Engaging Online Middle School Math Lessons For Saxon Math

I was compensated for my time reviewing this product/service, writing this review, and hosting the giveaway. All opinions are my own. 

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Math is the source of lots of school related stress in our home. For some reason, both my boys struggled with it and I’m on round two with my youngest, who’s now in 6th grade.

He doesn’t necessarily struggle with the concepts so much, but completing the work and getting through a lesson is tough. He lacks focus and is easily discouraged.

I’m not the best math teacher and admittedly struggle to explain the steps or concepts in a way that sticks with him. I lack patience at this point and could really use some backup.

We both get easily frustrated and math explodes quickly on the daily.

While my husband is willing and able to help with math, work wouldn’t get completed until evenings after he’s home from work. That wouldn’t really be all that great either. I’ve tried out sourcing to big brother (put that college algebra to work, right?), but that didn’t go so well. My boys don’t exactly need another area of contention right now if you know what I mean.

Of course, there’s always the option of switching our curriculum or perhaps enrolling in an online class for next year, but I really don’t want to do any of that either. I like the curriculum we have. It’s thorough and even though math is challenging right now, it has given my son a strong foundation in math.

That’s why when I found about Nicole The Math Lady I jumped at the opportunity to learn more.

Nicole The Math Lady offers engaging online middle school math lessons for use with Saxon Math.

We’ve been using Saxon Math since kindergarten with my youngest and I really like it. Even with the challenges, I still trust the curriculum and don’t really want to change anything at the moment so I was thrilled to learn the videos follow our current text.

Each video lesson includes instruction of a new concept and practice problems. Even if you don’t use Saxon Math, you can still benefit from her video instruction and purchase a “by topic” membership. Take a look at the list of all the topics covered. New videos are added weekly.

Why we love the videos:

I think we were both surprised by how much we actually liked the videos. My son isn’t really a video instruction kind of kid, but Nicole’s videos are awesome. She doesn’t make corny jokes are overly try to be funny, she just seems to have a naturally engaging personality that comes through in her videos.

While she’s upbeat and engaging, she’s also quick and to the point. Another huge plus! He doesn’t want to feel like he’s sitting in front of the computer all day and her videos are perfect for a busy middle school boy. She offers up Nicolisms (fun mnemonic devices) and brain breaks too.

Nicole has a love for math that really helps encourage the student. (Not something I can give my son. Just sayin’.) Her videos really make you him feel like he can tackle the lesson. As opposed to my instruction where I’m pretty sure he just hears “blah, blah, blah” and imagines his worst possible math assignment ever. Some days he shuts down before we even start, but not with these videos!

What my 6th grader think about the videos:

“They’re quick and easy.”

So true! We’re talking five minutes, ya’ll. It may not sound like a lot, but that’s about as much attention as my 12 yr old has to give. Somehow Nicole fits in the concepts in a way he gets quickly and then he’s off to the lesson assignment. This is huge in our math world!

“Not my Mom.”  

Yes, yes, yes! Right now we are really struggling to find time for me to just be mom. It’s nice to have one less thing I’m responsible for and gives my son a break from me. He’s able to watch the videos and complete the lesson independently. It’s a win-win.

“Understandable.” 

He’s not left scratching his head or hitting rewind or pause over and over like some math videos we’ve tried. Nicole uses clear consistent terms, something I think is so important in teaching math, yet also something I’m not that great at. She explains the concepts in a way students get quickly.

The fact that my son wants to continue using the membership and the videos even after our trial speaks volumes. I’m honestly thrilled I have some math help now. It’s a big relief and something crossed off my list for at least the next year. Her videos help that much!

The membership is affordable, too!

Single membership-$49

All grades membership-$79

Don’t want to commit to a membership yet?

Nicole offers videos of all ODD numbered lessons for FREE on her YouTube channel! You can also try our her site with a free one-week membership using code-nhi.

 What do you use to make middle school math more fun?