Teaching Math with Confidence 🧮

This week I watched a really helpful interview with Kate Snow. She is a homeschool mom and a math curriculum writer, and her approach makes math feel simple and doable for every parent.

Watch the full video here

If you do not want to watch a thirty minute video right now, here are the main ideas that stood out to me.

The full interview is still worth watching when you get a moment.

The Big Mindset Shift

Approach math believing it makes sense and can be figured out together.

You don't need to be an expert.

Be a co-explorer with your child, working through problems as a team.

This transforms math from memorisation into a sense-making process.

If you have math anxiety, don't pass it on.

Children absorb your attitudes, so fake confidence when needed.

Skip comments about your own struggles and focus on the message that math is workable.

What to Focus On at Each Stage

• Preschool: Focus on counting and recognising small quantities by sight. Hold up fingers and ask how many without counting.

• Elementary: Master math facts and basic operations. Understanding what addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division actually mean is more important than perfecting written calculations. Build strong number sense and mental math skills.

• Middle School: Focus on fractions, decimals, and percents. Proportional thinking is the core of middle school math.

• High School: Teach independence. Students need to slow down when reading math problems, organise their work carefully, and understand that struggling doesn't mean they're bad at math, it means they're doing hard work.

If Your Child is Behind

Kate’s advice is simple. Let go of the guilt. It doesn't help anyone move forward.

Start with a realistic assessment of what your child knows.

She has worked with fourth graders who could not add three plus four and still helped them reach grade level by high school.

The strategy:

• Start with basic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

• Then move to fractions, decimals, and percents. Don't try to cover everything from earlier grades.

• Streamline ruthlessly and focus on core skills. Middle school curriculum has natural flexibility for catching up.

• Do not try to complete years of missed work. Focus on what matters most

The End of Year Question

You probably don't need to finish the math book.

Open next year's curriculum and see what it assumes students know and how much review it includes.

Trust yourself. If you're thinking carefully about finishing, you're likely making the right decision.

Skip problems when your child has mastered a concept.

Only you can see whether they need all 50 practice problems or just 15.

Choosing Curriculum

Assess how this year went. If it worked, keep going.

Change programs thoughtfully if needed by looking at placement tests and identifying what specifically didn't work.

Be ruthlessly realistic about what you can implement.

Use the "tomorrow test": if you had to start this curriculum tomorrow, would you be excited?

Remember that different children need different approaches.

Finding what works for each child is worth the investment rather than forcing a program that creates constant tears and frustration.

Why Math Facts Still Matter

Working memory is limited.

When children stop to figure out basic facts during complex problems, they lose track of the bigger picture.

Knowing facts builds confidence and makes math less tedious.

Higher-level math requires recognising patterns and working backwards, skills that depend on instant recall.

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🛠️ Tools & Resources

The Mighty Works of God
A faith-based history series for young learners that teaches Biblical truths and America’s Christian heritage through engaging stories.

Lilly and Thistle
Inspire creativity through learning. Explore watercolor, nature, geography, and math-based art lessons your child can truly enjoy at home.

Spirit of Math
Advance your child’s math skills with engaging online programs built for high-performing students across the globe.

Door of Science
Introduce kids to the brilliance of Archimedes through simple storytelling that makes science and math easy to grasp.

CodeMonkey
Let your child learn coding the fun way through games that build real programming skills and logical thinking step by step.

🤪 Time to laugh…