Your Child’s Math Experience is Not Your Math Experience

“Your child’s math experience is not your math experience.”

Oh my goodness, I wish someone had told me these words almost thirty years ago! I became a homeschool parent because I knew my math skills were weak. I wanted more for my children, yet I did not know how to get there. When my two oldest children reached Algebra 1, we found a co-op experience. Cue victory dance – I was not going to have to teach it! (One of the most powerful aspects of the homeschool community is how we have each other’s backs for the weak spots.) I finally found my way to Math-U-See when my third child was not on the right track to enter into the math co-op.

I have to tell you, when I first looked at Math-U-See, I thought, “Well, there’s not enough to do.” Mistakenly, I believed that more math was a better math experience. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t realize the developmental appropriateness of a 15-minute math lesson. How often do we shove our adult perspective onto a child, expecting them to conform to what has taken us years to accomplish? I am grateful for a friend who put Math-U-See on my kitchen table and said, “You must do this.” Witness again the power of the homeschool community.

Helping Your Child Learn Math with Confidence Through Math-U-See

Are you a parent with a solid mathematical background? Then, you will find Math-U-See a fantastic experience. You will appreciate the logic of teaching concepts in a developmentally appropriate way, concept by concept, ensuring that the student understands the concept well enough to teach it back to you. You will also appreciate that as that demonstration of understanding occurs, you can move forward into new material.

Or are you like me—the parent who said that math was not something you were good at and really something they hoped never to have to do? Perhaps you are not pursuing a homeschool experience just because you fear failure because you lack mathematical skills. Please don’t let that idea hold you back any longer!

Empowering Parents with Limited Math Skills

Math is like death and taxes—we will never escape from either. They follow us around all day, every day. We have to use math to survive.  That is a hard truth I tried for years to ignore!

When I began Math-U-See, I had a college degree and some additional coursework.  Never in my studies had anyone articulated to me that math was sequential and cumulative. It was not until Math U See that I fully understood if my students were weak in a foundational mathematical concept, they would not overcome that weakness just by pushing forward.

The unique approach of Math-U-See is designed to empower parents to teach their children mathematics, which contributes to the child’s development and helps them learn math in a way that integrates seamlessly into their everyday lives. This approach effectively utilizes teaching aids to make learning math an engaging experience. It not only alleviates math anxiety but also builds a positive attitude towards the subject. The videos that founder Steve Demme has produced for you (the parent) explicitly model how to instruct your child in each mathematical concept. Yes, children love Mr. Steve and his corny sense of humor. However, the power and purpose of each video is that he models for YOU how to explain mathematical concepts to your children. Take note of this point because it is pure gold!

The developmental appropriateness of each Math-U-See lesson ensures that you not only gain a confident understanding of mathematics but also understand learning in a way that helps your child love the subject. How fantastic for you to model to your child that we’re never too old to learn something new! What a marvelous thing for you to model for your child to say, “Hey, I’m learning right along with you!” One of my fantastic colleagues provided this further thought:

You have a profound opportunity to model to your child an authentic enthusiasm for learning. This is not a deterrent—it is a bonus. Those moments when they teach you what you don’t quite understand are a powerful opportunity to show them how to love learning for a lifetime.

A Math-Capable Parent’s Way of Thinking

“If you’re a parent with a strong grasp of math, do you ever find yourself surprised that others may not understand or enjoy it as much as you do? It might be more surprising to learn that even parents with strong math skills can find it challenging to teach their children just as much as those of us who find math a mystery.” The reason is that these parents can take their adult understanding and their years of experience and forget that they did not learn math simply by osmosis. They forget that math was a mystery to explore at some point in their schooling. They forget that their attention span, forged by hours of study, may not be their child’s attention span. Sometimes, this parent is even exasperated that their child’s grasp of mathematics is not as intuitive and prompt as their own. This is precisely why Math-U-See is for this parent, too.

How can Math-U-See benefit the mathematically adept parent? Math-U-See introduces new methods and provides a great tool for teaching. It takes that parent back through their own studies and helps them teach their child, concept by concept, at an appropriate pace that meets their child’s learning needs. It removes the suppositions a mathematically adept parent may make and allows them to solve problems and see mathematics through their child’s eyes. 

Inspiring Math-U-See Success Stories

I wish you could stand with me at a homeschool convention and hear the stories parents share enthusiastically about the Math-U-See program! The engineers whose artsy child had no interest in math, much to their chagrin, but who is now excelling because they found a way to impart knowledge and conceptual understanding. The mother of eight who, because of economic circumstances, never even finished high school, who has now raised children who are in college and succeeding because Math-U-See equipped her to teach them. The single father whose twins were on the autism spectrum and felt he would never be able to reach them, but who thrived with the engaging multisensory lessons in the Math-U-See program. I LOVE these stories! I want everyone to experience the same feeling and outcome of success in their math schooling journey. This is why I want you to remember the title of my post today: “Your Child’s Math Experience is Not Your Math Experience”—it can be so much more!

If you have math struggles in your household or need assistance to help your child with math, feel free to reach out.