Tag Archives: review

Math: A Review of CTC Math

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Recently, we started using a new math curriculum and after using it for a little over two months I decided to give it a review. Before I continue with my review I do want to state that I am not being sponsored by CTC Math and this is a completely unbiased review. For the past few years, we have bounced around through a few different math programs primarily using Modern Curriculum Press workbooks and other supplementary worksheets. This has worked pretty well but now that my oldest son is getting into pre-algebra I wanted to find something that would allow him to work independently and at his own pace.

Originally I wanted to set him up with Teaching Textbooks but after doing their free trial realized that this particular program wouldn’t work well for our family. First, the cost was much higher than I could afford and my son really struggled through the content not because it was too hard simply because it was not engaging enough. Looking for an alternative I stumbled across CTC Math and we signed up for the free trial. Not only did my oldest son love it my youngest two wanted to try it out as well. That day I signed up for the family homeschool membership which is $15.97 a month and now all three of my kids are enjoying this curriculum.

I highly recommend CTC Math because not only is it affordable, my kids can work through the lessons independently, but the content is amazing too. When they log in they click on the next available topic and watch a short lesson. The video lessons are short and concise and then they have questions to complete. When you set up your students profile you can choose how many questions they have to answer as well as what percentage they need to score to pass the topic. Once a week I receive an email from CTC Math with a look at their scores and an overview of what they worked on throughout the week. I can also log in at any time to see how they are doing and I can also print off additional worksheets for them to complete.

If you’re looking for a math program that is affordable and allows your children to work independently then I recommend that you take a look at CTC Math. Teaching Textbooks is an awesome program as well and while it didn’t work for my kids it may be a great option for your family. I love programs that allow you to test drive the material before investing so you can determine if it will work for your family.

 

CTC Math

https://www.ctcmath.com/trial

Teaching Textbooks

https://www.teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/free_trial.html

 

**Disclaimer- This post reflects my own experience and opinions and is not being sponsored by anyone.

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My Love Affair With the Instant Pot

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I am seriously in love with my Instant Pot. I have been wanting one for the longest time but as a frugal mama, on a budget, the cost has kept me from running out and grabbing one. That is until a few weeks ago when I had enough money left in my grocery budget to finally make the jump and purchase the famed pressure cooker. This turned out to be the best investment I have made in a long time and I am kicking myself for not getting one sooner. If you are sitting on the fence and wondering if it is worth it to throw down $80 for this product then let me assure you that it absolutely is especially if you are wrangling a busy family that is always on the run.

You can find millions of recipes on Pinterest and the Instant Pot comes with a small recipe guide to get you going. They also have a whole line of cookbooks featuring a variety of different styles of cooking as well as recipes geared towards those with dietary restrictions. It truly is a miracle machine you can whip up tender fluffy rice, cook a soup or a roast and you can even bake a cake. Today I made Sesame Chicken and the chicken was so tender it practically melted in my mouth. That Sesame Chicken took me less than 15 mins to make from start to finish which is faster than ordering pizza or grabbing something in the drive-thru. We haven’t grabbed takeout or ordered a pizza since I bought the Instant Pot and that used to be a once a week occurrence. This means that not only has it saved me time but it will save me money.

Yes, I am a nerd and I know how weird I sound but I love things that make my life a little less chaotic. This is my honest review of the Instant Pot and I am not being paid or sponsored to write this post. Seriously though if you are looking for something that will help you cook meals faster without compromising on that home cooked quality than an Instant Pot is what you need. Now that I have poured out my heart and confessed my love affair with my Instant Pot I am going head off to bed and dream of the many recipes I can whip up for my family in the near future.

I Love Times Tales!!!

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I recently stumbled across an advertisement for a fun program that is meant to teach children their multiplication tables effortlessly. The program is called Times Tales and I will include a link below if you want to investigate this product further.  Before I continue with my personal opinion of this product I will state that I am not being paid for this review and it is not being sponsored by Time Tales. I purchased the e-version directly from the Time Tales website although I did find competitive prices being offered by several different online retailers including Amazon and Educents.

On to the review, I love this product and even though we have only been using it for three days I can already see that all three of my kids are benefiting. Before purchasing, I did read a lot of reviews and saw that a lot of parents were recommending the product but from personal experience, I have learned that what looks good on paper doesn’t always work for us in the real world. The major selling point for me was that this product is supposed to assist those with dyslexia learn their multiplication tables. My oldest son has dyslexia and while he has been working on his multiplication facts for a while and knows a number of them there are still quite a few that he struggles with. I also wanted to see if this would help my seven-year-old daughter as she has just begun to work on her multiplication facts.

I purchased the Digital Download package which comes with the printable worksheets for $15.95. All of my kids including my 5 year old sat down and watched part 1 where they are memorizing the “Times Tales” that will help them memorize their multiplication facts. The first thing I noticed was that all three of my kids were enjoying the silly tales. There was a lot of laughing and smiling as they watched the video but what shocked me the most was that by the end of part one they were reciting multiplication facts. Even my five year old has been regaling me with his new found knowledge of multiplication. They are supposed to watch part one daily until they have it mastered and then they can move on to part two. There are worksheets that you can print off as well that will help reinforce what they have learned.

Even though we have only been using this product for a few days I am absolutely in love with it and plan to investigate the other math products offered by this company. If you have little ones who are struggling with multiplication or who are ready to begin learning their facts I highly recommend this product. I can’t wait to see where my kids are in a few weeks once they have completed the entire program. I will do an update once we have made it to the end but I just couldn’t wait to share this exciting program with other moms and dads.

 

Time Tales

Times Tales® Home Editions