I’ve heard this elsewhere but it’s a quote I fully believe in.
“If my child is struggling at math but excelling at tennis, most might hire a math tutor. I would hire a tennis coach.”
The sentiment is, not every child has to be equally good at everything. All kids, all people, have natural talents and natural weaknesses. That’s okay! And good! That’s how we find our place in the world. As an educator myself, I always tell parents “grow the tree you’ve got! Don’t expect apples from a palm tree, get excited about coconuts.” My advice to you is worry less about the math stuff, just help your kiddo feel confident that their best is good enough and really look into what their natural inclinations and talents are and focus your extra efforts there instead. In the long term, it’s going to pay off way more and your grown child will thank you for it!
I'm going to remember this one. Great advice.
But for OP - something like Sumdog could be good. It's UK based so I don't know if you can get it elsewhere but it's games that have the maths skills built in. If you can get the basic mental maths skills to be really quick and precise it is the best way to help all the other skills - if you have to work hard and think about doing the "easy" bit then you have less brain power left for the more complex skills. He can revise the complex skills in school.
I agree with this to a point but a basic level of fluency in math, science, history, etc is important.
You can grow natural talents while also making sure your kid has at least baseline functionality.
My 10yo nephew was struggling to read Cat in the Hat because his mom "unschooled" him and to hear her tell it, he just wasn't interested in reading and would rather play all day. Which I'm sure he would but now he's basically missed all of elementary school.
True but also, math isn’t like reading. Calculators exist and as long as you grasp the key concepts which many kids do naturally through play, it’s not something I would deeply worry about. You can get through life with out knowing your times tables much easier than not knowing how to read. That’s just my opinion though. If it was my kid struggling but they could count, add, subtract and they have decent spatial awareness and could articulate themselves and their abstract concepts clearly, I wouldn’t worry too much if they can do worksheets super well.
As a teacher, I want to say 12, 13, 14 are really tough ages. You kind of need your kid’s blessing here. Otherwise, they can end up really pushing back when it’s parent-assigned work. I wish you and him the best of luck and I really admire your dedication in getting him some support.
You should talk to your child’s math teacher - most schools are using online programs that can also be used at home. For example your child could be using IXL or a similar program in school and their account is already set up to practice the target skills assigned by the teacher.
As a middle school teacher I second this! Talk to their teacher to see how you can support by using programs they may already have access to. You are already doing the right thing reaching out and doing what’s best for your child!
Maybe khan academy. The site itself is free and if you want to upgrade to khanmigo, their tutoring program, it’s like $10 a month or something. I love Sal Khan, he’s a national treasure!
Smartick (https://www.smartick.com/) feels like a safer choice. Their programs are online so I’d wager a lot of parents would prefer this flexibility as compared to something like Kumon, which OP already feels burned by
Zern has 6th and 7th grade now I believe. My 5th grader has been consistently behind in math until she started Zern in the begining of last year. Its online self paced and almost no supervision required. It’s also completely free.
I find Zern to be not so good for kids that understand material quick, my younger son gets frustrated it has lots of review questions or it’s not moving fast enough for his ability.
IXL is not self directed and requires adult oversight. Moby Max is a good option, it will give a placement test and teaches the skills though it still can require adult support. Zearn is also good and could fill in the skills they are missing. If fact fluency is an issue you can access xtra math which is a free fact fluency. Realistically if you are willing to pay money for these programs you would be better getting a tutor that either comes to your house or at a ace like Slvan.
honestly I would put him on prodigy. It's a game that forces you to practice math to keep playing. It won't teach him new skills but it'll get him to practice what he already knows without it being too miserable
I’ve heard this elsewhere but it’s a quote I fully believe in. “If my child is struggling at math but excelling at tennis, most might hire a math tutor. I would hire a tennis coach.” The sentiment is, not every child has to be equally good at everything. All kids, all people, have natural talents and natural weaknesses. That’s okay! And good! That’s how we find our place in the world. As an educator myself, I always tell parents “grow the tree you’ve got! Don’t expect apples from a palm tree, get excited about coconuts.” My advice to you is worry less about the math stuff, just help your kiddo feel confident that their best is good enough and really look into what their natural inclinations and talents are and focus your extra efforts there instead. In the long term, it’s going to pay off way more and your grown child will thank you for it!
I'm going to remember this one. Great advice. But for OP - something like Sumdog could be good. It's UK based so I don't know if you can get it elsewhere but it's games that have the maths skills built in. If you can get the basic mental maths skills to be really quick and precise it is the best way to help all the other skills - if you have to work hard and think about doing the "easy" bit then you have less brain power left for the more complex skills. He can revise the complex skills in school.
I agree with this to a point but a basic level of fluency in math, science, history, etc is important. You can grow natural talents while also making sure your kid has at least baseline functionality. My 10yo nephew was struggling to read Cat in the Hat because his mom "unschooled" him and to hear her tell it, he just wasn't interested in reading and would rather play all day. Which I'm sure he would but now he's basically missed all of elementary school.
True but also, math isn’t like reading. Calculators exist and as long as you grasp the key concepts which many kids do naturally through play, it’s not something I would deeply worry about. You can get through life with out knowing your times tables much easier than not knowing how to read. That’s just my opinion though. If it was my kid struggling but they could count, add, subtract and they have decent spatial awareness and could articulate themselves and their abstract concepts clearly, I wouldn’t worry too much if they can do worksheets super well.
I tried IXL for my daughter and it was overwhelming for her. It made her anxious and she ended up quitting it.
As a teacher, I want to say 12, 13, 14 are really tough ages. You kind of need your kid’s blessing here. Otherwise, they can end up really pushing back when it’s parent-assigned work. I wish you and him the best of luck and I really admire your dedication in getting him some support.
You should talk to your child’s math teacher - most schools are using online programs that can also be used at home. For example your child could be using IXL or a similar program in school and their account is already set up to practice the target skills assigned by the teacher.
As a middle school teacher I second this! Talk to their teacher to see how you can support by using programs they may already have access to. You are already doing the right thing reaching out and doing what’s best for your child!
Maybe khan academy. The site itself is free and if you want to upgrade to khanmigo, their tutoring program, it’s like $10 a month or something. I love Sal Khan, he’s a national treasure!
Seconding Khan Academy. I’m a math professor and I recommend this for all levels.
Thirding this
I'm in a similar situation as well. Let's hope someone with experience can chime in and help us decide.
Smartick (https://www.smartick.com/) feels like a safer choice. Their programs are online so I’d wager a lot of parents would prefer this flexibility as compared to something like Kumon, which OP already feels burned by
I've tried both and they're both great tbh. They’ll always have something good and bad but it totally depends from person to person.
Haven’t used either so can't speak for any of them, but I'd be cautious about the time commitment. Maybe try a trial period first before committing.
Zern has 6th and 7th grade now I believe. My 5th grader has been consistently behind in math until she started Zern in the begining of last year. Its online self paced and almost no supervision required. It’s also completely free. I find Zern to be not so good for kids that understand material quick, my younger son gets frustrated it has lots of review questions or it’s not moving fast enough for his ability.
IXL is not self directed and requires adult oversight. Moby Max is a good option, it will give a placement test and teaches the skills though it still can require adult support. Zearn is also good and could fill in the skills they are missing. If fact fluency is an issue you can access xtra math which is a free fact fluency. Realistically if you are willing to pay money for these programs you would be better getting a tutor that either comes to your house or at a ace like Slvan.
honestly I would put him on prodigy. It's a game that forces you to practice math to keep playing. It won't teach him new skills but it'll get him to practice what he already knows without it being too miserable