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. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.
Ahhhh, Math. The bane of most homeschool parent's teaching!
Adding, subtracting, even multiplying/dividing and fractions are easy. But then you hit pre-Algebra, and every parent without a Math degree starts panicking! Math Essentials knows this, so they decided to help us poor parents, and those who have to help with students' homework out, with their new book, Math Refresher for Adults!
Mr Fisher understands our pain of having been away from 'scholarly' math for so long, that we've forgotten the formulas and methods of solving the harder math equations! Unlike riding a horse, you can forget the math you don't use every day! And that's where Math Refresher For Adults comes to the rescue. This book explains all the topics from grade four through algebra, that your kids NEED to know, and that YOU need to refresh yourself on! You actually might be surprised at how much you remember, after looking through the book!
The book gives you short, easy- to-understand lessons or Helpful Hints, if it thinks you don't need a full lesson, as well as review exercises for what has previously been learned, and most importantly enough exercises so that YOU know what you are doing, in order to teach the same topics to your child! And if your memory is still saying "nope, don't remember", then you can access the free online video tutorials, that come with your purchase of the book! Each lesson is short, and within 10 minutes or so, you can refresh your memory on any of the included math topics!
Here's another look at a sample page. See how EASY it looks? You have 4 review exercises (usually on methods you need to work the new set of problems) and then your lesson or hint section, with completed samples, and then your exercises for the topic at hand, usually about 10 of them, with space for your answers to the right. And since we're talking homeschooling, we don't always need to see all the work laid out, right? So there's plenty of space! LOL
Here are some more examples- I LOVE that the pages include word problems, geometry problems, and even the basics. No matter what you are having problems remembering, this book has you covered! It's also because of those capabilities, that I decided to also use it for Miss Grace for her review period and new school year. She is at an odd place, where she is working Math at one year ahead and is actually ready to start Algebra in the Spring. I;m still debating whether to let her or not, but in the meantime, this book is working very well with the Math Text I already had for her for grade 6.
As you can see the text (which I'm not naming) has a brief explanation of the new topic, then very FEW practice problems for kids to practice what they just learned. The back page is then review from all the previous chapters (which I understand is a good thing), with only 1 or 2 more practice problems applicable. SIGH. For these harder, more advanced pre-Algebra concepts, like square root, I think doing more than 6 problems is a good idea! As you can see in the comparison, there are 10 problems on the 1 page, after the 3 practice problems, and then there is a WHOLE other page, with 10 more problems. TADA! Plus with the added video, she has a complete lesson, and more than enough work. And I can skip the arguments! YEAH!
So the routine we settled into during her review period (for her testing) was I would assign a mix of math problems, and then either she or I would write them on our large whiteboard and she would work them out. If there was an issue with a problem, then I could show her on the board where she messed up, and there was space for the correction. Using the larger board actually was very helpful for her, and it apparently paid off, as her math scores were quite good!
The book includes Basic Math, Geometry, Problem Solving, Pre-Algebra & Algebra, as well as giving you a Math Resource Section, for quick look ups. During our review period, Miss Grace worked through a good number of the basic math, geometry, problem solving and some pre-Algebra sections, as those were ones she had already covered this past year. For myself, I reviewed the advanced pre-Algebra and Algebra ones mainly, as I HATED Algebra 1- loved geometry and Algebra II, but barely made it through Algebra I with a decent GPA! For myself, I just used a spare notebook when i worked on sample problems, as I will probably tear out the pages as Miss Grace needs them, and have her place her answers directly on them.
And checking answers is just as easy as using the lessons in the book, thanks to the COMPLETE answer section in the back (another reason why I won't hand the book over to her!). As you can see, you get the answers, not how to SOLVE them, but when diagrams are needed, like for the slope ratios, then those are shown.
Also I should note for those with multiple students, the book is not meant to be a workbook for students, but just a refresher for adults, so there is no copyright allowance. You will need to have your students write ON the pages, or use a board or notebook to do their work and answers, if you are planning on using the book for multiple students.
The free online video tutorials might not be exactly what your child needs, so the book also offers a different website to go to, for pre-Algebra and Algebra videos, that might be better suited for them. I found the included videos fine and easy to follow along, but they are aimed at adults who are refreshing the subject already learned, and aren't as in depth as the second set of videos.
If you need to refresh yourself, either for teaching, for taking a college course, or for taking a skilled test, then this book might be JUST the thing you need for that refresher, without weighing you down in heavy math jargon and theories! It is simple, neat and to the point, and you WILL remember and wonder why you were in a panic in the first place, LOL. As a bonus, you might find it a great resource for your student as well!
Be sure to check out how my fellow reviewers used the book, for more ideas on how it might benefit your family! Just click the picture below to check out their reviews!
If your student needs help in one area, or isn't quite up to this one yet, Math Essentials also has other math books, including some with DVDs, that can help them as well! You might even find that you can base you child's entire Math curriculum up to Geometry, with their available books! Be sure to follow them on Facebook, for special offers, sales and bundles of their great Math books too! Mr Fisher also likes to share some fun math puzzles, your kids will enjoy solving!
About Mr Fisher:
Rick Fisher was a math instructor for the Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California, for over 31 years. Since graduating from San Jose State University in 1971 with a B.A. in mathematics, Rick has devoted his time to both teaching and developing unique award-winning math materials. As a teacher, each year approximately one-half of his sixth grade students would bypass the seventh grade math program and move directly to a high-powered eighth grade algebra program.
Rick is a winner of the prestigious “Intel Innovations in Teaching Award”. He also won the "Glenn W. Hoffmann Exemplary Awards Program" for all of Silicon Valley in California.
Rick has developed a highly functional, easy-to-use, and, most importantly, easy-to-understand mathematics teaching system that produces amazing results–results that he shares in his books, DVD’s, and his online instructional program, AmericasMathTeacher.com (http://americasmathteacher.com/).
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