I have a confession to make. I’m a math geek. Math was always my favorite subject. I was excited for my son to get to Algebra so I could help him with it. My favorites are word problems. Yes, I love those problems about paddling canoes upstream, 2 trains leaving Boston, or 2 people painting a house. I guess I like word problems so much because you have to think about how to solve the problem before you actually do any computations. I told you I was a math geek.
When Timberdoodle offered me a copy of Daily Word Problems from Evan-Moor to review, you can imagine how long it took me to decide. Maybe I should make that a word problem.
Math crazy homeschool mom is offered a free word problem book to review. How many milliseconds did it take her to decide she wanted it?
There’s not actually enough information given for you to solve that problem. But I think you get the point.
The Daily Word Problems book provides 5 word problems per week, or one per day. (Clever name, huh?) Each week the problems all relate to a central theme like a swim meet or babysitting, but each of the problems are a different type. One week might have 5 different problems requiring 5 different skills such as: adding money, calculating percentages, subtracting decimals, calculating the volume of a cylinder, and a logic problem. There is a handy chart in the front that shows which skills are covered in which weeks.
The softcover book has perforated pages for easy removal. The copyright permits copying within a single classroom (or in our case, a single home), so I can use this resource for multiple children. The answers are provided in the back, but there are no solutions. Daily Word Problems provides a simple way to enhance any math curriculum.
My only complaint is that the problems seem too easy. I received grade 6+, and my daughter is finishing 5th grade math. She also thought they were too easy. (Hmm. I think I might be raising a math geek.) But, she’s been using a math program that I’ve heard is advanced. The Evan-Moor is correlated to state math standards so maybe what I’ve heard about our math program is true. I would recommend viewing the sample before purchasing to determine what is the best level for your child.
By the way, have you looked at Timberdoodle’s complete curriculum packages? They have put together some wonderful resources. I was drooling over looking at their catalog just yesterday.
Linked to: The Homeschool Curriculum Review Roundup.
Disclosure: I received a copy of Daily Word Problems Grade 6+ from Timberdoodle in exchange for writing an honest review.
By Kristen H.
I never liked math in school as a kid; I always found it difficult and confusing. Since I started homeschooling I have found a whole new love for math, especially Algebra!
Now I must go check out Timberdoodle’s website! 🙂
Timberdoodle does cause one to drool! 🙂
I might need to use something like this for my middle son because he doesn’t seem to get it like my oldest. Adding in one more word problem a day doesn’t sound to hard.
Love meeting other math geeks! – I too love word problems, though when I tried honors math at uni that love was extinguished. This sounds like a great book – thanks for the review.