Thinkwell Math Curriculum Review Find an overview video on YouTube for each Thinkwell Math courses. Families looking for a rigorous math course that requires minimal to moderate parental instruction may be interested in Thinkwell Math. Each Thinkwell Math course, from 6th grade to Calculus, represents a comprehensive full-year math curriculum. Since a pacing guide is included, minimal planning is required Read more
Target Grade Level: 4th – 7th If you’ve got a quirky kid who likes logic, enjoys word humor, and picks language rules up quickly, then Language Mechanic may be a good grammar curriculum for your family. Each individual lesson begins with an attention “grabber” – a basic fact which is then followed by three sentences: You Write; Reader’s Think; and Read more
If your student has completed a 6th grade math program and you’re looking for something more rigorous, the Art of Problem Solving Pre-Algebra and Introduction to Algebra could be a good fit. Be warned, though; AoPS unapologetically states: The text is written to challenge students at a much deeper level than a traditional middle school prealgebra course. Developed by the Read more
Back in the 1990s, a group of 3 college friends who had met during the Math Olympiad Summer Program, created a new math contest which they called the Mandelbrot. The first year of the competition didn’t go so well, so the trio decided to write their own math book to help students think deeper in math. That book is what Read more
We’re just going to say it like it is: Art of Problem Solving is a math curriculum designed for kids who LOVE math and are really, really good at it. We’re talking about the kiddos who may be starting Algebra 1 at the age of 10. That’s not to say that other students would not benefit from AoPS. But, if Read more
Target Grade Level: 3rd – 5th Grammar Island, Grammar Town and Grammar Voyage by Michael Clay Thompson provide a comprehensible yet sophisticated introduction to grammar for the elementary grades. They ignore the low limits traditional at this level and include content often withheld until middle school or even high school. Grammar Island introduces, in very simple fashion, the full four-level Read more
Target Grade Level: 6th – 8th Advanced Academic Writing, Volume 1 (AAW 1) is the first of the Michael Clay Thompson writing Middle/Secondary writing series. It’s a serious tome designed to teach a learner how to write an MLA-style academic essay or research paper. It’s designed to be used with MCT’s Magic Lens 1 (grammar) and Word Within a Word Read more
Target Grade Level: 3rd – 5th Michael Clay Thompson breathes life into language arts instruction. With six levels of materials covering grammar, vocabulary, composition, poetics, and literature, he seamlessly integrates those elements of the English language in a manner that assumes his readers are intelligent, active learners. These are not workbooks for self-study — they are texts best explored with Read more
Let every math-loving family delight! The mathematicians behind the Art of Problem Solving have developed an elementary math curriculum. And, boy, will you love it! Beast Academy teaches through a bright, colorful, comic-book style Guide Book. And being a comic book about math, it’s full of smarty-pants type humor. Even though you’ll be giggling, the math is no laughing matter. Read more
