Candace Smothers has a desire to give math-challenged students a love and understanding for math. Using a unique approach, she utilizes a variety of “efficient algorithms” for students in grades 1-6 to make students confident in the four main math functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. 

MathSharp is an e-book curriculum which you can easily download. All you need is enough 8.5 x 11 paper for printing, a three-hole punch, and a binder to keep materials together. The curriculum includes a teacher’s edition, a student’s edition, a drill book, and a bonus packet. While they can be purchased separately, it’s highly recommended to purchase all four e-books to get the full benefit of Smothers’ program. When you do purchase all four as a package, they are priced very reasonably - only $24.97 through her website.

The student edition focuses on mental retention as the student works through a problem and Smothers reminds the student to “hold numbers in your head.” This certainly encourages mental discipline, which I have noticed can be a big hindrance for math learning in some of my own children. She uses a number of very different methods – including the dot method and horizontal method – to consistently drill and teach the child to retain math facts.

The teacher’s edition was rather overwhelming to me with 300+ pages. It required quite a bit of time just to familiarize myself with the methods. Much of the instruction involved methods of teaching and learning that were new to me and completely different from how I have taught my own children and how I originally learned myself. I do think that this can make it rather prohibitive for a homeschool setting, particularly in a multi-age setting which most of us have in our homes. I think that Smothers could have condensed this quite a bit and would do well to put it into a more attainable format for homeschool use. One thing I will point out though is that MathSharp could be something to turn to if you feel that traditional methods of math have failed with your child.

The drill book has 200+ pages of timed math problems and I really like the way she used animals to appeal to children. Smothers uses different features and attributes of animals, such as the kangaroo, to introduce a different drill and I have animal lovers in my family that find this fascinating. Once you’ve mastered the unique algorithm approaches, the drill book would be a lot more fun to use; particularly in a homeschool setting.

The bonus packet was the best part of the program for our family. Full of fun, creative games - including some that would be perfect for travel - the games reinforce the math problems and methods that the child has mastered in the student’s edition. With 40 pages in the bonus packet, Smothers gives clear instruction for printing up the games and utilizing them with your students.

While the program had some things that were positive, specifically the games in the bonus packet and the creative animal math drills in the drill book, I do struggle with some of the methods of teaching that she stresses throughout the program. For example, with the problem 8 x 12, the book says to think 80 + 16 and say “96” out loud. Some learning styles may do well with this, but overall I would say that the heavy burden on the teacher to learn a completely different method of teaching basic math principles makes it prohibitive for the average homeschool classroom.

MathSharp is priced at a reasonable $24.97 though so it may be just the right fit for you if you have a math-challenged child that is struggling to get a handle on basic math facts.

-Product Review by Gwen Toliver, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January, 2015