Higher level math introduces the infinitely useful calculator and all its wonderments. But for all its usefulness, there are still a few pitfalls that students can and should avoid. Here are two big ones that are easy to do but can have a notable positive effect on math performance.

1) Stop Using a Cell Phone Calculator for Math Immediately

I have two reasons I never let my math students use cell phone calculators (even though cell phones are handy and usually attached to the student).

1. The first is that regular calculators are designed for mathematics while phones are not. Because of this, students perform much better when using a regular calculator. They are easier to use and more powerful than cell phone calculators (even if the phone calculator is some sort of fancy app). Phones simply can’t compete with a regular calculator.
2. The second reason is that cell phone calculators are not allowed in a number of academic settings including standardized tests, entrance exams, and ma
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Do athletes hit the field cold turkey with no warmup? Do musicians take the stage with no warmup? Of course not! Then why on earth don’t we, as students, take just a few moments to warm up before doing a math lesson? Math is a skills-based subject, just like sports and music. Warming up for math is as valuable as warming up in sports or music or any other activity that requires preparation.

So, what does it mean to warm up or stretch before a math lesson? Before starting a math lesson, flip back in your notebook and look over the last two math lessons you completed. This is to warm up your brain which has most likely thrown out the math you learned. It takes about 90 seconds, and yet it is remarkably powerful for learning math.               

Students don’t practice this simple habit because they’ve never been taught to, or because they are so discouraged by math that they already assume they won’t understand the lesson (so why bother), or because they just want to get through the le...

To be successful in high school math, most kids need the same things to be in place (unless your child is highly math-oriented). Below are 5 simple things that anyone can put in place to greatly increase learning and reduce stress during the high school math experience.

     1. Math must be done every day. Beginning with algebra, the math becomes too abstract and difficult to learn if done in an inconsistent way. Students cannot expect to learn algebra (or beyond) by only doing a few lessons a week, taking days off in between, doing multiple lessons at once to catch up, etc. Consistency is a big key to success.

     2. There must be daily, bite-sized instruction. This is essential. With modern technology, this can now be achieved through a video course. I highly recommend students use a pre-recorded video course for high school math. Taking an algebra course at a co-op where they get only one or two days of instruction per week is a very difficult way to learn math for most kids. Whi...

Math builds on itself. What you learn in one course, you will need and use in the next course, and so on. For that reason, it is essential that students actually learn the material in a math course. But how can you tell if they are truly learning it? And as you know, you can’t always use the grade they are making as an accurate gauge. Below are three steps you can use to analyze whether your child is really learning math.

Step #1 – Determine if your child has the correct learning habits for a skills-based course.

High school math is skills-based, much like learning a sport or an instrument. A math lesson must be approached with the realization that a skill must be learned that day. Many students approach a math lesson as just something to get done for that day. If you ask them “What skill did you learn today?” and they cannot answer, then they just “got through” the lesson without really learning what they needed. At the end of a math lesson, a student needs to be able to summarize w...

Most students have experienced firsthand the fact that “watching” a video lesson can be very different from actually learning the material. This happens in every subject area, but particularly math. So how can students successfully learn what is covered on a math video lesson? Below are 4 expert tips to help.

Tip #1: Realize that you need to actually learn what is on the video, and not just “watch” the video.

This is a subtle but vital mindset shift. Just because the pacing guide says, “Watch Video 4-1”, doesn’t mean you simply watch it and you’re done. You’ve got to realize that you must LEARN the material on the video. You need to purposely approach a video realizing that the point is to understand the material, not just watch the video. So, don’t just hit play and passively watch it, thinking that will get the job done.

Tip #2: Learn to use the two most important buttons on the screen: PAUSE and REWIND.

When you are learning something new, particularly something abstract ...

Traditional schools have one clear advantage over homeschool. Consistency.

When I taught public school, if I taught an algebra 2 class first period from 8:30 am – 9:30 am, then no matter what, we had class. Every day. And we did an algebra 2 lesson every single day. Without fail. Sometimes it was exhausting, frustrating, or stressful. But it happened every day, and we completed the course on time every year. Not perfectly, mind you, but we completed it.

This is one thing we in the homeschool community can learn from the traditional school model because consistency is absolutely essential for learning high school math. (By high school math, I mean algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2, and beyond). Consistency means an appropriate amount of time is set aside each weekday for math. This must happen every single weekday without fail. Every single weekday.

The goal would be to complete (and understand) one lesson per day. You can extend a lesson over several days if it is challenging, but you ...

Does this scenario sound familiar? Your child comes and asks for help with a math assignment, only for you to look at it and think “I do not remember how to do this AT ALL!!” If so, you’re certainly not alone.

So, where do you go for some quick information on how to do something…YOUTUBE!!! But have you also found that sometimes you hit the jackpot with math help on YouTube, and sometimes it is a complete waste of time? Here are 5 quick tips to help you wade through the useless stuff and get to what you need faster.

Tip #1: Search using the specific wording found in the instructions (or the topic) you are working on. Also, add in what level of math your child is studying. For example, let’s say  your child is in an Algebra 1 class, and the instructions on a worksheet say, “Factor the following trinomials by grouping.” Here is what I would type into the search bar: algebra 1 factor trinomials by grouping. This will pull up the videos at the algebra 1 level, as opposed to pulling up vid...

You might notice (or remember from your school days) that often geometry is placed in between algebra 1 and algebra 2 in the sequence of courses for high school. Why is that? Is it important? Is it ok if I go in a different order? Let me try to answer these questions.

Let’s begin with the “why” question. Geometry is simpler than algebra 2. So if you want to look at these three courses in order of difficulty, it would be algebra 1, geometry, then algebra 2. Geometry does not use any math more complicated than the concepts learned in algebra 1. Putting geometry in between algebra 1 and algebra 2 gives students an extra year to practice algebra 1, while also strengthening their logic skills (application of math to real world concepts) and giving them a year to mature “mathematically” before tackling the more abstract concepts of algebra 2. Honestly, algebra 2 is a tough course. There are some very abstract (& brand new) concepts that students can struggle to grasp if they have not mature...

Do you remember what you had for lunch two Wednesdays ago? How about two days ago?

Most likely not.

And that’s why algebra is hard for your child.

The brain is incredibly efficient and throws out what it deems to be useless information. You will no doubt remember a lunch if the server accidentally spills the whole thing in your lap because the brain has several things to attach that memory to. But otherwise, one lunch blends into the next and fades from memory.

When you initially put algebra into your brain, it ranks up there with lunch two weeks ago (without the spill). The brain subconsciously sees no value in it, can’t really attach it to anything significant, and therefore immediately starts throwing it out.

Because algebra builds on itself, if the brain has thrown out previously learned math material, it makes it much more difficult to learn the next concept. Unfortunately, this starts a compounding effect and before long, students find themselves in a bad place with math. Sp...

Hello fellow homeschoolers!

Choosing a curriculum can get a little overwhelming with all the home education options that now exist. This is true for many subjects, but nowhere does it seem more common than with math. That being the case, I thought I would give a quick overview of types of math curriculum and a few additional things to consider when picking curriculum.  

The two main types are spiral and mastery. A typical spiral curriculum will teach a concept, have a few practice problems on that topic, and then have a mixture of questions on all previous topics studied up to that point. A good spiral curriculum works well for students who are naturally strong in math. It helps prepare them for standardized tests, and reflects more real-world math, where you never know what the next problem will involve. Advanced students might find a mastery curriculum boring. 

Mastery curriculum on the other hand, is a more traditional approach, where a topic is covered and the homework assignmen...