Math Mammoth ~ Review

Math Mammoth is a math product that I’ve had my eye on since the beginning of this school year. I was looking forward to reviewing this product, as I had already utilized some of the sample pages offered on the website with my 4th grader. I requested the 3B and 4A of the Light Blue Series for my child to review for the TOS Crew.

The author:
Maria Miller, the author of Math Mammoth wanted to offer math instruction that was affordable. She also wanted to help parents and teachers teach math so that their students and children could understand it. So, she created the Math Mammoth series.


The products:
Math Mammoth has several different products to choose from.

The Blue Series

• Worktexts with both explanations and problems.
• Each book is on a particular topic, such as clock, multiplication, or geometry.
• Cover topics in grades 1-5.

The Blue Series books contain explanations of the topics and are like a textbook and workbook in the same book. They can be used for initial teaching, remedial teaching, or for review.

The Light Blue Series

• Covers grades 1-5
• Mastery-oriented
• Emphasizes conceptual development in a logical sequence.
• Practically self-teaching – only a little teacher involvement needed.

The Light Blue Books are a complete mathematics curriculum for grades 1-5.  They contain explanations of the topics and are a worktext just like the Light Blue series. Each grade level includes two parts of a worktext, test, cumulative reviews, answer keys, and a worksheet maker.

Worksheets By Grade ~ The Golden Series

• For grades 3-8, organized by grade.
• Contain problems only.

The Golden Series are worksheet collections by grade-level (from grade 3 through Algebra 1), and provide variable problems in a convenient one-topic per sheet format.
Unlike the previous books, The Golden Series books do not teach the topics, and are best suited for teachers or tutors. They work well for classwork or homework, general review, reinforcement, or practice material.

Worksheets By Topic ~ The Green Series

• For grades 3-7, organized by topic.
• Contain problems only.

These are worksheet collections by topic, and provide very variable problems in a one-topic per sheet format. The Green Series does not teach the topics, and like the Golden series, is best suited for teachers or tutors. They work well for classwork or homework, general review, reinforcement, or practice material.

Our experience:
I had already been using the sample sheets offered by Math Mammoth, and I encourage you to try these before purchasing to make sure this program is a good fit for your child. I received the Light Blue Series 3B and 4A for my child. I also decided to purchase the Blue Series book on multiplication on my own. 

We have never used a worktext in our homeschool, so this was a first. A worktext basically teaches the student a concept, then the student does practice problems. It is a text and workbook in one. There are plenty of practice problems per topic. My son would read the instructions to himself, while I would read them over his shoulder silently to myself. I would explain anything he didn’t understand, and then he would do the practice problems. I liked that there was a lot of practice problems per topic, but for him, it was overkill. I ended up either crossing some of them off, so that he didn’t have to do them, or just broke it up over a few days. I have done this with other math curricula in the past, so this personally is not a problem for me. I would much rather have too much math practice offered, then not enough. I felt that the instruction in the worktexts were pretty basic, didn’t go into great depth, but as a parent, sometimes I need a little bit more guidance on how to explain topics to my child.  To help with this, Maria offers free emails with videos on teaching math concepts. I found the videos to be very helpful. Maria comes across as someone who generally loves math, and loves helping others learn and enjoy math!

Some Free Extras:
You can sign up for Maria’s Math Teaching Emails for free here.
It includes:

• a package of 280 free worksheets and sample pages;
• 7 math teaching articles on various topics ranging from coherent curriculum to fractions;
• 2 emails discussing the books;
• Homeschool Math newsletter.

And, if you’re confused about the different options from Math Mammoth, you can sign up for a free 7-day virtual email tour around Math Mammoth’ which you’ll receive:

• a package of 280 free worksheets and sample pages;
• 7 individual emails on 7 subsequent days that answer the most commonly asked questions, including “What is the difference between all these different-colored series?”
• Homeschool Math Newsletter.
• This way, you’ll have time to digest the information over one week, plus an opportunity to ask Maria personally which book would be right for your child.

There are free placement tests available on the website.

Pricing and how to buy:
Math Mammoth products range in price from $2.00 on up to $70.00, depending on the version and package that you order. There are downloadable, as well as CD or printed copies, and  SoftPak software. Click here to learn more about the SoftPak option. A wide range of grade levels and topics are available. Please visit this page on how to order.

To learn more, please visit the Math Mammoth website.  To read what my crewmates had to say about the products they reviewed, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Math Mammoth.

*The author’s review and opinion is entirely her own. This product was provided to the author for free as a member of the 2009-2010 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received.*

**All ORIGINAL text and photos belong to The Homeschool Desk**