Last Updated on September 5, 2024 by Sarah McCubbin
If you are a busy family looking to lighten the load with an online homeschool math curriculum, CTC Math is designed for someone just like you. Homeschool families are often need to meet the needs of both older kids and younger kids, trying to check all the boxes and find something that works for the entire family.
When I began homeschooling back in 2007, the only math curriculum I knew about were traditional paper and pencil workbooks with a few printable worksheets to break things up. So that is what we used. Eventually we discovered other tools like songs for my auditory learner and math games for the hands-on learners to make the process more fun. And that worked OK, while we had just one or two kiddos doing math. Online math curriculum really was not an option at that time.
Fast forward about 6 years and we had 6 kids homeschooling which meant 6 math books and 6 of everything else. We turned our living room into a school room. It was a lot. And now that I have 3 high school graduates, they tell me that the one part of their homeschool experience they would have changed…was math!
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We used a co-op every school year to keep us on task for most subjects except math. And because there were so many kids, most of their learning was independent. And that was hard with no math teacher! As a homeschool mom, I simply could not figure out a way to teach 6 math lessons a day! In different seasons, we have used probably 10 different math curriculum. Crazy! Every single one had pros and cons…but in my current season, the workbook option was not working.
About a year ago, I kept seeing reviews for CTCMath from homeschool moms …and then a friend talked about it…and I did a free trial. I’m so happy I did because it has been the best fit for our kids.
In our current season, we need something that is an online program, with short lessons for younger students and something where struggling math students can drop down a level for different concepts they need to review. I wanted an online math program where every student could work at their own pace and something that it was easy to hand off to my husband on days he is home!
And I am SO THRILLED to tell you that we found all of that and much more in CTC Math!
Table of Contents
The Problem With Grade Level Curriculum
Over the years, one of the common problems I have seen in our family is that we start the year fresh…and full of excitement, but a couple of weeks into it, the workbook covers a topic that they have learned…and have now forgotten. They really need to go back a grade or two to review the concept but THAT is not in this years textbook!!
Now their ability to progress is dependent on me going and finding review resources at the right level so they can learn what they forgot…and then go back into the curriculum. It’s like a giant rabbit trail.
One of my elementary sons currently struggles hard with math. We end up having to repeat concepts more than I like. But I no longer stress over this because CTCMath Solves this problem (and so many more!)
One subscription to CTC Math includes all the content for grades k-12. So if you have a kiddo like mine that needs to go back a grade or three to review something they should already know, it’s not a problem. And as a busy mom, you don’t need to go run all over the place trying to find extra practice. It’s all included. As a busy homeschool mom, I feel like I have tools at my fingertips to my child’s needs without extra work.
Recently after our CTCMath lesson, my son who struggles with math said,
“Mom, I’m starting to really like math. I’m good at it! And its starting to get easy!”
This is a child who has cried buckets over math…whose bottom lip trembles a minute after we pull out the math. He is starting to believe that He Is Good At Math. Such a blessing!
Getting Started With CTCMath
CTC Math is designed to be simple and easy to use but with the option of adding in more parental control of assignments if you wish! You can choose to have your child do all their work right in the student dashboard or you can print of worksheets to practice math skills with pencil and paper.
I love that it’s customizable but also simple. I tend to use the more “plug and play” option of letting my kids work through concepts in the order they are presented, but as I’m noticing patterns where skills need more practice, I plan to set up individual assignments.
Parent Dashboard – Steps To Set Up
- Set up student accounts for each child
- Have each child do a placement test before beginning
- Select the best grade level
- Choose to let the child work through lesson in order OR assign specific assignments with due dates
- Check each child’s progress all in one place in the parent dashboard
Student Dashboard – Steps To Complete a Lesson
- Watch the SHORT videos. Most video lessons are 3-5 minutes long.
- Do The Interactive Questions on the Computer…or Print a Worksheet
- Choose to do extra questions which leads to mastery and a strong foundation
- (Optional) Print a one page summary of the lesson. This is great for review!
Before You Begin:
- Sign up for a Free Trial and do your first lesson
- Watch the introductory videos in CTC Math to understand how the program works
- Have Your Student Take one of the math placement tests for grades K-8 to choose the best starting grade level. One of their diagnostic tests will help you find the best place to start the curriculum.
What CTCMath Curriculum Offers
Most homeschooler’s have a wish list for math curriculum that teaches their kids (obviously, frees up the parent’s time, and offers a variety of ways to teach a concept when student’s struggle. That is of course a bare minimum. My unicorn list is much longer than that…and probably why I’ve used about 10 different types of math curriculum in the last 17 years. When you have more kids and more learning styles, that curriculum becomes harder and harder to find!
As a mom, I found that CTCMath:
- has short, simple, clear instructional videos
- Is interesting to my kids
- Has online options and worksheets that different kids prefer
- Offered a free trial and Is affordable (with a 1 year guarantee!)
- Offers a way for students to “go back” and relearn concepts from previous grades
- Is easy for me as a parent to track progress
- Works for kids who are struggling in math and for the gifted student
How We Use CTC Math For Hands on Learners
CTC Math lessons are primarily completed online with the option to print worksheets for some lessons. However, I happen to have one son that NEEDS something more hands-on to figure out even basic mathematical concepts. The way I have slightly modified it is to keep a small amount of manipulatives with his school books. He has an abacas and some base 10 blocks that we use to help him visualize the math concepts.
But one of the really cool things that CTCMath does is teach kids to use their fingers as a math manipulative! My son recently did a lesson using his fingers as manipulatives to add and subtract bigger numbers! I love that because you don’t always have a basket of math manipulatives but you do always have your fingers! This is perfect for young learners who often need that extra help.
FAQ About CTC Math
Whether you have a child in the elementary grades, middle school or high school, CTCMath offers online homeschool curriculum for all of them. It includes a practical teaching style that works great for visual learners or hands-on learners. Each unique student can follow the scripted course or you can assign work from any level to customize your child’s math lessons. This is my favorite math curriculum for this reason!
Is CTCMath or Teaching Textbooks The Best Homeschool Math Curriculum?
CTC Math and Teaching Textbooks have some similarities. We have used both. I believe CTC Math is a better option because it is a curriculum for grades K-12. Teaching Textbooks must be purchased one grade at a time. Because it includes all the levels, it is much easier for students to go back and review concepts from previous grades. CTC Math is also easier to transition into from other curriculum. Because each curriculum covers math topics at a different time, there are often gaps when you change curriculum. That isn’t a problem with CTC Math as you can easily fill in those gaps as needed and not need to resort to other outside resources.
How much does CTCMath cost?
CTC Math membership offers monthly and yearly options for individual students and a family package for the whole family.
Is CTC math common core aligned?
No, CTCMath is not common core aligned.
Where Do I Print CTC Math Worksheets?
For 7th grade and up, worksheets with practice problems are automatically available for each lesson and are available under a tab on each lesson. Answer keys are available for the worksheets!
For the elementary math curriculum, a question bank wizard exists so that parents can quickly make custom worksheets for any lesson or specific content their child is working on. It’s actually super easy…thankfully! I made my son’s custom worksheet in about 15 seconds. The question bank is actually genius. Each student is unique. Some can handle a LOT of questions…and others need only a few on a page. You can generate their worksheets exactly the way they need them in just a few seconds!
Steps to Make Worksheet
- Login to parent dashboard
- Click on “Question Banks”
- And then “New Question Banks”
- Select the course or grade level content you are working from at the top of the Question Bank generator.
- Next to that, select the “streams” you want to include in your worksheet . (Streams are the big concepts in that grade level)
- Select the specific lessons you want on the worksheet.
- Choose between “easier, evenly distrubted and harder” to select the difficulty level of the questions on the worksheet and choose the number of questions.
- Give the worksheet a title
- Click the generate questions button
- Click “save” and then “print.”
- When you go to print, you have the option to toggle options to print the page with more space for working problems!
Is CTC Math spiral method or mastery method?
CTC Math uses a mastery approach. Students focus on one concept at a time and continue to do additional problems until they achieve mastery. However, if a student needs to review a concept from an earlier level, it is easy to drop back to previous grade level content to practice lessons that are needed. And concepts build level over level so the spiral approach is included in the mastery. Including both leads to a solid math foundation!
If you are looking for a break from the “math struggle” that is common in many homeschool families, consider trying out CTCMath. A free trial and money back guarantee make it an easy decision to try. When we are struggling in an area, sometimes it feels “harder” to try something new than to stick with the thing that isn’t working. Crazy right? If you have tried a lot of homeschool math programs like me, it’s hard to imagine you might find something that works FINALLY. But if you are ready for your kids to stop struggling with math and have this be the year they finally “catch up,” then in my honest opinion, you deserve to give this a try. A free trial doesn’t take much time and is one of the best ways to find the right math curriculum that solves a problem. (They say you can’t buy time, but if a math curriculum frees up your time, it kinda is like buying time!!)
There are many different math programs to choose from, but the one you use for your family should support your child’s learning style and give YOU something back to create margin in your life as a parent!
Sarah McCubbin and her husband and 9 kids live in Ohio. She loves talking about all kinds of education topics and is passionate about helping families find the best education options in each season! Socially awkward growing up, she loves to help families teach life skills, social skills and leadership.
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