Math Essentials Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way

My 7th grader is learning Algebra she is quickly discovering that this is not her area of expertise. I have decided that maybe we need to try a different approach and that approach is Math Essentials  you can find it at https://www.mathessentials.net/. Pricing is currently $35.95 considering it includes videos I consider this a fair price. We are using Math Essentials No- Nonsense Algebra as a supplemental and this is how it went.

No-Nonsense Algebra is a complete algebra program that includes free online video tutorials. So every lesson in the book has a video lesson to go along with it. The lessons are taught by Richard W. Fisher. The book consist of 10 chapters:

Chapter 1- Necessary Tools for Algebra
Chapter 2- Solving Equations 
Chapter 3- Graphing and Analyzing Linear Equations 
Chapter 4- Solving and Graphing Inequalities 
Chapter 5- System of Linear Equations and Inequalities
Chapter 6- Polynomials
Chapter 7- Rational Expressions
Chapter 8- Radical Expressions and Geometry 
Chapter 9- Quadratic Equations 
Chapter 10- Algebra Word Problems

The Goal of  Mastering Essentials Math Skills No-Nonsense Algebra is to explain algebra in a way that is easy to understand with shot, concise, self- contained lessons. 

Mastering Essentials Math Skills No-Nonsense Algebra explains algebra in a way that is easy to understand in short, concise, self-contained lessons.

The lessons take around 20 minutes a day to do. We are using this as a supplemental program to help with some of the topics she is having trouble with.  We start each lesson off by watching the video. My daughter goes to the website and at the top she goes to the video library and click which ever video she needs for the lesson she is on. She can then watch a video for the lesson she is currently working on. The videos give her an explanation using an example problem. She says she really likes the videos and says that so far they are easy to understand but felt that they needed to go through more examples so she be sure she had the steps for doing the problem down.

We then move on to the workbook. She thinks the workbook is easy to follow and gives her plenty of questions to practice on. I love how the book is laid out. At the top of each page it tells the student which lesson they are on. At the bottom it gives the chapter. Then each lesson gives you an introduction with helpful hints on how to do the problems. Then down below it will give you some example problems, that are done for you. She calls these the remind me how its done problems. Below that are the practice problems and some review problems which are done to review things learned in previous lesson. I really like that it gives the student review questions so they are not forgetting what they have worked on in previous lessons. 

At the back of the book you will find chapter reviews and chapter test as well as solutions to all the questions and test. You will also find some charts with important formulas and symbols, multiplication tables, commonly used prime numbers, squares and square roots and fraction/decimal equivalents. My daughter wishes the charts were made to be tore out so she could laminate them. That way she could look at them when needed with out having to flip to the back of the book. 

I feel like both the book and the videos give a good coverage of the topics that are included in the curriculum. I don't think there it would be enough content to last an entire school year but it is  a great supplemental program or even a great summer curriculum to fill in any gaps a student might have. 

Social Media Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/math.essentials

Reading Eggs Review

We used Reading Eggs some time back when the girls were younger. They loved the online program then and still do. My oldest has aged out of the online program but my 4th grader still has a bit of time with it. Its much the same as when we last used it. We still love the explanations and the activities she still thinks they are fun. The ease of use is still very child friendly. They have just released something new that you can use in partnership with the online program. This is a physical workbook called 200 essential Reading Sills for Fourth Grade (it is available in other grade levels this is just the one we received) You can purchase and take a look at all the books through this link https://www.readingeggsshop.com/workbooks/.

The lessons in the book are designed to coincide with the lessons in Reading Eggs. The book covers reading comprehension, spelling and grammar. The lessons are designed to be completed in 15 minutes a day. Each lesson is labeled Week 1 Day 1 and so on making it very easy to follow. They are given 2 reading comprehension lessons and 2 spelling lessons and 1 grammar lesson a week. So the book will give you 15 min a day for 5 days a week for 36 weeks. This would get you through a hole school year. Do I consider the book alone a complete curriculum, no I feel its more of a supplemental program but if you were to combine it with the online program I might be able to consider it a fairly compete program. I feel like the workbook blends in well with the online program and gives them the best of both worlds. They get the instant feed back and auditory learning from the online program but they also get the hands on learning from the physical book. If you were to use both the online program and the work book I think it would take around 20-30 a day to do both. The shorter lessons help to make it less overwhelming and I think together both programs would be great for a struggling reader.

The book is in color and that makes it a little more interesting. Snoopy likes the reading
comprehension stories they start out easier and get a little more complex as you go through the book. They get a little blip at the top of the page that tells them what they are looking for. Like the week 1 day 1 lesson tells about making predictions. Then it gives the passage in the top middle of the page and along each side of the passage it ask them to circle or underline things in the passage. Like circle what the goats did to the children or highlight how Mr. Kent was standing when he looked at the crabs. This is the hands on it gives them something to look for and by highlighting or circling or underlining it helps to reinforce understanding. Down at the bottom of the page it will ask them a couple of questions about what they read. The spelling lessons vary on what it wants them to do. There is always a short simple explanation at the top and then the activity. Some times its just a write the words. Some times its a fill in the missing letters or maybe a complete the sentence. I like that it changes and is not always the same activity. On grammar days they get an explanation at the top of the page and then a few questions or activities to reinforce what they learned. One day it might be a word maze where they color in the pronouns to find the finish line or it might be a complete the sentences with an adjective. There are also some review days thrown in here and there.

For parents there is an answer key in the back of the book. We grade together and talk about any mistakes that were made. You will also find some standards listed at the bottom of each days lesson. This would be helpful for those of you that are required to list them on lesson plans etc.

For Readingeggs.com she is in the Reading Eggspress level which is for ages 7-13. There is a placement test you can have your child take to help start them off in the right area. They can also re-take the placement test at any time. It covers all the same topics that the book does but its interactive. The interactive part is great for auditory learners and those that are visual learners. My daughter is using the app version of it this time on her Ipad 2. So far we have had not technical issues with using it on the app. It logs in just like it does when on her laptop. She is able to navigate the lessons and so far as long as she does one lesson a day they have matched up with what she has been working on in the workbook. I really like that they go hand in hand to reinforce each lesson. She loves the video lessons and how interactive the program is. She thinks earning her targets are cool but doesn't really get the point of the trading cards.

She has a dashboard that shows her progress in each area: Comprehension, Lexile level and growth, books read, assessments completed, progress by category, spelling lessons, trophies earned as well as what she has done in the stadium (these are the games she plays). The page is printable for record keeping it is in color but looks just fine in black and white. I am impressed with the progress chart and find it helpful for keeping track of how she is doing since its a self grading online program.


Don't forget you can purchase the workbooks through https://www.readingeggsshop.com/workbooks/.

If you purchase the books through this link be sure to enter the code :WK10HFTPKW6 at check out to receive 10% off. In addition to this you can use this link to receive 4 free weeks of Reading Eggs: https://readingeggs.com/crew57/