I’ve been homeschooling for over 12 years and these are the maths programmes that have worked for my family. I also end this blog post with some other maths curriculums that I have on my list to try if the options hadn’t worked as well.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
I loved mathematics and used to have good grades when I was at school in Asia so I have the Maths knowledge to teach primary school maths to some degree.
1. Singapore Maths
Style: Spiral learning 2 x Textbook + 2 x workbook per grade level.
Each grade level is about 6 months ahead of Australian curriculum. Use the instructor guides and manipulatives to create a complete maths curriculum.
What I like about it: Easy to use, instructor guides help with teaching in the upper levels, though I did not need to use them very much with my own background knowledge of maths. Topics and skills are lade out in a logical sequence and build upon what has been learnt in previous sections. It is based on Part-Part-Whole concrete learning, and has many story problems to practise maths problem solving.
Suitable for teachers and students who are strong in Maths; Not suitable if you need fully scripted lessons
Also similar to Singapore Maths : Pr1me Maths International version by Scholastic. However nowadays only the Australian version of Pr1me maths is available to purchase online.
2. The Good and the Beautiful Maths
Style: Spiral learning 2 x all-in-one text/workbook per year level, with supporting games booklets (old version) and a manipulatives box. Lots of drills either on paper or disguised as themed games. Video lessons are available every other lesson for the higher grades.
What I like about it: The programme combines the best of Montessori, Singapore and Saxon maths into one package, with hands on learning, logical progression of skills learnt. Plenty of maths drills are part of the programme in the form of maths games illustrated in beautiful watercolours. the learning spiral progresses slower than Singapore Maths.
Suitable for kids who don’t mind drills disguised as math games, or parents can adjust to skip extended drills. Lessons are fully scripted in the lower years.
Not suitable if kids find the stories and drill games too tedious/repetitive
3. Math-U-See (Australian Version)
Style: Mastery learning. Video-based lessons. Student workbook + proprietary manipulatives to go with the programme.
What I like about it: Each level corresponds to a maths skill up to the end of primary school e..g Alpha focusses on Addition, Beta on Subtraction, Gamma on multiplication and so on.
Suitable for those who need a bit more time to develop basic maths skills one skill at a time.
Not suitable for kids who are able to grasp maths concepts easily.
SECONDARY MATHS
Let me preface that in my opinion, Australian Maths Curriculum for high school seems repetitive between Year 7-10 in a home-based environment and these formative years could be utilised more effectively to teach some more new maths concepts in preparation for uni first year or Year 11-12 ATAR courses.
1. Mathsonline
(Australian – online subscription programme)
Online maths with access to the entire list of topics from K-Yr12, charged per child, monthly or annually. Homeschoolers get a substantial discount. Contains short video lessons followed by exercises to practise math skills, plus review questions and quizzes. Homeschool accounts can be made into classroom accounts, where students can be scheduled to do certain exercises and revision questions.
Short review: As a box-ticking exercise, it meets the Australian Curriculum requirements, and for some homeschoolers that is enough. My kids however were lukewarm about it for high school maths. Coming from a Singapore Primary Maths background, they found each unit a bit too disconnected from each other and would rather learn maths as a whole system of maths problem solving tools.
2. Mathspace
(Australian – free fully online interactive textbook)
A free Mathspace account give you access to the entire Australian Maths Curriculum up to Year 12 (one textbook year at a time). This includes worked examples, on screen exercises and AI marking.
Great as a reference. Not so great if kid gets frustrated with typing out maths onscreen as this is more complicated than it sounds.
Short review: We didn’t use it much, but I found it valuable as it has video demonstrations, comprehensive textbook instruction, and practice questions that are marked step-by-step. You can dip in and out as a maths textbook companion to any other maths courses (we used it in our later 1-2 years with Mathsonline). The interface is modern and intuitive.
3. Shormann Maths
(USA – Online video course, Christian)
By far the best high school maths instruction for two of my kids, their retention of maths skills is great. Video-based online lessons based on the USA high school math curriculum and Saxon high school math makes implementation easy and hassle-free. It goes deeper than the Australian curriculum mathematics in a different sequence. Algebra 1 actually contains half of Geometry, the other half is contained in Algebra 2, covering Australian Mathematics topics between Year 7-10.
It covers concepts in a logical sequence over 100 lessons per 30-week level, and previews future topics in later years by touching on them briefly early within the programme. Weekly and quarterly quizzes plus online flashcards keeps skills sharp and encourages retention. Bonus is the sibling discounts are very generous!
Short review: This programme suited two of my kids. We only used Algebra 1. One of them was motivated to finish it within 6-7 months and has now got a great headstart in Year 11 Mathematics Applications at school (and she wished she could continue with Shormann!), while the other is progressing well into Algebra 2.
Other Maths programmes to consider that I haven’t used
Mathletics (Australian – maths practice)
Beast Academy / AOPS (USA – extension/gifted maths)
Teaching Textbooks (USA – online video course)
Saxon Math Textbooks and DIVE interactive for upper primary (USA)
MathTrackX (Australian pre-university preparation maths course with content equivalent to ATAR Mathematics Methods, hosted by The University of Adelaide)
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