Math Refresher for Adults (A Homeschool Crew Review)

Anyone who has read my blog for any period of time knows that math is NOT my subject. I had to repeat Algebra in high school and I barely scraped by to pass Algebra 2 my senior year.   As much as I loved the sciences, I was too scared to take chemistry and physics because I was told that I would not do well because I struggled with math.   Even as a respiratory therapist, I needed to use algebraic equations to properly set medical equipment (the Servo 900C ventilator anyone?) and there were times I was extremely intimidated having to do so, because I feel so crippled by my math abilities.

Because of this, I do worry about how I will handle teaching the kids when I'll probably be learning right beside them. While I'm not going to go trying to teach myself Trigonometry or Calculus anytime soon, there have been times that I have needed a bit of a refresher on how to work a particular style problem. In those types of cases, I am glad to have references such as Math Refresher for Adults from Math Essentials to fall back to in order to refresh (or even teach) myself.

Math Refresher for Adults was designed to help adults to master essential, foundational math skills
that they will need in their lives.  The "lessons" are short and use simple to understand language  and the purchase of the book also provides access to video lessons for even more reinforcement.

The 270 page paperback book, written by Richard W. Fisher covers general mathematics as well as pre-algebra and algebra skills. A detailed table of contents provides an easy way to look up exactly what you are needing to brush up on.

Covered Topics include:

• Whole Numbers 
• Fractions
• Decimals
• Percents
• Geometry 
• Integers
• Charts and Graphs
• Word Problems
• Pre-Algebra and Algebra

The final 45 pages of the book include solutions for all problems, as well as a glossy of mathematical terms, a list of important symbols used in math that many might not be familiar with, and finally a few various helpful charts such as Square roots.

While not actually lessons per say, each page contains a section of Helpful Hints to help guide, step by step, how to solve the problem.   Online video tutorials for a more in depth audio/visual instruction are available on a supplied website, however, these videos were designed to use with previously published books.  The information is there to watch, but you will have to search for it as there's no quick access directly to the section of this particular book.

How I Used It:

While the book provides room to write in, I opted instead to write the problems and my work out on loose paper.  I figured this would be smart so that when I forget once again how to do a particular problem, I can again revisit it and work the problems again without having to erase or already have the answers.    So with my paper and pencil, I would retreat to my bedroom and work through a page or two of problems.

I'll admit, I started from the beginning, which was just basic whole number addition.  Granted, it wasn't 1+1=2.  The first lesson starts with multiple digit column style addition.  I can do those pretty well (although I will admit to using my fingers from time to time haha).

Best way to start when you stink at math?  The Very Basics ;)

 From the first set of problems, I've just slowly worked my way through the pages.  While some may want to skip around and only refresh on things they struggle with, I personally feel a bit better easing myself into the waters, so to speak. I'm honestly am that intimidated by math..

I'm actually glad that I started from the beginning, because some of the authors ways of doing math are much different from the way I learned it in school many many years ago.  For example, in the division section, using a problem such as 93 divided by 6.  For me, I would have come up with a quotient that was a decimal - in this case, 15.5.   (6 goes into 93 a total of 15 times with the three remaining, put a decimal point behind the 15, drop the 3, add a 0 to make it 30, 6 divided into 30 bein 5 for a final answer of 15.5).

 However, the method this particular book does early in the book has you simply making a notation that there are three remaining numbers.  Later in the book when decimals are covered, the old method of solving to zero that I learned in school is reintroduced. And while the Reminder Notation is definitely a simple way of doing it, I was REALLY glad I had worked through the book in order or I would have been completely confused when I saw an answer of 15 r3.

Overall, this is a very nice reference to have on hand. I can see it coming in handy when I need to refresh myself on skills when preparing for lessons with the kids.  However, my husband flipped through it a few times and commented that this book would be extremely useful when prepping for the ASVAB test, as it covered much of the same type of math skills that are covered on the military test. 

For more information about Math Refresher for Adults and the other math instruction books offered by Math Essentials, be sure to visit their website.  You can also find them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/math.essentials/.

LearnBop (A Schoolhouse Crew Review)

We've made major advances in our math learning in recent months but there are still a few roadblocks that we are having, especially with Garrett.   So for the last few weeks, the kids have been getting extra math help by using LearnBop for Families by LearnBop, an online math tutoring subscription that provides personalized math help for grades 3rd though 12th grade.  We were given a 1 year subscription for both Ashleigh and Garrett to the LearnBop for Families Family Plan which includes up to 4 students  (A single student subscription  for the LearnBop for Families is also available).

What is LearnBop?

LearnBop is a highly adaptive math program that allows students to work at their own pace while providing detailed instruction on math concepts.   This allows them to get not only caught up but build an understanding on concept that may have slipped past them in their main math curriculum and build their confidence.  The program helps to identify learning gaps and then works to close those gaps in a step-by-step approach that adapts to your child's needs.


Students select a learning pathway that the program calls a "Roadmap" that is selected either by Grade (3rd through 8th) or math subject (such as Functions or Statistics).  A separate selection of Roadmaps are also available for high school classes such as Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Geometry.  Each Roadmap is divided into math subjects (for the 3rd Grade level these included subjects such as Introduction to Multiplication and Division, Adding and Subtraction Strategies, and exploring Patterns).

Roadmap for 3rd Grade on the left with Subject lesson on the right

Each subject starts with a short "Warm-up" which allows for an assessment of what the student already knows on the subject. After the "Warm-up", students are given a list of instructional videos that introduce core concepts.

Sample of one of the Videos

Afterwards, the students then take their turn at solving the "Bops", which is the final assessment to see if the core concepts were learned.   Bops are made up of questions that review the subject - if a student misses one of the questions, LearnBop redirects the questions to find out how many of the steps the student understands and where they are confused. Once the confusion is identified, the Bop continues to direct the student in the right direction to help them to understand that step so that they can move on.  Then, the Bop is continued until a mastery of 90% is achieved.

Achievements and Progress are all tracked both on the Parent's as well as the Student's Dashboard.   These show how many Bops the student attempted, how much time they have spent using the program, how many videos they have watched and how many achievements they have been awarded.

How We Used It:

We went into this review knowing it was for 3rd grade and up, which was a bit higher than my 2nd graders, who are currently transitioning to 3rd grade.  However, there was plenty for the kids to work on and review.

Garrett has really struggled with the concept of Rounding numbers.  I don't know if it's part of his Autism or just another one of his quirks, but for whatever reason, his mind just seems to have issues with doing rounding.  Garrett sees the exactness of numbers and it's very hard for him to do estimates because it goes against that exactness that he expects.

Just our luck, there was an entire section in the Place Value subject that worked on Rounding to the nearest 10 and nearest 100.   So we spent A LOT of time on this particular area and it really seemed to help him get a better grasp on the concept.

I absolutely love how there are small quotes to encourage students even when they make mistakes. This one was one of our favorites as we did go through this program very slowly.

We have just started to attempt the multiplication/division section. Ash and Garrett both have a bit of knowledge of their Times Tables thanks to a previous review so even though we haven't officially taught them in our math curriculum.   And I'm really looking forward to using this program more as we start our 3rd grade year in October.

For more information about LearnBop, be sure to visit them on the following social media outlets:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnBop

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearnBop @LearnBop

.