Math Lessons for a Living Education

Math Lessons for a Living Education is a K-6 math series from Master Books. The publisher describes it as story-based, with lessons that blend stories, copy-work, oral narration and hands-on experience, and its Level 1 to 6 product pages list Angela O'Dell as the contributor (for example, the Level 3 page).

Last updated: 2026-10-09 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Story-based lessons that blend copy-work, oral narration and hands-on experience; the publisher's series page lists "mastery-based with regular spiral reviews", and its Grade 3 set page describes a Charlotte Mason flavor
Worldview	Christian. The publisher says the series is a Christian curriculum with biblical references woven into the stories and character development. Every Homeschool directory classification: Christian-evangelical
Grades	K-6 (Levels K to 6), per the series page. The publisher says Level 6 transitions into Principles of Mathematics 1
Formats	Paperback and eBook student books (Level 3 page); optional Practice Makes Perfect workbooks (Levels 1 to 5), a Teaching Companion and flash cards; Master Books Academy online courses for Levels 3 to 6
Cost tier	Budget (Every Homeschool classification, based on the prices below)
Parent intensity	3 (Every Homeschool rating)
ESA-common	Yes (Every Homeschool classification). See the ESA section below
Accredited	No. The publisher states that curriculum cannot be accredited
Established	The publisher's pages give no launch year for the series. It is sold by Master Books, an imprint of New Leaf Publishing Group, per the publisher's careers page
Website	masterbooks.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Scores and one-line reasons are Every Homeschool's judgment. Publisher statements are linked.

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	2	A gentle pace by design: the publisher calls the series slower-paced and uses 5 to 10 problems per lesson
Ease of teaching	4	One student book per level with a daily schedule; the publisher says Levels K to 5 need no separate teacher's guide
Content quality	4	The publisher describes lessons that blend stories, copy-work, oral narration and hands-on experience (Level 3 page)
Flexibility	3	Levels carry grade and age labels, and the publisher offers a free skills-based readiness test for placement
Value for money	5	$39.19 per level in paperback (list $48.99), retrieved October 2026 (Level 3 page); the publisher says each level covers a full school year
Worldview scope	2	Christian, with biblical references woven into the stories; the publisher says the series is generally not recommended for secular homeschoolers
Visual/design	4	The Level 3 product page describes full-color worksheets
Support resources	3	Teaching Companion, Practice Makes Perfect workbooks, flash cards, a readiness test and Academy courses for Levels 3 to 6, per the publisher's series page

Who the publisher is

Math Lessons for a Living Education is sold by Master Books, which calls New Leaf Publishing Group the parent publishing company behind Master Books. Master Books calls itself an unapologetically Christian publisher and publishes a Statement of Faith on its About page. See our Master Books review for the publisher as a whole.

The publisher's author page describes Angela O'Dell as the author of the Master Books series Math Lessons for a Living Education, America's Story and The World's Story. The Level 1 to 6 product pages list her as the contributor; the Level K page lists her and Carrie Bailey, whose author page calls her co-author of Level K.

Master Books describes how it positions the series. Its knowledge base says the series is relaxed, conceptual and story-based, contrasts it with traditional, drill-heavy programs, and says it is slower-paced. The same publisher says the series is a complete math curriculum, with each level covering a full school year in one book (series page).

The core pedagogy

The publisher describes every level as an instructional blend of stories, copy-work, oral narration and hands-on experience (Level 3 page). Its knowledge base says the curriculum follows a 180-day schedule, 36 weeks at five days of instruction per week. Lesson length is stated differently on different pages: the series page and knowledge base say 20 to 30 minutes, the Level 1 to 5 product pages (for example, the Level 3 page) say 15 to 30 minutes, the Level K page says 30 minutes, and the Level 6 page says the lessons can be completed in 30 minutes (the Level 6 Set page lists both 30 minutes and 15 to 30). The knowledge base says each lesson uses 5 to 10 focused problems instead of 30 to 50.

Levels K to 5 are open-and-go: the publisher says no teacher's guide is needed and everything is in the book. Level 6 is the exception. It has a teacher's guide, called the Course Guide, which the publisher calls essential to the course and which provides the daily schedule, chapter quizzes and a full Solutions Manual. The publisher also says the series does not come with or require a manipulatives kit: supply lists in the front of each book name common household items, and printable manipulatives are in the back of the book and online.

The publisher's list of skills by level, from its series page:

Level	Grade (ages)	Key skills the publisher lists
K	K (4-6)	Counting and number sense to 10, basic shapes, graphing, introduction to money
1	1 (5-7)	Number sense to 100, addition and subtraction to 10, place value, telling time, simple fractions
2	2 (6-8)	Addition and subtraction, place value, word problems, skip counting, bar graphs
3	3 (7-9)	Rounding, expanded place value, money, multiplication, division, estimation, fractions
4	4 (8-10)	Multi-digit multiplication and division, fractions, decimals, metric units, basic geometry, averaging
5	5 (9-11)	Factoring, multi-digit division, improper fractions, common denominators, multiplying and dividing decimals
6	6 (10-12)	Decimals, fractions, percentages, basic geometry, maps, graphs and charts

The series page says to use the free Readiness Test to place a child by skills rather than by grade. The publisher's knowledge base says Level 6 serves as a transition into Principles of Mathematics 1.

Features the publisher describes:

1. A continuing story. The Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 pages follow Charlie and Charlotte and refer to the twins, and the Level K page describes a twin brother and sister. In Level 3 the family travels to Peru, the Level 4 page describes a summer spent in Peru, and the Level 5 page names Natty and Hairo alongside Charlie and Charlotte.
2. Short lessons on a daily schedule.
3. One student book per level, which the publisher calls a workbook and textbook combination in a single volume (Level 6 adds a Teacher Guide).
4. Biblical references woven into the stories and character development, per the publisher's knowledge base.
5. Hands-on activity using household items and printable manipulatives.

A day in the life

The Level 3 page lists a daily schedule, 15 to 30 minute lessons, full-color worksheets, an answer key and a manipulatives section, and says teacher's guidance is offered throughout the workbook. Its table of contents begins with review lessons (place value, odds and evens, counting by 2s, 5s and 10s, money, clocks, perimeter, addition and subtraction facts) and introduces column addition at Lesson 7. The story for the level follows the family's trip to Peru. The Levels 1 and 2 pages list a link to a downloadable answer key, while the Levels 3 to 5 pages list an answer key in the book.

The publisher's optional supports are the Practice Makes Perfect workbooks for Levels 1 to 5, which add worksheets for each lesson and four quizzes (Level 3 page), and a Teaching Companion, which the publisher describes as an overview of the series and the biblical worldview behind it. The publisher does not say how long a parent spends on a lesson.

What they do exceptionally well

Narrative engagement for gentle-math students. The publisher says the series builds confidence and reduces math anxiety "with a more appropriate pace and with engaging, real-world application" (series page FAQ). In our assessment, the continuing story is the feature most likely to suit a child who freezes at a page of bare problems.

Low parent preparation. Per the publisher, Levels K to 5 need no separate teacher's guide and no manipulatives kit, and the supply lists use common household items (knowledge base). In our assessment, that gives the series a light daily setup.

Affordability. A student book is $39.19 in paperback (list $48.99) at each level from K to 6, and $34.29 as an eBook, retrieved October 2026 (Level 3 page). The seven student books from Level K to Level 6 total $274.33 at that price, by our arithmetic.

A stated Charlotte Mason flavor. Master Books' Grade 3 set page describes the series as having a Charlotte Mason flavor of engaging stories, copy work, oral narration, hands-on experience and practical application. In our assessment, families who want math in that register have a clear option here.

What they do poorly

A gentle pace by design. The publisher says the series is slower-paced and contrasts it with traditional, drill-heavy programs, and says it uses 5 to 10 focused problems per lesson. In our assessment, that suits a child who needs a gentle pace and may feel light to a mathematically strong student. Practice Makes Perfect workbooks add practice for Levels 1 to 5, and a family that wants a faster pace may prefer another publisher.

Explicit Christian framing. The publisher says that Christian values and biblical references are woven into the stories and character development, that the Level 5 story includes the family's church VBS program, and that the series is generally not recommended for secular homeschoolers because the Christian worldview is an integral part of the lessons.

The series ends at Level 6. The publisher says Level 6 transitions into Principles of Mathematics 1, which is listed for grades 7 and 8 with Katherine Loop Hannon as contributor on the Book 1 product page. The publisher's grade sets then use Elementary Algebra (Harold Jacobs is the listed contributor) at grade 9, Geometry at grade 10, Principles of Algebra 2 at grade 11 and Consumer Math at grade 12. The Geometry product page describes a clear, conversational, engaging approach, and the Elementary Algebra page uses the same words for the Jacobs approach, so in our assessment the upper-grade books read differently from the story-based K to 6 levels.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Math Lessons for a Living Education if: you want math presented through a continuing story with copy-work, oral narration and hands-on activity; you have a child who needs a gentle pace; you want a Christian curriculum with biblical references woven into the stories; you want a light daily setup with no manipulatives kit.

• Skip Math Lessons for a Living Education if: you want a faster-paced math program; you have a mathematically strong student who may find the pace slow; you want a secular program or one built on a different statement of faith, since the publisher itself says the series is generally not recommended for secular homeschoolers.

Cost honest assessment

All prices are the publisher's current selling prices (list prices in parentheses), retrieved October 2026.

• Student book, Levels K to 6: $39.19 paperback ($48.99), $34.29 eBook (Level 3 page).
• Level 6 Set (student book and Teacher Guide): $73.58 ($91.98), per the Level 6 Set page. The publisher calls the Level 6 teacher's guide essential to the course.
• Practice Makes Perfect workbooks: $22.39 ($27.99) for Levels 1 to 3 and $27.99 ($34.99) for Levels 4 and 5 (Level 3 and Level 4 pages).
• Teaching Companion: $17.59 ($21.99) paperback, $15.39 eBook (product page).
• Flash cards (optional): $11.99 ($14.99) (product page).

The publisher's series page offers bundles by level, pairing the student book with the practice workbook. At the component prices above, the Level 1 and Level 3 bundles would total $61.58 and the Level 4 and Level 5 bundles $67.18, by our arithmetic; each bundle page lists its two items at their own prices. The seven student books from Level K to Level 6 total $274.33, or $308.72 with the Level 6 Set in place of the Level 6 student book, by our arithmetic.

ESA eligibility notes

Master Books' ESA page lists 16 state programs through which Master Books is available (retrieved October 2026), and the publisher's knowledge-base answer also lists 16, with the two lists differing on Ohio and Wyoming: the ESA page lists Wyoming's program and not Ohio's, and the knowledge-base answer lists Ohio's and not Wyoming's. The ESA page says ClassWallet can be used for purchases on MasterBooks.com but not for Master Books Academy courses, and says new states are being added frequently. See our Master Books review for the full list, and confirm the current list and your program's rules before ordering.

Alternatives

A family that wants a different approach to elementary math can compare Math-U-See, Math Mammoth and Singapore Math on their directory pages. Each publisher states its own prices and scope on its own site, and we do not compare prices across publishers here.