“Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.” – Galileo Galilei

I enjoy teaching my children addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions. It is because arithmetic is predictable. Numbers are absolute. There is no hypocrisy in math. The answers are right or wrong. Math is truth in that way.

Unfortunately, higher math is not at the top of my “Things I Love to Teach” list. The thought of moving past basic math onto more intricate subjects like advanced algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, and physics makes me rather nervous. But I realize that to understand mathematics is to understand a part of this world, therefore it must be pursued.

Fortunately, there are wonderful teaching tools available for parents like me. Recently I was given a Math Tutor DVD to review for The Old Schoolhouse. Since we are in the process of teaching Aaron algebra I was pleased.

The first DVD we reviewed was Pre-Algebra. It includes five hours of tutorials that cover several mathematical principles like: real numbers, number lines, greater than and less than, absolute value, integers, powers and exponents, and order of operations. Jason Gibson is the instructor. He left NASA in order to focus on MathTutorDVD.com. With degrees in engineering and physics, he is more than qualified to teach mathematics. But just being qualified does not make a great instructor.  Any teacher can make a simple idea complex but Jason takes a complex idea and makes it simple. Therefore, the lessons are very easy to understand. Aaron watched a section of the video each day and worked the sample problems given. When I asked him what he thought of the instructor he said, “He’s fun and makes math easy. I do not feel rushed and I like that he says to take this one step at a time.”

We also previewed the Texas Instruments T1-83 T1-84 Calculator Tutor. Since my children are not to the level of needing this instruction right now, this is definitely one that I will save and pull out again in the future.

Each video is $26.99 with a full money back guarantee and offers in-depth, detailed courses. The website is full of information, including sample videos for all subjects taught. For those who prefer, you can join online for $19.95 a month and have access to all of the tutorials (over 170 hours).

You can click here to see what others are saying about MathTutorDVD.com.

Disclaimer:  As a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew, I received these products free of charge in exchange for an honest product review.   I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.