Beast Academy doesn't just have a great name, it offers a great math program as well.  Beast Academy is a fairly new mathematics curriculum on the market and was created by the mathematicians at the Art of Problem Solving.  If you know nothing about the Art of Problem Solving, then now is your chance!  The AOPS was started in the 1990s to equip students to compete nationally in the area of mathematics.  From this vision, AOPS developed some of the greatest high school math texts on the market, and has grown into offering their programs online and in schools.  You can read more about them at www.artofproblemsolving.com

In 2012, AOPS launched their elementary school math curriculum called Beast Academy.  Beast Academy is available for students in the 2nd through the 5th grade.  By the time students have completed all four levels, they should be well equipped for pre algebra.  Starting in the fall of 2018, students can enroll in Beast Academy online where they work through the material online and complete workbooks at home.  The materials and problems online are different than what's in the book so you can utilize both together.  For those of you who prefer to stick with pencil and paper, Beast Academy is published as a series of non-consumable comic books which correspond to consumable workbooks.  Each level contains 4 comics and 4 workbooks.  As the student works through the comic, he is instructed to complete certain pages in the workbook.  Because of the nature of the setup, determining daily assignments for this program can be a challenge.  

While AOPS originally started as an advanced mathematics program for competition, Beast Academy is focused on making a good mathematics education available to all students.  The stories in the comics are readable and fun while the examples in the workbooks are descriptive and very helpful.  The characters in the stories are beasts in school being taught by a math teacher that keeps either getting kidnapped or has a split personality.  The story often goes like this:  beast teacher explaining a concept, beast teacher kidnapped, evil beast requiring the students to pass a test to release their teacher.  The characters also regularly compete in math competitions and the problems are transferred to the students.  The book contains challenge problems throughout and even has small details like math problems for some page numbers.

In the workbook, the student reads instructions for a particular type of problem that complements the problems from the reading.  The workbook almost always includes an example completed for the student to walk through, but I often found myself having to walk through the examples with my students to help them understand the assignment.  The workbooks contain a large number of practice problems and focus on ensuring mastery of the concept before advancement. 

Along with the vast amount of practice problems, Beast also includes challenge problems identified by a star or two depending on the difficulty.  Whereas Beast is designed to be a solid program for all students, it doesn't forsake its origin by being watered down.  The concepts are soundly taught and the student not only learns how to perform the task at hand, but also how to think like a mathematician. 

More often than not, elementary programs focus on the mastery of the facts that they tend to forsake the math behind the task.  Other math programs can fall off the horse on the other side and focus on the why without truly giving the student a chance to grow into understanding.  Beast, however, presents the task to the student and then challenges the student to discover for themselves the mystery behind the procedure.  Because of the amount of practice and the presentation style, this unique method works.  

Because of the explorative nature of the text, these books can be challenging for both the student and the instructor.  If you are nervous about math, then investing in their online program or joining a community like Scio Academy where you can ask questions would be a good idea.  

The mathematician in me loves these books!  I have often spied my students reading the comics for the simple joy.   I love that the books contain a lot of practice problems, rely on a student's natural curiosity, and are entertaining, but Beast Academy truly won me over by teaching my students how to think like a mathematician!