CTC Math UPDATE // INCREDIBLY helpful new feature + my personal tips
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2023
- We love using CTC Math in our homeschool! And they've rolled out a great new feature to make planning your homeschool math curriculum much simpler.
I'm sharing the update in this video, showing you how to use it, and sharing my personal CTC Math tips.
Have any questions? Leave a comment below!
RESOURCES FROM THIS VIDEO
➕ CTCMath Half-Priced Discount for Homeschoolers - blessedhomeschool.com/CTCMath
Read my full review on the blog: blessedhomeschool.com/ctcmath...
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Hey there! I’m Sara, and I’m a teacher-turned-homeschooling mom to 4 kiddos (including a set of twins!). I balance homeschooling while working full-time from home, and am so thankful you are here.
I love sharing about homeschooling on my blog, Blessed Homeschool, where you’ll find tips, resources, and curriculum reviews. Whether you are a newbie or a veteran, I hope you will leave inspired and equipped with what you find.
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This is so great! Thank you so much! Im going to start ctc with my 6th grader this year. Looking forward to it!
You’re welcome! Hope you guys love it!
This is such a thorough walk- through. And thank you for adding your tips for how you keep track of all your kid's progress! Great video!
You’re so welcome!! Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for this breakdown, I was literally trying to figure it out on my own but I love the platform for sure.
You’re so welcome! It is a lot to take in at first, but once you get familiar with it, it’s easy (as with anything right?). Thanks for watching!
Thank you! We just signed up for CTC and have been assigning tasks had no idea how to do anything else. Super helpful
I’m so glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
So good to see you again:)
Hi friend! Thanks for watching!
Fantastic and super helpful review!!
Thank you for watching!
Thank you so much - incredibly helpful! Random, but have you ever done a walk through of your binders or the other sheets I see on your board in the background (zone 1, zone 2, etc). I have two boys that need lots of visual clues and good organization, so I’m always looking for good ideas! Thanks again and God bless!
Hi there! Yes, actually I did a video on my chore charts here:
ua-cam.com/video/9eT3nyAHPJY/v-deo.html
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this! We are new to CTC, and any help as we get used to it is appreciated. Do you know if a course planner can be changed/modified at all after it's created?
Thank you for watching! Yes, you can edit the plan once it's created. You can do this by selecting the course plan under "tasks" and editing specific days there. I'm not sure if there is a way to do it in bulk, I'd have to play around with it!
Your videos have been very helpful. We've owned CTC for a year but the start up was so complicated i could never figure out where to start.
You mentioned you use the diagnostic tests to determine what level to place your kids? Are you doing this without the kids doing any of the lessons? How are you able to do this in the program? We are starting in the middle of a school year also switching from text book curriculum. I think one of my kids is between 5th-6th grade and i need to understand what she knows and what she doesn't.
Thank you so much for watching! Happy to help! When we started with CTCMath last year, yes, I had my kids work through diagnostic tests before I assigned any lessons. I actually started by giving them the diagnostic tests for their previous grade level, just to make sure they were good on all their skills. When they got to a point where they were completely lost in the diagnostics, that’s where I started assigning the lessons.
You can assign a diagnostic test as a task (so when you go to assign or create a task, select the diagnostic test you want there).
So if I were you, I’d recommend maybe starting with diagnostic tests from 5th grade level, and work your way through those (I usually selected “standard/30 questions” option from the drop-down).
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi Sara, thank you for this video! It was a much needed resource for me as our kids are using CTC math for the first time this year. I am so happy to know how to assign the yearly tasks per grade it makes it so much easier! Curious though if I add the weekly revision does that get factored into the task schedule? And about how much longer per day/week does that take for my kids to complete? Thank you so much and have a blessed weekend!
I'm so glad it was helpful - thank you for watching!
The weekly revision will be added automatically to the schedule, and it will be like an extra task. I think they are typically 25-30 questions or so (the two I printed out today are each 26 questions). It honestly depends on how quickly your kids can answer the questions as to how long it will take them...they haven't taken my kids more than about 15-20 minutes to complete so far. Hope this helps!
Thank you, it does help! 😊
*I have one more question, I noticed today when my kids went to click on the task button it started their grade lessons back to the beginning. Do you know how I can advance them through the lessons they've already completed without messing up the yearly schedule? Thank you for any help! I did try contacting them and they referred me to the email which I did send out an email today but haven't heard back yet.
Yes, you can do this!
Go back to the course planner, select the student, and select the course (so, for my video example I would go back in and select "Geometry" in my course planner). From there, hit the dropdown that says "Customize topics". From there, you can click the checkmark to "deselect" topics you don't want included. That should do it!
Thank you so much, it worked!!! ☺️👍
HI! Thank you for this video, it has been super helpful. I have a question about the weekly revision set. Do you generate it for there current year? If so does it give different questions than the questions assigned during the tasks? We just did 2nd grade with my daughter and then I had her take an exam at the end, and unfortunately she forgot most of the tasks done at the beginning of the school year. Just curious how I add a bit of spiral review in? Thank you
Great question!! Yes, the questions are different, and I use them for exactly what you're talking about (a spiral review). For the weekly revision sets for each grade, there are 16 for each "semester". So, you'll have a set for Semester 1 Week 1 (through Week 16) and then the same for Semester 2.
From how I understand it, Semester 1 questions include problems from the previous grade level mostly so kids can review that material. Semester 2 questions include problems they say through semester 1, and some older stuff too (I am fairly certain this is how it works 😂).
For example, my son is learning about Pre-Algebra concepts (grade 7), and his lessons are on equations and inequalities right now. But his weekly revision set for this week includes questions like: finding LCM, square roots, 3 digit multiplication, fractions, time, rounding, percentages, expressions, graphing, area, angles, probability, mean and media, and stem and leaf plots 😂. A TON of old concepts! I love it!
You CAN generate these to assign automatically throughout the year and the kids can complete them on the computer. However, I like to print them out, so I just do that each week. When my kids start the next grade level, I think I'm going to just print them all at once so I have them ready to go each week.
Hope this helps!!
Does the course planner take into account things like school breaks beyond just standard holidays? Can I create my own school year calendar?
Great question! So, the course planner will schedule assignments by week. For example, "Week 1" might schedule 6 lessons into that week that the student needs to complete, but they can work on at their own pace. It's not broken down to daily lessons, just weekly. Once the week passes, if the lessons aren't completed, they are still there but just marked "overdue".
While you can't create your own calendar during initial set-up per say, you can go in and change due dates and such once the plan is created.
But for my kids, they know if they don't complete all of their lessons within the week, then they have to work on the "overdue" stuff before they move on. And they just work on it to catch up as they can (which typically doesn't take them long!).
Hope this makes sense - it's kind of confusing to try to type out! If a video would be helpful, let me know (especially if you have other questions) and I can show you what it looks like behind the scenes.
Thanks for watching!
I like this new feature. I do like to add quizzes and tests with the question bank option. How would I do that with the new feature?
You should still have the option to use the question banks/create your own. That hasn’t changed - I love that feature too! You would just have to assign those manually though.
Thanks for watching!
@@blessedhomeschool Thank you
Hi there! I'm new to homeschooling (sort of, we tried during the pandemic) and signed up for Mia Academy for the bulk of the curriculum but it seems to be lacking the amount of math my child will need to work through to succeed. Would CTC Math be good for a 7th (transitioning to 8th) grade teen who needs a little more instruction, but once they understand, they can move through quickly? I have seen a lot where it seems like the child will have to sit and have everything repeated even if they got the correct answer and while my child might need to rewatch something for them to understand a few times, they can move fairly quickly once they get it and I'd hate to invest in a program that may not work for them. Obviously you can't make my choice, I just wanted to see if you had some insight! We will probably try to use the Mia Academy for now but eventually remove the math portion in favor of a more robust curriculum. I love the diagnostic testing to determine where my child is at! That would be so helpful in between 7th and 8th grade since they would have been done next month and instead have transitioned to year round eclectic homeschooling/unschooling. Thanks!
I would absolutely give it a try, it sounds like it could be a great fit! They do have a free trial, so check that out first if you want, maybe let your son try some of the lessons to see what he thinks.
If it were me, I’d do a diagnostic test for each of the 7th grade concepts (spread this out, maybe only 1 a day), and that would tell you if there are any 7th grade lessons he might need to brush up on before beginning 8th grade.
Good luck!! Happy to help with any more questions. If you’re on Facebook, there is also an amazing parent group that is super helpful.
Is there a way to adjust the tasks if your going to be off a week for vacation, etc?
So, you can go in and manually change the dates, but unfortunately...it doesn't change all subsequent dates. If it was for something like a vacation, it might not matter as much; your child would just have extra assignments showing up in "tasks", and they could work on those still at their own pace. Hope this helps!! Maybe this will be something they update in the future.
How do i change the time frame for task i have created? Thanks
If you go in to edit your task and click on “task window”, that will allow you to change the dates!
HI Sara, have you noticed a difference in your children's progression using "tasks" versus "lessons"? It seems that it is a lot more difficult for my kids to Master a lesson using tasks, because for every one they get right it moves forward one, but for every one they get wrong it goes backward a few. It seems like they're working on the same lesson for a very long time. Any input would be helpful, thanks 🙂
I am a little unclear what you are asking because the “tasks” are the lessons (unless I’m not understanding correctly!) 😊. How do you have your settings - do you have it set so that your kids have to reach a passing grade before finishing a lessons, or just attempt each question to move forward?
Some lessons do take my kids longer because they DO miss problems…since the program is adaptive, it will continue to “quiz” them on what they miss until they get it correct. I personally am ok with this because I want them to have extra practice on what they get wrong!
If my kids are working on something for a long time (and maybe getting frustrated), I make sure to either a) have them take a break, b) re-watch the video lesson, and/or c) sit by them and help them navigate through the questions.
Does this help at all?
Sara, thank you for your response!
I like your ideas at the end.. if a lesson seems to be taken too long and how to handle that.
As for my original question, when we started CTC math this year the kids began at their grade level and proceeded forward. Mastery was set up so they had to reach 80% or above. It seemed very smooth. The only concern I had was that I didn't know how many lessons there were altogether in order for us to complete their grade level for the year.
When your video came out and you explained how to set up tasks, that was an answer to prayer because then the program was able to figure that out for me. But for some reason the lessons seem much more challenging for the kids (to the point where they're getting frustrated) and getting to mastery is not the same as it was before.
Maybe it's a glitch, but when they advance a star it goes back a few stars if they get something wrong and it just doesn't seem to get them to mastery and awards like before....
Interesting observation about the stars/mastery! I haven’t noticed anything different, but I can’t say I’ve watched each lesson (and my kids haven’t said anything seems off 🤷♀️). It might be worth reaching out to them to see if there have been any changes.
Sometimes my kids fly through lessons easily, but sometimes they get caught on one that’s harder for a while and just need more time to work though it.
As far as the lessons, when you assign the entire grade level these should be the same lessons as if you just have them working through the grade level on their own. It’s just all scheduled out now 😊.
Sara, thank you for the feedback. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. It helps! Blessings!!
Is there a way to set up a four day week?
If you use the course planner, it will automatically split up the lessons and assign them weekly (not daily). It won't tell you "do this lesson Monday, this one on Tuesday", etc...your child will have all lessons for that week available when they log in. So on your end, you could split those up between 4 days if you wanted to. Hope this helps!
Hi! I signed up my kids the tasks of the whole grade. I think I did something wrong. I would like to delete and sign up again. Do you know if the progress is saved?
Do you mean you want to delete the course plan/schedule, but keep their grades (keep the tasks they have already completed?). Or do you want to delete everything completely?
@@blessedhomeschool yes, I want that what they did will not delete.
I reached out to my contacts there to ask for you, and here's what they said: "The results and scores will remain. They won't be deleted. It will just be the notification of the task that will be deleted."
Hope this helps!
Have you tried teaching textbooks? If so, how does it compare to CTC math?
I have not tried Teaching Textbooks! I know many people really like it. From what I know and have read, I love how CTCMath offers more practice problems and also you have access to all grade levels for all kids included in the price. I’ve heard that TT lessons are maybe more interactive than CTC. However, they both do have a free trial, so I’d definitely check them both out to see which is a better fit for your kids 😊
@@blessedhomeschool thank you very much!