Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
While many of my posts have been reviews for my older kids, I was excited to have the opportunity to review Grade 1 of ThemeVille Math for my first grader, who is a little intimidated by trying to catch up to her older siblings. While my seventh grader is working on pre-Algebra, my six-year-old is still struggling to learn how to write numbers correctly.
ThemeVille Math has been a great addition to our first grade curriculum. My daughter loves the pictures that illustrate each lesson and help her to visualize the numbers in a way she can understand.
Although the book is quite big, she hasn’t batted an eye when given her lessons for the day. The review lessons were a great way for her to catch up from the summer, and she has done a great job adding to her math knowledge each day.
I love the fact that the lessons are short, which helps my daughter to not feel overwhelmed by numbers. But at the same time, each lesson helps to build her awareness of math facts. For instance, Lesson 22 builds on her ability to count by forcing her to choose the biggest number on top and the smallest number on bottom.
The workbook also comes complete with a solutions book for the parent/teacher. Although I haven’t found a need to look at the solutions just yet, I believe that this would be a great help for the older grades as math gets more complicated.
Each lesson has a pre-lesson for the student to practice what they have previously learned and then the new lesson to build on their skills. The early lessons are very simple, working on counting and number writing. But by the middle of the book, the student is learning about ten frames, word problems, and number lines. By Lesson 120, the student should be able to complete more complex word problems, and the lessons are a bit longer.
There are also ten tests scattered throughout the book to check up on the student’s progress. I like that the tests are all ready to go, including the point values that are assigned to each section. The curriculum even includes a grade sheet at the back of the book to make it easier for the teacher to record their student’s points.
Unit rulers are also included in case you need them, but manipulatives will need to be purchased separately. However, if you don’t have money in your budget for additional supplies, you can very easily substitute items around your house for many of the items or wait for them to go on sale. But if you can purchase them with your curriculum, you can order them from ThemeVille Math as well.
One more benefit to ThemeVille Math is that your subscription also includes access to online teaching videos–just in case math is not one of your favorite subjects to teach!
While we have not found a need to use the online videos just yet, I do like that I have the option in case I am struggling to work through a lesson with my daughter. Sometimes, my kids learn better from someone else teaching the same subject.
Overall, I think that this is a great curriculum! In fact, I believe it may push out the other math curriculum we were working on prior to receiving this product. I like how it’s laid out and how simple it is for my daughter to complete. If you have a first grader, then this is definitely a great curriculum to add to your homeschool. You can get the workbook for just $29.85, the solutions book for just $14.85, and the manipulatives for Levels 1-3 for just $49.85.
There are five levels to choose from, so check out some of these other reviews from other members of the Homeschool Review Crew:
katiecruicesmith.com 