Why Consumer Math is So Valuable in Your Homeschool
When my second daughter began planning her homeschool senior year of high school, she was struggling to find a math credit that would benefit her in the future. We noticed that our favorite math curriculum offered a project-based math class, Consumer Math with Mr. D.
This class was exactly the sort of practical math that she wanted to learn. This class would help her reinforce her algebra skills while teaching her practical math that would apply to her life in the future. We decided it would be the perfect fit for her senior year math credit.
I immediately contacted Mr. D and asked for access to the program in exchange for sharing our experience. It’s no secret that we love Mr. D math and have been using it for years. After using the program last year, I am excited to share our experience with you.
Homeschool Math: The Early Years
Math has always been an important subject in our homeschool plan. After all, I am a former middle school math teacher so I know how important it is to help my kids develop their number sense and calculation skills.
We spent a lot of the elementary years building basic number sense through our curriculum. I made sure they could “make 10’s” and learn various ways to add and subtract large numbers. I wanted to make sure everyone in the house knew how to “play with numbers.”
I continued this philosophy of playing with math concepts in their middle school years. While they continued to work through their math programs, I often created little games and quizzes to play with topics that would make their future life easier, such as calculating 10% in their head.
My main goal has always been to make sure my kids could apply math to their lives in the future. Whether they graduate from our homeschool and continue their education in engineering or arts and design, I want my kids to feel confident in the math skills and concepts they need for everyday life.
The Reality Of Homeschooling High Schoolers
As my kids have settled into their high school years, their own particular skills and interests start to become more clear. Whether it is working with kids, working on computers, or working with their hands, each of my kids has very unique interests and desires for their future.
My job is to help them craft a high school experience that will build a foundation for their future. This includes their academic future as well as their overall life as an adult. So while they all need “math credits” for college, high schoolers also need to begin building the skills they need to function in the world beyond our life at home.
One day our kids will need to write resumes, pay taxes, manage insurance, take out loans, and so much more. These skills involve quite a bit of knowledge about math as well as knowledge about how things work. These skills aren’t often taught in school, leaving many high school and college graduates unprepared for some of the basic realities of adult life.
I knew that the best math year for my daughter would be spent with a program that would reinforce her basic algebra-level skills while teaching her practical math skills for her future.
Consumer Math In Your Homeschool
After years of using Mr. D math, I have tons of confidence in the content of his courses as well as his approach to teaching math. His self-paced video classes have been the top choice for high school math in our home and I had no doubt this course would prove to be a great fit.
I took one look at the Project-Based Consumer Math program from Mr. D and knew this would be a great fit for my daughter’s senior year. It is an excellent combination of algebra and math calculation review while teaching practical and everyday math lessons.
Practical, Everday Skills
The Mr D Consumer Math course from Mr. D covers a wide range of subjects from goal setting to calculating the slope of a line to financing a car. You’ll find lessons for topics such as:
Goal Setting
Time Management
Opening a Bank Account
Financing or Buying a Car
Introduction to Financial Literacy
Algebra Skill: Break-Even Points
Using Measurement in the Kitchen
Starting a Business
Algebra Skill: Working with Fractions
And so much more! Check out the complete list of practical math lessons for yourself!
I appreciated that this consumer math class gave us the opportunity to discuss a lot of topics that wouldn’t have been part of a traditional math class. My daughter was able to set up her checking account, apply for a credit card, and even begin investing in a mutual fund with some of her earnings from work!
The practical topics often reminded us about other things we wanted to discuss with our daughter. For example, my daughter opened her own Venmo and PayPal accounts even though they were specified in the lessons.
Overall the content was practical, helpful, and completely beneficial for her future.
The Stock Market Game
Stocks have always been a little bit mysterious to me so I was grateful to have someone else introduce this concept to my child, especially in such a fun way!
Mr. D Consumer Math provides several lessons on the stock market and then allows students to participate in the stock market game with other Mr. D Consumer Math students.
Each student can invest a hypothetical amount of money in various stocks and then watch it grow (or shrink). It was a ton of fun and helped us understand the basics of the stock market even if we aren’t ready to play the game with real money quite it.
It was the stock market game that inspired us to open my daughter’s money market investment account. While the managers of the fund she choose are in charge of selecting the individual stocks for the fund, it helped us understand more about the process.
If your child enjoys the stock market game, you should consider adding a few more free financial literacy activities for high school students.
Self-Paced Content Over the Year
The Consumer Math course provides a pacing guide so you can complete the course over 32 weeks, but you can adapt it to your own schedule and needs.
My daughter was more interested in finishing more quickly so we often doubled up on topics that she already understood well or activities we had already covered.
Our family loves that this class was a self-paced course. We definitely take advantage of moving at our own pace to cover the various content.
One of the best parts of the self-paced option is that students who want to continue their traditional math classes can add this course to their schedule and complete it over 2 years if they prefer. It’s a fantastic option even for those continuing with their college prep math classes.
Try Consumer Math with Mr D In Your Homeschool
If you are looking for a practical math course to teach everyday math and skills to your child, you should definitely check out the Consumer Math Course with Mr D.
You’ll find everything you need to accomplish a math credit for your child who prefers a practical math course.
Learn More about our Experience with Mr D Courses
We have been using Mr D Math for over 6 years in our homeschool. We discovered his courses when my oldest was in Geometry and we have never looked back. All of my children begin with Pre-Algebra when they are ready and then continue with the Mr D math sequence that best suits their particular goals and plans.
You can read more about the various courses we have enjoyed and why we love Mr D math:
Five Reasons We Love Mr D Math for Homeschooling
How Using Mr D Math Makes Homeschooling Math Easy
Boost Your SAT Scores with Mr D Math
How to Easily Learn ASL 1 with Mr D Sign Language Courses
She believes that creativity, laughter, and fun are the backbone for engaging and inspiring homeschools. You can find her encouragement and tips on this blog, Mary Hanna Wilson.
She is an enneagram 7 and an extrovert. She enjoys traveling, tea (iced or hot), good conversations, and books. You can connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
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