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I always loved school.

I love the look, feel, and even the smell of a brand new textbook.

I was transported back to my own public school days when I received the 3rd grade enVisionMath textbook from Pearson Learning. You know the stamp in the front of a textbook that has a place to write who is issued the book each year? I don’t think it has changed since I was in school.

When I actually opened the book, I quickly realized that this was not the 3rd grade textbook that I had in, um, 1979. For one thing, it is WAY more colorful. The illustrations in the book are bright and engaging. I think that the content has changed significantly since then as well. This text places great emphasis on problem solving. There are also fun facts throughout the book that integrate other subjects with math.

For example:

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth. It can grow about 36 inches a day. Can it grow more than 200 inches in a week?

and

What is the record length of the “World’s Longest Apple Peel?”

The text is very well organized with a predictable format for each topic. Every lesson includes Guided Practice, Independent Practice, and Problem Solving. There are Going Digital exercises to be completed on eTools. Also included is a comprehensive Electronic Teacher’s guide and a QuizShow math practice computer game.

The Electronic Teacher’s Edition is loaded! It has teaching helps, printable pages of all the exercises in the book, plus extra practice pages, tests, the answers to the exercises, ideas and printable pages for centers, and more.

I think this would make a great text for many children. It might be an especially good choice for a student

    • who is transitioning to homeschool from the public school (and was doing well in math there.)

or

    • who needs to stay on the standard scope and sequence because he is likely going to be attending public school in the future.
It was unfortunately, a very poor choice for my 10 year old son who is struggling in academics.
  • The bright color was very distracting for him. I found him unable to understand concepts that he had previously learned (like place value).
  • He needs a work text. Transferring problems from a textbook to a separate page is next to impossible for him. (This difficulty can be reduced by printing the exercises from the teacher’s guide. However, this program is already expensive, and having to print every single exercise is both time-consuming and more expensive.)
  • While my son liked the Quiz game math practice, I did not.
    • First, the multiple choice made it possible for him to just guess. There was no explanation of incorrect answers.
    • And even more disturbing was the fact that the game insulted the student for missed answers! I have several other children who can sarcastically belittle my son for not knowing things. I do not need his math curriculum telling him things like, “The key to this game is selecting the CORRECT answer.” and “If the goal were negative points, you’d be headed in the right direction. “
  • One additional problem for me is that the software, though supposed to work on Macs, only works on very old Macs. That is not a major concern since we have both a Mac and PC’s  in our home, but it would definitely be a problem in a home with only a Mac computer because the Teacher’s Guide would not work.
The enVisionMath homeschool bundle is available from Pearson Homeschool for $99.99.

 

Disclosure: I received the enVisionMath homeschool bundle from Pearson Learning to review for free as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew. I was not compensated for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

 


By Kristen H.
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4 thoughts on “enVisionMath Review”

    1. i want to order the envision homeschool bundle
      but it is important that i know if the teacher’s CD is compatible
      with a mac lion operating system.
      please let me know as soon as possible.
      thanks
      loowa

  1. Hello again,

    Just wanted to let you know that Pearson Homeschool has joined Pinterest and is giving away FIVE free curriculum bundles for the next school year through a “Pin It to Win It” contest! The prize includes one grade level product from each of the four disciplines: Science, Math, Social Studies, and Literacy. See contest rules here: http://www.pearsonhomeschooling.com/pinit/

    We are also currently offering 20% off myWorld Social Studies K-6. http://www.pearsonhomeschool.com/myworld

    Feel free to share!

    Thank you

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