5 Homeschool Math Resources For Summer Fun

My kids mark the end of our school year with the completion of their math book. There's just something about getting to the last lesson that makes them think that they need a couple months off of math. As the person who will be reteaching the concepts that fade over the summer, I have a desire to homeschool year round. However, our continuing to school through the summer never seems to work as I think it will.

Summer learning can still continue even if it doesn't look the same as the school year learning. I think kids would be even more agreeable with a bit of change. Incorporating math into summertime activities is a great way to keep up the skills while giving kids a break. There are so many wonderful apps, educational programs, and games that can benefit young learners and moms alike. I'm excited that we can keep moving forward with math, while still enjoying our summer. This mom needs a break too!

This post was sponsored by Homeschool Buyers Co-op. All opinions are my own. See my full disclosure policy for more details. 

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op not only has great prices, but they also are an excellent resource for finding new materials to try.  With an award-winning selection of math products, including core curriculum, supplemental, practice programs, struggling learner programs, and games, you can find math curriculum at a savings of up to 67% (compared to regular price outside of Homeschool Buyers Co-op).

Here are 5 great homeschool math resources for adding a little fun to your summer learning:

1. Mathbreakers

Mathbreakers is a 3D math exploration game that teachers addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, fractions, negatives, and number sense through the power of play. There are no worksheets or flash cards, but you will find castles, puzzles, toys and machines that students explore using math in order to progress through the game.

Mathbreakers aims to make math more accessible helping students visualize it in a context that has meaning to them.

2. Mathmania

Geared for children ages 7-12, Mathmania books cover a wide range of math-related activities with colorful illustrations, engaging themes and a silly sense of humor to encourage kids to enjoy playing with numbers.

The puzzles reinforce your child's ability to recognize patterns, shapes and sequences, apply logic, make estimates, create graphs, use fractions and gain practical experience with money, time and measurements.

Every Mathmania book also contains a helpful page called "Hints and Bright Ideas" so should your child get stuck solving a challenging puzzle, this page gives a little nudge to set them on the path to success.

In addition, inside the front cover of every Mathmania book, there is a note from the editors to parents which directs you to special features and suggests hands-on activities that can help your child get actively involved in math concepts used in solving some of the puzzles.

3. Learning Palettes

Learning Palettes are the perfect kits for homeschoolers to use just the right curriculum to challenge a student in a particular subject area and help them build their confidence. Like Learning Wrap-Ups, Palettes allow students to work at their own pace featuring their own unique self-correction method. The ingenious lids allow you to store the accompanying pieces so they won't be lost and will be ready for the next use! Watch this Learning Palettes video to see how to utilize for your homeschool classroom:

4. CCC! Streaming Britannica SmartMath^®

For the first time ever, homeschoolers can now bring high-quality video online streaming into their home classrooms with a 1-year subscription to Britannica SmartMath & StarMath Online Streaming, made available to the Co-op by award-winning CCC! Streaming Media.

The Britannica SmartMath & StarMath Online Streaming features a boatload of programs for your homeschool classroom:

• Britannica SmartMath - 118 interactive flash programs
• Star Math
• Algebra Nspirations & Applications
• It Figures
• Mathemania Series
• Geometry Applications
• And many more!

In addition to the videos, your subscription will give you online access to an abundance of support materials from CCC! Streaming Media:

• Teacher Guides
• Student Activities
• Student Quizzes
• Plus, you have 24/7 access for your studies - access anytime, anywhere!

5. DreamBox Learning^®

DreamBox Learning is a highly individualized math-learning curriculum that places a great emphasis on making math fun and engaging so that children will be motivated to play and learn.

DreamBox Learning provides:

• Individualized Learning: DreamBox provides over a million different paths through the curriculum, based on a student's interests and needs. It looks beyond right or wrong answers. How quickly did a student answer? Did he need extra hints to get the answer? Did she improve? Based on the student's interaction, DreamBox adapts the problem or lesson difficulty, the number and type of hints given, lesson pacing and sequence, instructional tools, and more. Placement lessons throughout the adventures assess students' knowledge, so they can skip what they know and focus on what they're ready to learn.
• Rigorous, Standards-Aligned PreK-8 Math: DreamBox contains over 1,800 research-based PreK-8 math lessons built on National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Focal Points.
• Real-Time Progress Reports: Your Parent Dashboard gives you a real-time view of your child's progress and detailed descriptions of the math concepts your child is learning. And you receive an email whenever your child achieves an important academic milestone, describing the math concept and suggesting activities you can do together to practice the math skill your child has been learning.
• FUN!: DreamBox provides two age-appropriate, learning environments that are designed to be fun and motivating. To enhance learning, students use virtual manipulatives rather than just clicking on an answer. And like a good teacher, DreamBox encourages and cheers students on. As they progress, kids earn rewards and certificates for both effort and academic achievement.

 With a few fun resources, learning can happen all throughout the summer.