Improving Math Skills with 200 Essential Math Skills for Second Grade {A Homeschool Review Crew Review}

Have you heard of Reading Eggs before? My younger children, Harold (my 7 year old) and Hannah (my 9 year old), have used the different sections of this great educational website in the past, and we have currently been given a four week free trial again in order to facilitate this review. The review itself is going to focus on one of the workbooks that is now available from Reading Eggs to supplement the site. However, these workbooks can also be used independent of the site. Harold has been working in 200 Essential Math Skills for Second Grade for the past several weeks, and he loves it!

This 259- page, softcover workbook begins with a look at the Contents.

There are 10 "maps" that a child will work through. These maps actually refer to the maps on the Mathseeds educational site. In the workbook, each of these is highlighted by a different color on the two Contents pages. 

The Year Planner which spans the next five pages goes into more detail to help guide you and your child through the year. 

The Year Planner section is divided by the different maps: 21 through 30. You will find the lesson numbers, the teaching focus for each lesson, plus the pages used in the workbook, skills learned, and the Driving Tests that cover the material. Again, these Driving Tests can be found at the Mathseeds site. These Driving Tests give a child extra practice with the material, so they are not required, but are quite helpful.

Before getting into the lessons, there are a few pages of hands-on Learning Activities which contain ideas for working with your child to reinforce the lessons being learned. 

The majority of the workbook is devoted to the actual lesson pages. Each map section has five lessons which supplement what is learned on the website, though, as I mentioned, they can be used independent of the site. I would, however, encourage you to make use of the free trial so you can see how well the workbook actually supplements the website. Here is what the map looks like on the site:

As they complete a lesson they are rewarded with a new animal and their avatar moves along the map. They then are advanced to the next map.

In the workbook, each lesson spans four pages. Once a student has completed five lessons in the workbook there is a quiz to take. . .

. . . and a certificate that you can fill out for your child. 

Before moving on to the next map there is a "Fun Spot" page with an activity for the child to complete which helps reinforce a skill that was previously learned. 

After every five maps there is a four page Review section which covers material learned in the previous 25 lessons. 

(We haven't gotten that far yet, but I wanted to show you what the review looks like.)

The book concludes with a completion certificate and a section of Cut-Out Pages with some images that a child will need to cut and glue into the correct spaces in the corresponding lessons. There are only 11 lessons that have cut outs. The majority of the lessons will be completed with pencil and colored pencil (or crayon). 

So, what topics does the 200 Essential Math Skills for Second Grade workbook from Mathseeds cover? 

Well, your child will be working with numbers up to 1000, counting and even comparing numbers. They will work on different operations, such as adding, subtracting, and multiplying, learning different strategies such as partitioning, grouping, and working backwards. They will also work with word problems. Additionally, your child will work on measurement (working with meters, area, volume, mass, learning about the calendar, time, and money), geometry (moving shapes, the rhombus, 3D objects, and quadrilaterals), fractions, and data.

Each map has children working on a variety of topics. 

For example, in map 21 Harold was working on:

 Counting to 500

Moving Shapes

Measuring with meters

and Partitioning Numbers.

He got to practice addition with the Fun Spot at the end of the section.

In addition to working on more counting, the next map (Map 22) had him working on data with a lesson on chance.

He also worked on odd and even numbers and then worked on measurement with the calendar.

He again worked on partitioning, but this time it was to help with subtraction.

Harold has been working through the workbook at a pace of about two lessons a week. Sometimes he will work on one page a day, other times he can get through 2, possibly 3. It really depends how much work is on each page. If he has to do a lot of writing on the page,  he is not interested in doing more than one at a time. 

We really haven't been using the Mathseeds site very often during this review period, because Harold technically passed the maps he's been working in when we had access previously. However, I wanted him to start at the beginning of the workbook to ensure he understood all the concepts, and I am glad I did, because he has had a couple of skills he was struggling with. He has spent some time working in Reading Eggspress, which we reviewed last year. Both he and Hannah have enjoyed being able to advance in that program. 

So, what do we think of the 200 Essential Math Skills for Second Grade workbook?

Personally, I think it is a great math workbook, and it appears Harold agrees. 

He told me he loves this workbook. When I asked what he has enjoyed the most about it, he stated he really likes the timelines where he has to jump back.

The quality of the workbook is wonderful. I love that there is color to help catch the eye, but it isn't too flashy. I think that it is great that each map offers variety, allowing a child to work on multiple skills as they advance through the program. It is definitely a wonderful resource, especially as it supplements the website, though it's awesome that it can be used by itself. I will say, having access to the online lessons really does help the child get as much out of the program as possible. I admit, there was one time when I was a bit unsure what was actually expected in the lesson. However, I believe this is because the animated, online lessons are where the actual instructions are given. So, as I have said before, I would definitely recommend at least checking out the site, and the free trial period. 

And do I have some great news for you! You can try out the multi-award winning Reading Eggs program for not two, but four weeks! 

Just in time for Back to School:  Sign up today and watch your child become a stronger reader this Back-to-School season! 

A multi-award winning online learning program for children ages 2-13, Reading Eggs supports the essential foundations of reading with its highly engaging lessons, games, and e-books!

Don't miss this offer. It does expire on October 4th 2019.

You can find Reading Eggs on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Don't forget to click the banner below to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about these wonderful workbooks from Reading Eggs. There are actually nine different workbooks available.

240 Essential Reading Skills for Kindergarten

240 Essential Reading Skills for First Grade

200 Essential Reading Skills for Second Grade

200 Essential Reading Skills for Third Grade

200 Essential Reading Skills for Fourth Grade

200 Essential Reading Skills for Fifth Grade

200 Essential Math Skills for Kindergarten

200 Essential Math Skills for First Grade

200 Essential Math Skills for Second Grade