CTC Math for Homeschool Online Curriculum Review
I am always looking for ways to help my kids get a better understanding of important math concepts. That is why I was so excited to try a subscription to CTCMath with my kids. It was easy to see why so many homeschool families love this online math curriculum! Here I’ll share why we love this curriculum and how we use CTC Math for homeschool in our family.
I received access to CTC Math in exchange for my honest review, but all the opinions in this post are my own.
What is CTC Math?
CTC Math is a full homeschool math curriculum for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade. This curriculum is unique in that it is a completely online math program. Kids watch lesson videos, answer practice questions, and take tests all through the website.
CTC Math teaches problem-solving traditionally and is not aligned with Common Core.
American parents should note that CTC Math is created by an Australian company. The narration in the lesson videos and read-aloud features is voiced with an Australian accent, and regional phrases and spelling are used throughout. This did not cause any difficulty for my family in understanding what was being said.
Key Features of CTC Math
- Complete curriculum for kindergarten through high school level
- Video lessons explain each concept thoroughly
- Practice problems and tests for kids to complete online
- Kids can work independently
- Progress reports help parents monitor kids’ progress
How to Set Up CTC Math for Homeschool
To use CTC Math, you need a device that can access the internet through a browser. We used both a computer and a phone and had no problems accessing CTC Math from either device. A special keyboard made it easy to read the questions and enter answers when using a smaller screen on a mobile device.
CTC Math was easy to set up. All I had to do was make a parent account, and then create an account for my child. I could choose his grade level to customize the difficulty of the questions for him as well.
How to Use CTC Math
CTC Math has several features that make it a great resource for homeschool math.
Video Lessons
Each lesson in CTC Math starts with a short video for kids to watch. The short videos explain the concepts that kids will need to understand clearly and simply. The explanations were easy for my kids to understand.
I love that the video tutorials also included examples of the kinds of problems that kids would be solving in the lesson. The video walked through how to solve the problems step by step and modeled the thinking process that would be required to solve the problem.
I loved watching my son as he watched the videos. I could tell that he was solving the problems along with the narrator of the video. The videos were engaging and made him think about the new concepts that he was learning.
Kids can watch the video lessons whenever they want, which allows them to go at their own pace.
Practice Questions
After each lesson video is complete, there is a set of practice questions for kids to try on their own. These interactive questions are directly related to the concepts that kids learned in the videos and they give kids a chance to try out the new kinds of problems they are learning about.
I found that the practice questions kept my son engaged in the lessons and he enjoyed working through them. He loved the check mark that appeared whenever he got the correct answers.
He also loved that there was a progress bar at the top of the screen that told him how many questions he had completed.
There is also a speaker icon that kids can click on to hear the question read out loud. This is a helpful resource for younger kids whose math level is more advanced than their reading level.
Tests and Quizzes
CTC Math also includes a variety of tests and quizzes. Parents can use the diagnostic tests to help make sure their kids get started at the right place in the curriculum to match their skill level.
The comprehensive tests and quizzes are also helpful to see what your student has learned, and where they need some additional review.
CTC Math Parent Dashboard
CTC Math also includes a lot of tools that make it easy for parents to use this resource to teach math in their homeschool.
I appreciated the reports that are available in the CTC Math parent dashboard. It was easy to see at a glance a list of lessons my son had watched, questions he had completed, and his score on each section.
I also received this information in a weekly progress report e-mail. The weekly reports were a great feature that made it easy to keep up with my son’s math lessons.
Hands-Off Math Teaching
One of the things that makes CTC Math unique is that kids can use this curriculum independently with very little input from parents. Once the child account is set up, kids should be able to progress through the lessons on their own without needing much help. This is perfect for a busy homeschool mom!
I found that even my 5-year-old was able to use this curriculum with minimal input from me. It is rare to find a resource that can truly be used independently by younger kids. I was grateful for the easy-to-use interface and the sequential nature of the lessons that made it easy for my son to complete them on his own.
Opportunities for Parents to Customize Math Lessons
One of the hidden features in CTC Math is the Question Bank Wizard. This resource allows parents to create custom sets of questions for their kids! I was surprised to find that I could customize a worksheet for my son, down to the specific questions that I wanted it to include.
I love that this curriculum allows me to be as hands-on, or hands-off, as I want to be with my son’s math lessons.
10 Reasons why CTC Math is Great for Homeschool
1. It uses technology.
My son loved that he got to do his CTCMath lessons on my phone. Because we limit screen time in our home, any kind of screen time is a special treat. This online program made math lessons fun for him in a way that a workbook just can’t.
2. Set up is easy.
It was easy to create an account and get my son set up using the curriculum. And, the lessons were easy for him to navigate through on his own. The lessons follow a simple pattern of watching a video and then completing the questions. This made it easy for him to learn how to use the curriculum.
3. Kids can use it independently.
The simple navigation and sequential lessons made it easy for my son to progress through the curriculum on his own. He was proud that he was able to watch the videos and answer the questions independently, and I could see his confidence in his math ability growing as we used this curriculum.
4. Works for readers and non-readers alike.
Independent reading isn’t necessarily required for kids to be able to use CTC Math. The lesson videos are all narrated out loud, so kids can see and hear the information at the same time. This is a great way for both visual learners and auditory learners to process the information!
Each of the questions has a speaker icon right next to it. Kids can click on the speaker to hear the question read out loud. This allows even non-readers to be able to answer the questions, and makes this curriculum a good fit for younger and older students alike.
5. It is safe and ad-free.
I appreciated that CTC Math is ad-free within the program. I felt safe allowing my child to use this resource independently, and knowing that he would not be exposed to ads.
6. The lesson videos are high quality.
I love the lesson videos that are included with CTC Math! The videos do a great job of explaining new concepts completely and thoroughly but keeping the explanations simple. The short lessons kept my son interested and engaged.
The example problems that are included in the lesson videos help kids understand what they are learning and prepare them to be able to solve the problems on their own in the questions sections.
7. The curriculum is well organized.
I was impressed with the way the curriculum videos walked through the topics step by step. New concepts were introduced in a logical order. My son was learning new things without getting overwhelmed by too much new information all at once.
8. The lessons are thorough.
We found that the lessons contained complete explanations and plenty of practice questions to practice each new concept. By the time the lesson was done, I was confident that my son understood the concept and had practiced it enough that he would remember it.
If there was ever a need, it would be easy to get some additional practice by creating a custom worksheet in the Question Bank Wizard.
9. CTC Math keeps kids focused on math.
In this curriculum, the math lessons and practice problems were the focus. If you are looking for a curriculum where kids will be focused on learning and not distracted by a bunch of in-app games and prizes, this curriculum is for you!
There are 2 games available within CTC Math, but they are not the focus of the curriculum. I had to hunt around to find them! The games are Speed Skills and Times Tables Shoot ‘Em Up, and they give kids extra practice with their math facts.
10. It is easy for parents to track progress.
I love how CTC Math supports me as a homeschool parent. The parent dashboard made it easy for me to track my son’s progress. I could use the detailed reports to see at a glance which topics he had mastered and where he needed more review. Weekly progress reports by e-mail made it easy to stay on top of his progress as well.
I appreciate that this curriculum could be hands-off for me, or I could create customized questions for my son as well.
Learn More About CTCMath
You can learn more about CTCMath and get a free trial or get unlimited access with a 12-month family membership here!
You can read more reviews of CTCMath on the Homeschool Review Crew Blog!
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