Thoughts on Teaching Math

Something that was so intimidating to me when we first started homeschooling was teaching math. I thought you had to be an endorsed elementary math education expert to teach math well. That anything I might attempt with my kids would be inferior.

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Then, as we started dabbling in the homeschool world, I kept hearing people say their kids hated math or teaching it was the bane of their existence. Yikes! Not exactly a vote of confidence.

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It was pretty important to both my husband and I that our kids at least have the chance to like math! And even if a kid didn't love math, I was determined to figure out how to teach math in an engaging way that laid a really good foundation for incrementally more challenging math studies.

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Over the last 6 years, we've had our math ups and downs, but I've learned a few non-negotiables when it comes to teaching math well:

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1. Investing some time in learning how to teach math well will probably be the biggest factor in your homeschool math success.
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2. The younger the child, the more hands-on the math lessons should be. Most true understanding about math starts in the concrete and gradually moves to the abstract.
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3. It doesn't have to be miserable. Math can be fun! Songs & games don't need to be the basis of math for it to be fun, but they're a great supplement.

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Today, I'll focus on the first point - you becoming a better math teacher! Almost all success in teaching math at home depends on this.

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The good news is - you don't have to take a class or spend hours a week practicing math lessons. #aintnobodygottimeforthat. 🙌

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Enter: Kate Snow

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I can't remember how I first stumbled on Kate Snow, but she became my go-to math resource for learning how to teach math at home. She's unique in the homeschool math space because she has a Math degree from Harvard, an elementary teaching certificate, and homeschooled her own kids. So, she gets it.

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Her website has a wealth of information, including an awesome free math-teaching email course for parents (which I highly recommend signing up for.) Each email is full of clear & helpful tips for teaching homeschool math. After you've worked your way through that, you can start reading all her articles. Maybe just set aside 10-15 minutes a few times a week to start reading her content.

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Kate is uniquely gifted at helping non-mathy parents teach math well. She explains all the concepts in a way that both you and your child can easily understand.

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Do you have any questions about teaching math questions or amazing math resources to share!? I'm going to try to write a few emails & blog posts around math resources and would love to hear from you.

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xo,

Renee

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p.s. I feel like I should have a disclaimer that says - I don't make any money from referring you to her stuff. Sometimes I do make money from referrals (and even then, I'd only ever recommend something I actually love). BUT in this case, I just wanted to share that I've learned a ton from her over the years and wanted to pass along her info to you because she's so gifted in this area!! ❤️

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