Math Mammoth

This week I tested Tristan in Math using Saxon, Singapore and Horizons and consistently he was showing up in a 4th-5th grade range. He is 11 years old and if in the US should be in the 7th grade! Now Tristan was never an advanced student. He didn't take the interest to learn his alphabet until he was eight and learned to read at nine but we were ok with this as every child learns at their own pace but he was always good at math! And now he is testing a full grade lower than he was when he started British school last year! Now I understand that we teach math differently but a full grade lower than when he started..and try as I might I can't find anything new he has learned! As you can imagine this has frustrated me greatly! I mean I am not math minded myself and I can't use the SOS disks he wanted as they are too far ahead of him and require too little of me for me to be able to adequately keep up with his progress. I don't want to buy an expensive 4th or 5th grade program that is going to take all of my time when I have other subjects and other children to teach. I mean keep in mind in addition to three homeschool boys I have two teenagers who attend a highly competetive prep school that requires tons of prep (homework) and a rigorous schedule of activities to keep me on the go...so anyways my sister has recently started homeschooling and is looking for a math program and she came across Math Mammoth. I had heard the name before but never looked at it, but being the good big sister I promptly went over and downloaded the 200+++ free trial pages, read the website from front to back and looked up all the reviews I could find...this program is just what I was looking for! You see not only does this program have complete curriculum for each grade 1st-1/2 of fifth (the second half would be out before we needed it) but it also has tons of workbooks for specific issues (ie: fractions, money even simple adding) and workbooks for older grades as well. So you can test your child at grade level and instead of having to buy a whole grade level because he is short on some of it you can just buy the parts he is behind on!!! Now there is more amazing news....WAIT...DON'T STOP READING...this is GOD'S AWESOMNESS!! On Kagi (the authoress's preferred cart) she has everything...I mean EVERYTHING, the complete curriculums for grade 1-5.5, all the extra workbooks, all the upper level workbooks...EVERYTHING in a pdf download for just over $100!! I mean this program would cover all three boys, fill in Tristans gaps, and allow me to individualize Phoenix and Gryphen's math to their exact levels and needs! Just over $100 and I have an interesting comprehensive curriculum for the next 5+ years!!!! I am so excited and SOO thankful to God and my sister for finding this for me!


Now about handwriting.....well I don't use handwriting workbooks but am considering purchasing Startwrite...if anyone has any opinions???