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Robinson Method for doing math:

    The first year using the Robinson Curriculum is spent learning ALL the math facts using ONLY flashcards and manipulatives.  Once all basic math facts of addition through division are learned, Saxon 5/4 is started.  Once all Saxon math books are completed (by around age 16), physics and chemistry is done during the math time period.
    Some parents modify this method slightly.  This page is devoted to ways that this can be done, and links to other math curriculums, workbooks, and online math activities that any homeschool family can make use of.   No matter what system that you use, learning the basic math facts must be stressed in the early years.  If the student does not know the basic math facts WELL, they will have a harder time in the higher grades.

Other Methods:

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Important Note:  If you use the Robinson Curriculum, do not feel that you have to supplement. Flashcards work just fine for most children, and often times work better than other methods.  Use these other materials only if your children need them.  Also, do not try to use all that I have listed on this site.  This is a list of not only what I use, but also of materials that I do not use which I have found out about from sources.  I included all of them because I knew others may be interested in the others too.

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Math Drills for learning basic math facts:  (Done before each lesson)

• Quarter Mile Math - a computer game made for helping children increase their speed in answering the basic math facts.  Very good -- I would recommend it to anyone who lets their kids use a computer.  For grades K-9 -- deals with more than just the basic math facts: fractions, decimals, percents, rounding, pre-algebra, keyboarding, alphabet order, and much more.  Students are drilled on the topic of their choice, and they race against themselves.

• Drill sheets -  To time the child to see how fast they can get a certain amount of problems done in a certain amount of time.  You can buy drill cards (card stock with math facts on them, with a hole in the card for the answer to be written) and drill sheets from several catalogs or school supply stores.  You can also buy workbooks that are made up of just drill sheets or print out your own at various web sites on the internet. (See links below)

Goal at first:  to get a faster time that last time
Goal to work towards:  100 problems done in 5 minutes or less.
 
• Internet websites that have online activities for students. (See links below)

• Various other learning tools useful for learning math.
• Math wrap-ups
• Counting Frame and/or counters
• Base Ten blocks (for learning place value and regrouping for adding and subtracting)
• Cuisenaire Rods
• Time Flash Cards
• Money Flash Cards -- The ones I have have pictures of coins in color and in the same size the actual coin is.  My daughter can take real coins (real coins are cheeper than the plastic!) and lay them on top of the pictures on the card, and then count the money.
• Fraction pieces
• Dominoes
• Pattern Blocks
• Tangrams
• 3-D shapes

• Ray's Primary Arithmetic (For grade levels 1 and 2)

Ray's Intelectual Arithmetic (For grade levels 3 and 4)
Ray's Arithmetic was used in schools back when the McGuffey readers were used.  The quality of the books are very good, and require a different type of thinking than a lot of other math books.  Not only are you learning math, but you are also leaning the pracitcal ways to use math, because most of the problems in Ray's are word problems.  Several lessons in Ray's Primary Arithmetic deal with the learning of math facts from addition through division.  These lessons take the math facts in order, and make word problems out of them.  (Very helpful for the first step of learning flashcards, in my opinion.  As a new group of flashcards are added, a lesson in Ray's that goes with those cards can be done.)  Later lessons mix the math facts up.  Ray's Intelectual Arithmetic deals with some of the higher math facts, like 11 + 7.  Fractions, ratios and percents are also taught in this second book.  Ray's Primary, and the first half of Ray's Intelecutal Arithmetic are both good practice for after all math facts have been learned and if your kids need more practice before starting Saxon 5/4.  The whole set of Ray's Arithmetic can also be used in place of Saxon math, or other math curriculums.  (I plan to use a little of both Ray's and Saxon for my daughters.)  For the first two books of Ray's Arithmetic about one lesson is done a week.  Other activites like flashcards are done the rest of the week.  Ray's Arithmetic can be bought through Mott Media.
 
• Workbooks that are easy for the child to use on their own.

I use Spectrum Math (published through McGraw-Hill) and Milliken Math workbooks (published through Milliken Publishing Company.  Again this is for practice, and so that the child can learn things like telling time, counting money, place value . . .  I plan to use the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade books for sure.  May also use 4th grade book before starting Saxon 5/4.  I use these books on the days that I do not use Ray's Arithmetic.
 
• Some days computer activities from the internet can be used instead of workbooks, or Ray's.  These are either done on-line (with supervision) or printed out to be done on paper.  

Higher Grades

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Important note:  If the basic math facts have not been learned well yet -- first go through the steps of learning the basic math facts found at the top of this page.

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Math Curriculum

    Any math curriculum can be used.  The Robinson Curriculum suggests using Saxon Math.  Many people that use the Robinson Curriculum do use others curriculum in place of Saxon.  Below is a list of the ones I have heard of the most.