Demme Learning: Math-U-See - Primer & Digital Pack {TOS Review}

I was super excited to review Demme Learning's Math-U-See Primer & Digital Pack with my 5 year old son, Silas. He shows many signs of dyslexia {although he has never been tested}, and letter and number recognition has been difficult for him. I have read that Math-U-See is one of the recommended math curricula for children with dyslexia, and I have been longing to try it with him.

What I Received:

I received the Primer Universal Set, which includes an Instruction Manual, Student Workbook, Instruction DVD, Integer Block Set, and 12 months of access to the Digital Pack. The Primer Universal set sells for $131.

The Primer Digital Pack includes the following:

• instruction videos
• instruction manual in pdf
• lesson solutions
• skip counting songs {mp3}
• songbook pdfs
• digital manipulatives
• practice worksheets

How We Used Math-U-See Primer:

Silas used this every day for the duration of the review, and we plan to continue using it every day! I let Silas watch the instruction video online {through the Digital Pack} before he started a lesson. We then worked through the practice pages in the student workbook. We used the integer blocks a few times a week to reinforce concepts.

I used the Digital Pack quite a bit. I have never even opened the DVD with the instruction videos! It is so much easier to pull up the instruction videos on my computer {and I do not normally like to utilize online learning}. I did not use any of the extra worksheets, because Silas has not needed any extra practice yet. They are nice to have, though, because I'm sure in the future he will need them. We have not listened to the skip counting songs, either, because he isn't skip counting yet. {We are still working on counting!}

The Digital Manipulatives are really neat. It's nice to use them sometimes in place of the actual blocks. This is a great alternative for parents who don't want to buy the Integer Block Set at $80.{I had a difficult time getting them to work on Internet Explorer, but when I opened them in my Chrome browser, they worked beautifully.}

Silas had a hard time navigating the digital manipulatives, so I would do it for him. He would "help" me pull them onto the board. He preferred the block set. Actually, he and his little brother, Titus, loved to "build" with the integer blocks!

How Do We Like Math-U-See?

I love Math-U-See, and I plan to continue the Primer level with him. I also plan to start the next level, Alpha, with him this fall. {I will also use the Primer with Titus this fall. I think he will do wonderfully with this gentle introduction to math.}

Silas loves Math-U-See, as well. He has really learned so much. I am very impressed with the hands-on approach to learning math and numbers. Silas really enjoyed using the Integer Blocks to learn two-digit numbers. For example, we played a game with two set of cards, each set numbered 0-9. He flipped over a card for the tens row and a card for the ones row. He then had to "build" the number with the tens and ones blocks. Finally, he had to say the number to me. This really helped him to understand two digit numbers.

The Digital Pack is pretty amazing. In fact, I can't imagine using Math-U-See without it! The instruction videos are so convenient! I also enjoyed playing around with the Digital Manipulatives and letting Silas tell me what number I built. Having extra practice worksheets at my fingertips to print out whenever I may need them is also very nice! I do not enjoy searching for extra worksheets, and these are just like the student workbook pages {of course, with different problems!}. It will be nice to have the consistency for Silas.

The skip counting songs are going to be a lot of fun when we start learning how to skip count! In fact, I may let my 8 year old, Mercie, listen to them. She could use the extra practice, and I love teaching through songs! I especially like that there is a version with Christian lyrics.

Math-U-See has been an asset to our homeschool, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to review this program. I think we have found what works for us! In fact, I am planning to use Math-U-See with all of my children next year.

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