Choosing the right math curriculum can feel like a guessing game — and once you add ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or dyscalculia into the mix, it gets even harder. We’ve tried five different math curriculums across my two boys, including years of searching for the right math curriculums for dyslexia. Here’s what worked, what didn’t, and why we kept switching. (For where math fits into our full subject-by-subject lineup, see our How We Choose Homeschool Curriculum for Neurodivergent Kids.)
I’m Maryellen, and my oldest son has dyslexia — which doesn’t just affect reading. It also touches memorization, multi-step processing, and understanding what a problem is actually asking. All of that shows up in math, too. This is our real, messy curriculum journey, as we searched for math curriculums for dyslexia.
Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic
Like a lot of families hunting for math curriculums for dyslexia, we started here because it was gentle and low-prep. We started here and used it from Book 1 through halfway into Book 4 — a beautiful hardback series (see the full Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series here) that’s really a guide for the parent, with no student workbook.
I liked the emphasis on mental math, the use of ten-bundles for teaching carrying and borrowing, and the graph-paper notebooks for value alignment. My son also liked the minimal writing, since writing is a real struggle for him. But looking back, there wasn’t quite enough writing practice to build automaticity — and we did have gaps to fill once we switched. If your child doesn’t have learning struggles, this program might be all they need to learn their math facts. For us, it wasn’t quite enough.
The Good and the Beautiful
We tried this one briefly. I wanted to love it — the Good and the Beautiful math curriculum is beautifully illustrated, and friends whose kids don’t struggle rave about it. But I found it visually overstimulating (I have ADHD myself, and if you’re watching this, your kid likely has some kind of neurodivergence too — worth being aware of). It also jumps around more than we needed; my son does better with a deep dive into one skill at a time rather than a lot of small spiral bits. If your child thrives on variety, this could be a great fit — it just wasn’t for us.
CTC Math
We used CTC Math for about three-quarters of a year. It’s online, video-based, self-checking, and lets you build custom lesson plans — even with online manipulatives. My son liked having a screen, but the lessons ran long for him, and he’d start wandering into other things online. It could be a great fit for a kid with more independent discipline. One nice touch: CTC Math offers a prorated refund if you switch mid-subscription, and we actually used that when we moved on.
Math-U-See
My oldest son currently uses Math-U-See, starting with the AIM curriculum (their addition/subtraction remediation program) and moving into the regular series — Beta, Delta, and now partway through Gamma. Of everything we’ve tried, this is the one that finally cracked the code on math curriculums for dyslexia for my oldest.
What I like most is that it isn’t teacher-heavy. With dyslexia, I already do a lot of one-on-one teaching, so having a short video introduce each new lesson takes real load off me. We watch the video together, do a few guided problems, and then he works independently with a timer. If he’s not quite getting it, we add another practice day; if he has it, we move to the enrichment worksheet — which leans into applied math and logic and is genuinely something he enjoys (the coloring-sheet enrichment pages are a hit).
It’s structured and incremental: master one small skill, then build one step further. Research shows kids with dyslexia and other learning differences do well with this kind of structured, explicit instruction, and the built-in spiral review means earlier skills stay fresh as new ones are introduced. It’s a strong fit for families who want less teacher-heavy lessons or don’t feel confident teaching math themselves — with one caveat: even with how much we love this program, we’ve still needed a separate math-facts remediation program alongside it (more on that below, and in Slow at Math? It’s the Math Facts (Not Motivation)).
Math With Confidence
Math With Confidence, by Kate Snow, is what my Kindergartener will be using this year, and it’s what my rising third grader will pick back up this year. My oldest started before this curriculum existed for his grade, which is part of why my younger kids are on different programs.
I like the color and graphics, but it stays organized instead of visually overstimulating. It’s structured, uses inexpensive manipulatives, and includes a spiral review. My son who doesn’t have learning struggles started with this curriculum in Kindergarten, went through first grade and came out knowing his addition and subtraction facts cold — no remediation needed, which says a lot on its own. He also loves the built-in games, which we usually save for the end of the week.
It teaches conceptual math before the algorithm, which some parents find frustrating if their kid just wants “the shortcut” — but understanding why an algorithm works tends to build better mathematical thinkers long-term. It’s more teacher-heavy, especially K–2, which is worth weighing if you’re teaching multiple kids at once. It may not satisfy parents who want an especially robust program, though I think it’s a solid foundation that meets a wide range of kids where they are.
Beast Academy and Paper Sloyd (Our Friday Supplements)
This year, we’re alternating Fridays between two supplements. One week is Beast Academy or logic puzzle pages — great for kids with strong visual-spatial reasoning and logic. The other week is paper sloyd, a hands-on paper-craft project that teaches precision and real-world ruler use. Don’t underestimate hands-on, real-world practice as a math supplement — it reaches kids that a worksheet alone won’t.
Flashcards for Math Fact Fluency
No matter which curriculum we’re using, math fact fluency has been its own separate project — and honestly, one of the biggest pieces we’ve had to solve alongside choosing math curriculums for dyslexia in the first place. My go-to tool for years has been the Think Tank Scholar flashcards — sturdy, color-coded by fact family, with built-in tracking tabs for mastered, sort-of-know, and don’t-know-yet. I go into our full flashcard method, including how we handle wrong answers and keep sessions low-pressure, in Slow at Math? It’s the Math Facts (Not Motivation).
If you want my full list of the curriculums and tools mentioned here with direct links, I keep an updated Math Tools & Curriculum List, and my own math fact fluency trackers and flashcard system are in the shop.
Final Thoughts on Math Curriculums for Dyslexia
If you’ve got a closet, a shelf, or even a whole shed of curriculums for “just in case,” you are not alone — I’ve been there. Here’s what going through five programs actually taught me: the goal was never to find the perfect math curriculums for dyslexia or any other learning difference. It’s finding what works for the kid in front of you right now, in this season, with the skills they currently have — even if that means switching more than you planned, or backing up further than feels comfortable. That’s not failure. That’s just homeschooling.
If you’re still working out which pieces of a method like Charlotte Mason are worth keeping for a neurodivergent learner, I broke that down in Charlotte Mason Homeschooling for Neurodivergent Learners.
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