Amber, the co-star of MathTacular, recently alerted me to the fact that only one person has left a review of MathTacular4 on the website. "I've been dying to know what people think of it for so long," she said. "After all of that work, it'd be nice to know."
Yes, it would. A little validation is nice <smile>.
Speaking of validation, standardized tests can be an excellent way to give yourself a pat on the back. Getting some third party objective feedback on how you're doing as a teacher can be uplifting. Seeing that your students are excelling in so many areas is a major encouragement. Granted, standardized tests can also give you some feedback on areas you may want to focus on in the coming year. For example, my mom discovered that we needed some formal spelling practice. You can read more about that experience in her blog post The Three Rs.
An outside perspective is great. It can help you see things more clearly. You can use input from others to make better decisions for the future. And you can bask in the glowing reminders of how good of a job you are doing.
So, I'm going to make a request: If your kids have watched the MathTacular DVDs (especially MathTacular4: Word Problems), please leave a review. Amber and I, not to mention Justin, love the encouragement. Your reviews also help other homeschoolers decide if MathTacular is a product that will work for their family.
And, while I'm at it, please feel free to review any other programs, packages, or resources you've used this last year.
Thanks!
Have you found standardized tests have helped and encouraged you?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
Math, math, oh how we love you and how my son hates you. That is, until Mathtacular 2! My son is in 4th grade and math has always eluded him. There's always been nothing but frustration and tears. I was literally at my wits end when I happened to stumble upon the Mathtacular series on Sonlight's website. That was a year ago. My son still doesn't like the Saxon lessons but he still LOVES Justin, Amber and all their friends. If there is something he particularly cannot grasp, I put in the DVD and he will watch it over and over. He finally tested on grade level after a summer with Mathtacular 2. That sold me and I bought the whole set. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my daughter, who excels at math, loves the DVDs as well as and she has gotten even further ahead because of the DVDs. Thank you crew of Mathtacular! You have saved our family of our Math woes and I really just can't thank you enough! Btw, both my kids FAVORITE episode is Subtraction Boot Camp. I think they've watched that video 50,000 times!