3 Reasons Why I Decided to Switch Math Curriculums

Too many choices

When I first started homeschooling, I was quickly overwhelmed by all the different choices there were for math curriculum. Whenever I would ask another homeschooling mom which math curriculum she used, it was always a different one.

I didn’t want to spend forever searching, so I decided to go with the math curriculum that Classical Conversations recommended at the time, Saxon.

Saxon math

Having been a math teacher for seven years before my kids were born, Saxon seemed traditional and simple (without bells and whistles) which I liked. I also purchased the box of Saxon K-3 Manipulatives Kit which looked really fun and engaging. I started with the Math K (kindergarten level) and that went pretty well with my daughter. She likes math and is pretty quick to learn concepts so it was an enjoyable experience.

When we moved on to Math 1 (first grade level) the following year, I noticed that there was A LOT recommended for the child to do each day. At first I tried to plan so we would have time to do everything they recommended. However, I quickly realized that wasn’t possible and wouldn’t have been good for my daughter.

Why I switched curriculums

Hence, I began my search for another math curriculum. For awhile I decided we would stick with the Saxon level 1 until she finished it because I didn’t want to waste money. Mid way through though, I really couldn’t do it anymore and made the switch to The Good and the Beautiful. Here are my three reasons why:

Saxon is TOO MUCH each day

Every day has a morning meeting where the child writes the date, fills out the weather graph, and completes a pattern on the calendar. There is the lesson and THEN there is a worksheet, front and back to complete. If my daughter had done everything that was recommended, it would have definitely taken over an hour. Obviously, you don’t have to do everything and I didn’t. But I still didn’t like that there was a lot to weed through.

Saxon is dry

When I originally started using Saxon, I liked that it didn’t have bells and whistles and seemed traditional and simple. However, seeing what other curriculums looked like, I started to crave more color and engaging activities.

There is A LOT of review with Saxon

Obviously review is a good thing, but even being a former math teacher, I felt like it was overkill. My daughter is pretty quick with understanding the concepts and she gets bored with too much review. Therefore, I often skipped ahead instead of doing each lesson. When I’ve talked with other homeschool moms, this is a common complaint among those who have used Saxon.

Why The Good and The Beautiful?

You might say, “Why did you choose The Good and the Beautiful” to switch to as opposed to all the other curriculums out there for math? Well, one reason is several moms recommended it to me. You can download a couple free sample pages from each math level that they sell, and they looked so fun and engaging!

I knew, at least for now, that I didn’t want a curriculum where my kids were on a screen or watching videos. So that narrowed it down some. I also didn’t want to spend hours and hours researching all the curriculums out there, so I asked around, did a little research, and landed here. I’m realizing you don’t have to marry a curriculum for the rest of child’s homeschooling years, so I’m going to try it this year, and take it year by year.

My daughter did the first lesson the other day and it took her about 15 minutes. I loved it because we played a game together, she did some individual work and coloring, she practiced counting to 50 and by 2’s, and she used some fun math manipulatives that came with it. The different parts of the lesson were short, they did a good job mixing it up and keeping it engaging and interesting to her.

Right now I’m a big fan of the good and the beautiful!