Thinkwell Offer Ending

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op has its last offer for Thinkwell courses up - after this the price will be full retail. Discount on most of the classes is running at 45% savings.

What is really nice about this offer is that you have one year to complete the course from the time you start and you have upto one year from now to start.

I've been thoroughly pleased with Thinkwell Algebra I which my son has been doing. And I've checked some of their other courses and we're going to be using more. Courses on offer include:

• all math from 6th grade through college algebra (except for Geometry), including Calculus and Trig
• Biology, Physics, and Chemistry
• American Government, Public Speaking, and Economics (micro and macro)
  

The current price for most of the courses is $68.75 and the offer ends on 08/31/10. If you're looking for high school online homeschool software courses I recommend that you check out Thinkwell Discounts through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op.

Which homeschool software products do YOU recommend?

Thinkwell Math Online

In my Inbox today was a 30% discount notice from Thinkwell for their online math courses. It seems they would like to increase their take-up amongst the homeschool community.

First let me say that Homeschool Buyers Co-op has the best price for Thinkwell Online Math products.

Both offers expire Monday, October 26th, 2009. You can save 30% direct through Thinkwell and 39-48% through Homeschool Buyers Co-op. Most of the courses at the co-op are currenly just 2 subscriptions short of getting a 44% discount.

Do you like cake? I've been using the Thinkwell Algebra I online course this term and for me it's the most enjoyable Algebra course I've seen. Professor Burger is a really high-thinking mathematician who makes the course fun and just covers math at a deeper level than other courses I've seen. His fun props such a cake and bologne also get his points across.

I don't recommend Thinkwell Online Math courses for every student though. There are a couple of other online math courses I recommend. Take a look at Thinkwell if your kid/student:

• Likes variety - there is a fair bit going on within the multi-screen format.
• Wants to work excusively online.
  
• Asks questions and wants to understand math in its wider context.
• Doesn't need things broken down to tiny steps with lots of repetition.

And if you're already using Thinkwell, or decide to, you might be interested in:

• Thinkwell YouTube Channel
• Thinkwell Blog
• Thinkwell on Facebook
  

Homeschool Math Examination

I've spent the last couple of days absorbed in an examination of homeschool math options for the middle school and high school years. This is most certainly not a new area of research for me, but each time I take a look at homeschool math options I learn something new. Rather than let this research go to waste, here are a few things I've discovered. Today I'll cover online instruction options.

Computer Based Math Instruction
There are several math instruction methods suitable for middle school, high school, and college level math which are entirely computer based. I'm going to write a few notes on things that seem to me unique about each different program.

• iPASS - designed to catch up a student who may have gaps in their learning. Covers math through pre-Algebra - math taught in grades 4-8 in most states. This is a comprehensive program which breaks down math into all it's component parts. The student is not aware of which grade level they are working - levels are simply labeled with letters from A-V and moving from one grade to the next is seamless. For each topic the student completes a timed assessment and they can test out of a lesson if they reach the pass rate. Questions are not multiple choice so a student must actually know how to calculate the answer to get it right. Once a student has mastered the topic they pass on to the next topic. If needed the student will be given more questions from a large pool of questions to provide adequate practice. Students who need additional time for tests can be accomodated. Review is incorporated throughout the program so that the student continues to practice concepts they've mastered. iPASS does not have a free trial - I was quoted a cost of $20 per month and you can sign up for one month and see if it works for you. Find out more about iPASS. You need to talk with a sales representative to sign up. The person I spoke with was Kim and she is very helpful.
• Thinkwell Math begins with their Pre-Algebra course. Their courses cover Algebra from Pre-Algebra to College Algebra, Pre-Calculus and Calculus, and Trigonometry. They don't list a Geometry course - I'm not aware of whether geometry is integrated into their other courses perhaps. Each course must be purchased separately. You can save 39-48% by purchasing through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. The current offering ends on August 21st. I've looked at this course before and I really like the way the teacher covers the work. The software workspace is divided up with the teacher on one side explaining the concept and working the problem, a place to show the math problem being worked on and a key ideas area. It does make for quite a busy screen. You can see the demos at Thinkwell's site and take a look at what the Thinkwell Homeschool Buyers Co-op offering. There is no free trial, but watching the demos should give you and your children a pretty good feel for this program.
• PLATO Learning Math has courses covering everything from Pre-Algebra to Geometry, Calculus 2 and Trigonometry. They do not appear to cover Statistics. This year is the first time these courses have been available to homeschoolers. Homeschool Buyers Co-op is able to make them available through the Kentucky Virtual Campus. While I am not familiar with the PLATO math options I've used some of their science courses in homeschooling my teens and we've liked them a lot. The offering for these courses involves signing up to get access to a very wide range of middle school and high school level courses. At a cost of $299 for the year it would be a really good deal if you can take advantage of several of the courses. The courses cover math, science, social studies, language arts, and job and life skills. The Homeschool Buyers Co-op deal ends on the morning of August 23rd. If you're interested take a look at PLATO demos and Kentucky Virtual Campus then sign up through Homeschool Buyers Co-op. There is no trial period for this software.
• ALEKS Math cover everything from Grade 3 math to college math courses in Algebra, Trigonometry, AP Calculus and Statistics, and Business Math. I'm not very familiar with ALEKS but I've heard good things and they do have a free trial. At the ALEKS site you can see all of their offerings, take a tour and sign up for a free trial. One thing I like about what they are offering is that you have access to all their courses for the one subscription of $19.95 per student.
• Indian Math Online is an online math program I just discovered. It is based on the teaching method used in India. Given that India is now producing some of the leading math and science majors I think it's worth a look. You can sign up for a free trial and then the subscription costs $15-20 per month. Indian Math Online covers grades 1-10 math.

If you are looking for a math curriculum I hope these comments will be of help to you. I also have plenty to say about textbook math, but I'll save that for another day.

Free Math Learning Links and Stuff

There are many wonderful websites with free math activities for you to use with your kids. Some of the links are also great if you need, or want, to brush up on, or advance, yourself in math, or maths (as it is called in the UK). All of the links below were sitting in my bookmarks folder - the result of many years of gathering resources for homeschooling. Masses of free math stuff, in no particular order:

• HomeschoolMath.net has a host of free worksheets, interactive tutorials and quizzes, curriculum guides, help on teaching, and links for online games. The site owner Maria also runs the Homeschool Math blog.
• Try Cool Math 4 Kids for a host of very colorful, free, interactive math games. Their companion Cool Math site has activities for the age 13 and up crowd.
  
• At Multiplication.com you can: download flashcards, worksheets and quizzes; find oodles of free resources for teaching the times tables; and find fun, free, colorful math games for kids.
• On the much less colorful front, download a variety of free online graph and grid papers. The variety of papers here is quite surprising - includes celtic knot paper, perspective paper, triangle paper, axonometric paper and tumbling block paper. I'm not sure what you do with all these, but I'm sure your kids will have some creative ideas!
• Personally I enjoy the patterns in mathematics. Boys are often fascinated by codes and ciphers and the accompanying spy stories. Here are some teaching resources for codes and ciphers, or visit Bletchley Park, the home of secret British codebreaking activities during World War II.
• Moving into more advance mathematical concepts, you can find a free online geometry textbook at Learner.org. Mathematics and art are very related. Learn about Fibonacci numbers and the golden section in art, music and architecture, or study geometry in art and architecture.
• Hippocampus has free Algebra courses.
• This Statistics site is not for the faint of heart - see the best and worst of statistical graphics. It's free and you just might learn something. What more could you want?
• Or maybe you'd prefer a little, light, free Calculus. Something new, or indepth and old is good for the brain cells :-)
  
• Last, but not least, Math Forum - dedicated to the teaching of mathematics.

I hope you find something of interest among these free math resources. Of course I do know of a few more links, which I will have to save for later.

Got a favorite free math resource link? Please let me know.

Find math stuff and homeschool math stuff at Amazon.com.
See the award winning Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Math, multiplication wrap ups, learning palette 1st grade math manipulative center. Please ask if you need help or advice on something I've mentioned here.