Helping you give the best math instruction at home
Math on the Level was designed to help you make the most of the home learning environment, which is why it is so different from typical classroom approaches. Here are three ways it will help you adapt to the uniqueness of each child and make the most of individualized, real-life instruction.
Not every child is ready to learn the same concept at the same age. Therefore, instead of prescribing one teaching sequence and pace for all children, Math on the Level helps you to do what works best for each child. The Teaching Guides give multiple ways to teach each concept, so you can go at a pace that matches each child's maturation and ability to learn.
For example, if your child struggles to understand subtraction with regrouping, you can put it aside and move to a geometry concept like coordinate planes or perimeter, neither of which involves subtraction. There is so much math to teach, and children shouldn't have to experience stress and end up hating math just because they get "stuck" on a concept. Concepts are not assigned an age or grade level, so there is no stigma from slowing down the pace.
Math on the Level helps children stay motivated to learn. If one concept is 'hard" to understand, they can still make progress learning another concept. And when one of those "teaching moments" occurs where you explain a concept and she really gets it, you can put it on her Review Chart and move on to something new. Children who are quick math learners love this approach because they are not bogged down with a pace they find tedious or slow.
As a home educator, you have the unique opportunity to teach math in the context of daily life. Math is used all around us. Therefore, instead of being bound to a textbook, you can use cooking as an opportunity to teach math concepts (like fractions). When shopping, you can teach your child to estimate total price, learn weights, and even understand sales tax. In the car, children can help calculate gas mileage. When playing games together, your children can develop their math vocabulary and practice both math and logic skills.
Math on the Level helps you make the most of teaching moments that occur in normal daily activities. In fact, we recommend that several days per week your math time involve activities that we call "math adventures." Instead of the typical approach of using word problems to mimic life experiences, your children can be learning math from real-life experiences. This practical approach makes math time more efficient for you, and it makes learning fun and meaningful.
Math on the Level uses an individualized, review-over-time method with just five problems per day. This 5-A-Day review is individualized and stretched out over time, and it increases long-term retention and motivation.
Concepts are scheduled for practice based on how well the child demonstrated that he remembers them. Starting with daily review, each concept is gradually moved to less frequent practice. The daily 5-A-Day paper has five problems to solve independently, each of which covers a different concept the child knows.
Most children look forward to the daily 5-A-Day papers. Because all concepts are reviewd at an individualized, ongoing basis, children do not develop gaps in their math (and will perform well on standardized tests). If something is forgotten or not fully understood, you find out within a very short time and can either re-teach the concept or else change it to more frequent review.