Math Mammoth offers quality but affordable math worktexts and workbooks in both downloadable, CD-ROM and printed formats. It is worth noting, that the downloadable files (PDFs) are enabled for annotating, meaning your child is able to complete the PDF files on the computer or on a tablet device such as an iPad as long as you have a PDF app that allows annotating. The material in these books concentrate on conceptual understanding, putting an emphasis on mental math. There are lots of examples, explanations and visual models, which allow the student to almost self-teach themselves. The way this curriculum is set up requires very little preparation from the teacher, making it perfect for homeschoolers.

There are quite a number of different series of books available from Math Mammoth which include:

• Light Blue Series (also available as an International Version) – a complete curriculum for grades 1 – 7
• Blue Series – supplementary books by topic for grades 1 – 7
• Review workbooks – a comprehensive review of the specific grade level, available for grades 1 – 6
• Make it Real Learning – activity workbooks, authored by Frank Wilson, for grades 3 – 12 that highlight how math is used in the real world
• Golden Series – worksheets by grade for grades 3 – 8
• Green Series – worksheets by topic for grades 3 - 7

For this review, we were given a downloadable copy of the complete Math Mammoth International Version (the Light Blue Series). The Math Mammoth International Version is a full elementary mathematics curriculum for grades 1 – 7. The international version of this program is the same as the US version, only it has changes for

• Currency
• Metric measurement units
• Spelling
• Page size
• Large numbers formatted with a space

One thing to keep in mind is that as it is essentially a copy of the US Version that is aligned to the US Common Core Standards, it may not meet all the needs for the standards in the country you live.

The international version is currently only available as a downloadable product, with massive discounts for buying in bundles. When purchasing through Kagi the prices are as follows:

• Math Mammoth International Version Grades 1 – 3 Downloadable Bundle - $105 (AUD)
• Math Mammoth International Version Grades 4 – 7 Downloadable Bundle - $139 (AUD)
• Or, you can purchase a downloadable version of each grade separately for $52 (AUD)

When purchasing, you will receive two student worktexts for each grade (Books A and B), tests, all answer keys, reviews and a worksheet maker and money chapters in 7 versions. Also included is a bonus software Soft-Pak, an elementary maths and language arts program, which currently only works on Windows computers. This Soft-Pak consists of 6 programs: 4 math, 1 language arts and 1 list maker.

Before using this product, your child is able to complete a placement test that will help you find any gaps they may have in their learning and allow you to place them in the correct level. I will note, that these placement tests are for the US Version, so we just ignored the questions that didn’t agree with our learning, such as the measuring unit questions.

As neither of our boys enjoy math that much, I was unsure how they were going to go with this program. Upon completing the placement tests, our boys were able to start in their correct grade levels of 4 and 6 as they didn’t really have many gaps. At the start I printed out Book A for both of these grades as we prefer to manually write the answers than type them in.

Our boys worked slowly through the worktext, completing quite a few pages a day depending on the concept that was being covered. If it was a harder concept that they are struggling with, we took our time to make sure they were able to understand it before moving on. If it was a concept they had done before or one they picked up easily, they were able to complete the questions quite quickly, moving on a lot faster.

At the end of each chapter, the boys completed the tests that allowed me to see how they were going and if they were grasping all the concepts correctly. They also completed the revision worksheets at the end of completing the required chapters.

Overall, we found this math curriculum to be very comprehensive, nicely presented and well written. I love how easy it is to use and how it encourages children to work independently. Both of our boys found the explanations for the math concepts to be very clear and easy to understand. The price for such a complete and thorough math curriculum is quite affordable which makes if great for homeschooling family.

-Product review by Stacey Jones, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September, 2016