicole the Math Lady. It’s a ton of work, but I LOVE it for several reasons. Not the least of which is the fact that I get to meet thousands of homeschool moms like you. And by “you,” I mean I get to chat with ALL sorts of different types of homeschool women.
But, the one thing that every mama who comes to hear us speak or visit us at our booth has in common is their desire to find the best math curriculum. Unfortunately, there is no single best math curriculum.
But, there is a RIGHT MATH CURRICULUM for your student.
But, choosing the right curriculum is hard. I should know. By the time my one and only child was in Eighth Grade, we had tried EIGHT DIFFERENT MATH CURRICULA. Yeah, 8 by 8th grade. Don’t do that. Someday, I’ll make a post about that crazy journey and how we finally landed where we are.
But, today, I want to tell you about one of the options we did try: Math Lessons for a Living Education
I honestly cannot recall which year we tried it. I cannot even recall which book we did. I just know we tried it and abandoned it partway through.
That’s right. I am about to write a review of a curriculum that we tried and abandoned years ago.
Why? In the last several years, I have learned so much about HOW to select the best math curriculum that it’s now simple for me to go back and see the mistakes I made with my son’s math journey.
Not just the mistakes in the curriculum we tried. And not just the mistakes in how I made those choices. But also the mistakes in the how/when/what we abandoned.
We quit Master Books part way through the book because it was not working for us. But, now I know why it did not work for us…
- I did not research it before I purchased it. If I had and if I knew what I know now, I would have realized there was one aspect that works wonders for some kids but does not work well for my son.
- Before we started it, I did not read all of the intro information. This is a HUGE mistake that I repeated with several different curricula. And I strongly advise you to not make the same mistake.
- Once we were in it, we did not do it as designed (mostly because of the above bullet point.)
So, if you are reading this, you are already way ahead of me. Do your research. Read all of the information the publisher provides. Do the curriculum as designed (I don’t feel as strongly about this with other subjects, but math…math is sequential. And math books, good ones at least, were written by people who understand how math works. That’s not me. I need to trust the experts when it comes to math.)
Read on for a full review.
WHO IS MASTER BOOKS?
Since 1975, the mission statement of Master Books has been “Ink on Paper to Touch Eternity.” Master Books publishes Christian homeschool curriculum that cover all subjects and grade levels. Their intention is that “when we place a Master Books title into someone’s hands, their faith in God and His Word is going to grow.”
Master Books refers to what they have to offer is based on an eclectic style of homeschooling but I have never thought of “eclectic” that way before. Buying all subjects from one company always seemed the opposite of eclectic but Master Books is calling their curriculum eclectic because it was created using different homeschool approaches.
“You may see parts of our style that follow a traditional approach, the living stories and shorter lessons similar to a Charlotte Mason approach, or a child-centered, hands-on approach like the Montessori method. Our focus is on developing solutions that are neurodevelopmentally appropriate and use recognized cognitive learning practices to get the best results in a real-world environment.”
WHAT IS MATH LESSONS FOR A LIVING EDUCATION?
Math Lessons for a Living Education: Level 4 teaches math concepts through engaging, real-life stories and practical application. In addition to teaching how to do the math, this curriculum’s intention is to have kids explore the role math plays in life, develop important character traits and apply critical thinking skills.
In Math Lessons for a Living Education: Level 4 your student will learn:
- New Fraction Concepts
- Multiplication with Carrying using 11’s & 12’s
- Measurement
- Division with Remainders
- Decimals
- Geometry
- and so much more!
HOW ARE THE BOOKS FORMATTED?
The Level 4 book is a hefty, high-quality workbook filled with 390 thick, perforated and hole-punched pages.
The first few pages include a scope & sequence, suggestions on how to use the book, course objectives, a supply list, a daily schedule and more. NOTE: Do not skip these pages. It’s tempting, I know. But this section is ripe with things you will need to make this curriculum work for you.
There are 36 lessons divided into five exercises each. The first six lessons are listed as review. After that, there is a pattern of a series of lessons that teach new concepts followed by a lesson listed as a “review of all new concepts.”
There is also a manipulative section that, combined with the items on the supply list, is designed to be a better (and less-expensive) alternative to an expensive packaged manipulatives kit. This will require some prep work on your part and is an “imperative” part of the curriculum (and not optional like some might think.)
In the very back of the book, you (and your student) will find the solutions to each exercise.
HOW IS A LESSON STRUCTURED?
There are 30 lessons in this book and the curriculum is designed to take 30 minutes a day, five days per week for 36 weeks (for a total of 180 days of work.)
Each of the 36 lessons starts with a one-page story about a homeschool family of five kids (boy/girl twins, two newly adopted siblings and a toddler) with a loving, supportive mom and dad. Grandparents and others often make appearances as well. The story seems to hold a few different roles: starting the new lesson in a fun fashion, exposing kids to a traditional, happy family, showing God at work and setting up the opportunity to show when/how to use math. The story does not teach the math concept, however, the exercises refer back to the story. This sets up a natural opportunity to show kids how the need for math shows up every day in a variety of ways.
The story is followed by an exercise and then there is one exercise each day that follows. An exercise, for the most part, is two pages.
IS IT MASTERY OR SPIRAL?
Spiral: Concepts are repeated frequently adding more depth and making more connections with each appearance.
Mastery: Concepts are presented in a well-defined order with an emphasis on mastery before moving on.
Math for a Living Education is considered mastery, though the lessons that “review of all concepts” appear in a very systematic order which does give it some semblance of a spiral twist as opposed to pure mastery.
This, by the way, is why it would not have been a good fit for my son. He needs spiral. But, many kids flourish under the mastery approach for math.
IS IT “OLD-SCHOOL” OR “NEW” MATH?
Math for a Living Education is, in my opinion, old-school math packaged in a new way focused on making the math concepts more real. It might look and sound very different than a more traditional math curriculum, but the math is the same.
IS THE BOOK CONSUMABLE?
Yes, the books are designed to be written in (consumed) by the student.
DOES IT REQUIRE MANIPULATIVES?
Yes, but not an expensive prepackaged kit. As mentioned above, it uses the consumable pages in the back section of the book combined with everyday items found on the supply list.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE PURCHASED?
Math for a Living Education keeps things simple. For the entire year, you only need to purchase one paperback book. There is no separate test book or answer key. Everything is packaged into that one book. There is also an eBook you can buy instead. It’s a wee bit cheaper but, obviously, requires you to print the pages.
There is also an optional Practice Makes Perfect book. As the name implies, this book’s intent is to offer extra practice if needed. This seems like a very handy way to take a mastery-based curriculum and make it more spiral if/when there is a need.
WHICH LEARNING STYLES WORK WELL WITH THIS?
It would seem that auditory learners would do well with this based on the stories, but as mentioned above, the story does not necessarily teach the math. In my opinion, kids who learn best through reading/writing will be the most natural fit for Math Lessons for a Living Education.
WHICH GRADE LEVELS DOES IT COVER?
Math for a Living Education starts in Kindergarten and covers through Level 6. After that, Master Books offers a different line of math books.
IS THERE A PLACEMENT TEST?
Yes, and it is highly advisable that any new student take the test. It can be found here.
ARE THERE SUPPORT SERVICES FOR IT?
Yes, through Master Books Academy, there is an E-course to support each book. You can watch the first two lessons for free on the website here.
WHERE CAN YOU GET MORE INFO?
To read more about the Master Books approach to homeschool curriculum, click here.
To read more about Math for a Living Education, click here.
