Mr. D Math for a Struggling Math Student

Help for Your Child is Here

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Mr. D Self-Paced Pre-Algebra in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed below are my own and may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my legal disclaimer page.

If you have been a reader of my blog for any time at all, then you know the struggles I’ve had in math with my oldest child. Grace has bounced around through various programs, eventually settling down with Math-U-See. Once her freshman year rolled around, I realized that her bouncing around and need to go slowly to really understand concepts had put her at a disadvantage as far as being “on track” with high school math. I needed something that she could use that would be effective, quick, and with lots of support. Enter Mr. D Math.

I won’t lie. I was very apprehensive about how Mr. D’s Pre-Algebra program would work for Grace. We were in a unique set of circumstances (needing to quickly get through a math class) with a child who has struggled to find the right math fit. I’m really pleased, however, with the result and some of the program’s features that I thought would not work for her were actually huge areas of assistance. Since Grace actually used the program and I was more of an observer, I wanted Grace to have a voice in this review.

Grace’s Thoughts
How did you like your first online class?
I prefer the online setup and I can fill in the worksheet while he’s teaching the lesson which means I can move through the material more quickly. It’s very easy to use interface and program.

How is Mr. D as a teacher?
The way he explains things is easy to understand and as a visual learner, the way it looked on the screen helped my understanding as well. I appreciated that he defined all of the mathematical terms because it made it easier for me to understand what to do. 

Was self-grading a positive or a negative?
I like the self-grading, but it would be easy to cheat. I was able to see exactly where I went wrong and could rewatch the video to find my mistake.

Did you use the online help?
While I didn’t take advantage of the online help, I know that in the future as I progress into more difficult material it will be a huge benefit.

Final thoughts on your experience with Mr. D?
I want to continue with Mr. D Math. Previous math programs I’ve used haven’t explained things clearly or where I could understand them, but Mr. D actually explains things so I can understand as someone who doesn’t like math.

  My Thoughts

I don’t know if it’s the program or the teacher, but Mr. D’s Pre-Algebra program is achieving the goals I had for it and then some! Due to the online, self-paced setup (there is a live class option as well), Grace is able to quickly work through the concepts she understands and slow down on the ones she doesn’t. She is learning and retaining. I love that Mr. D gives kids multiple attempts on homework and quizzes. For my daughter, this focus on learning over grades is so important. Knowing she can go back multiple times until she truly understands allows her to relax and absorb information without the worry or pressure of making a good grade. I’ve truly been amazed at how much the self-grading has helped her. Out of everything I researched about the program, the self-grading was where I faltered a bit. Would she be honest about her work? Wouldn’t she be better served by having me check her work? Boy, was I wrong! The self-grading aspect has been where she’s probably learned the most. It allows her to see her mistake and correct it. She’s already approached me multiple times in the past weeks to tell me something she learned in Mr. D’s class.  Honestly, I’ve been worried about Grace and how her high school math classes will shape up, but Mr. D has taken those worries off of the table. When I asked her if she had any negatives about Mr. D’s Pre-Algebra class, Grace replied, “Well, it IS math.” I have a feeling that Mr. D can change that attitude too!

Do you have a struggling math student?

Let me know what’s worked for you in the comments and be sure to consider Mr. D Math for all of your math needs from Pre-Algebra to Pre-Calculus plus ACT and SAT test prep classes.

Chelli

Assigning High School Credits in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool

Many times when you choose a Charlotte Mason approach to your homeschool, you are swimming along pretty well until you wake up one day and realize that your child will be in ninth grade next year. Uh oh. Now what do I do? Must I give up our days of living books, narrations, and multiple history streams for a prescribed course of science and history classes along with official literature and writing courses to make sure that my child earns the appropriate amount of credits to graduate and/or be accepted into a university? The short answer is no.

This past summer, with ninth grade looming on the horizon, I was at a crossroads when it came to Grace’s education. I had discovered a Charlotte Mason curriculum I loved, and the kids were doing well with it, but I was afraid that I was going to be forced to give it up because of high school. I knew how Charlotte Mason worked subjects in the high school grades, as a similar continuation of the lower grades, but dear Charlotte never had to deal with United States graduation requirements and college admissions. Would Charlotte’s way of rotating through history and the sciences fulfill those? I decided to put pencil to paper and compare Charlotte’s class lists with modern American high school education and college preparedness. Disclaimer: Be sure and check your state’s homeschool laws. Some states require homeschoolers to meet certain requirements for graduation. Also, if your child wants to pursue a higher education, check the entrance requirements for that university since they all require different courses.

The Sciences

Usually in an American high school (and you’ll find this is true for all of the subjects I mention in this post), we separate out disciplines into their own category. So for science, you would study physical science, biology, chemistry, and physics all in separate years. However, in a CM education, and throughout most of Europe today, the sciences are integrated as one subject where you study all of the sciences each year, while going more in-depth each time. Looking ahead to Grace’s high school science, I wanted to see if this approach of covering biology one term, chemistry one term, and physics one term would be the equivalent of spending a year on each.

The numbers below are based on doing science four days a week (three days of reading and one day of lab) along with a natural history or science biography reading for thirty minutes one day a week as well.

One term (12 weeks) of biology each year for 3 years: 48 hours per term= 144 hours total

One term (12 weeks) of chemistry each year for 3 years: 48 hours per term= 144 hours total

One term (12 weeks) of physics each year for 3 years: 48 hours per term = 144 hours total

One year (36 weeks) of natural history/science biography for 3 years: 18 hours per year = 54 hours total

As you can see, even with spreading these classes out over three years, it’s easy to hit enough hours to earn a high school credit. Plus, it leaves the senior year for dual enrollment or student choice. Since my oldest is not a STEM kid, and if she does go to college it will be in the arts or humanities, I’m subbing out physics for environmental science in our three year rotation after she finishes physical science this year.

The Social Sciences

Another area where Charlotte Mason integrated subjects was in the social sciences by having various history streams (American, world, and ancient) running concurrently, while incorporating geography, economics, and government.

The numbers below are based upon doing history four days a week (30 minutes each day), geography two days a week (30 minutes each day), and government or economics one day a week. These calculations are a little more complicated due to the various history streams that you would be studying each year, but hopefully you can follow it all.

One year (36 weeks) of American history twice a week for four years = 144 hours total

One year (36 weeks) of British/World history once a week for four years = 72 hours total

One year (36 weeks) of ancient history once a week for four years = 72 hours total

In the breakdown above, you can see an American history credit is easily achieved over four years, but what about a world history credit? If you combine your British, world, and ancient history studies together, you again reach 144 total hours of work, a full credit.

Now let’s look at geography (a combination of living geography books and mapwork), government, and economics.

One year (36 weeks) of geography twice a week for four years = 144 total hours

Two years (72 weeks) of government twice a week for two years = 72 total

Two years (72 weeks) of economics twice a week for two years = 72 total

The way I planned my daughter’s high school path was to focus on government in the years when we study the founding of our country and modern times, and then focus on economics in the alternating years, which would be colonial times and the 1800’s. No matter how you choose to divide it up, over the course of four years, a full credit is achieved in geography and a half credit in both government and economics.

Hopefully by breaking down these subjects over the years, you can see how the requirements for college entrance are achieved despite the odd (to Americans anyway!) rotation that Charlotte Mason used. I know it helped me see that the education I was planning for high school would in no way hinder whatever path my children choose. So go forth in confidence, Charlotte Mason homeschooler! High school is no hurdle at all.

Chelli