January often marks the 100th day of school—a fun milestone for students and a perfect excuse to play with numbers in a low-pressure way. The number 100 shows up everywhere in math, and moments like this are a great opportunity to slow down and let students explore math in a more relaxed, meaningful way. To celebrate, we put together a free set of math activities centered around the number 100 that you can use at home or alongside your regular lessons. These activities are designed to:...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
A Year in Review: Your Favorite Math Tips of 2025 If we could peek inside your child’s math toolbox from this past year, you’d probably be surprised by how much is in there now.Some tools are easy to spot, such as stronger number sense, cleaner steps, and better mental math skills.Others are quieter but even more important: flexible thinking, patience, and the confidence to choose a strategy and try again. These tools didn’t appear overnight.They were built one step at a time. As we look back...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Some students struggle with the math itself.But many struggle with something much simpler: getting started. A parent told me recently that her son would sit at the table for almost 15 minutes before opening his notebook. Not because he didn’t care, and not because he couldn’t do the work. He just felt scattered after a long day and didn’t know how to shift into “study mode.” Most students feel this way at least some of the time.That’s why a short routine at the beginning of a study session...
3 months ago • 1 min read
He stared at the problem, pencil tapping on the desk. He knew what the question was asking, but he didn’t know where to start. After a few minutes, he began writing random numbers, to get it over with, all the while frowning and muttering how much he hated the problem. That’s when I asked him to tell me the keywords in the problem. Underline the important facts. Write them down and then decide what to do.Just four steps. He took a breath, followed them, and for the first time … it clicked. He...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hi there, As the first half of the school year winds down, I keep hearing the same thing from parents: I can tell my child needs support in math, but I’m just not sure what the right next step is. December is busy. Kids are taking finals. Families are traveling. College decisions are on the horizon. Some students are slipping behind quietly, while others are ready to leap ahead but don’t have the right support. So this year, I wanted our Black Friday specials to give families clarity,...
3 months ago • 2 min read
She finished the problem and said confidently, “Done!”But when I asked her to explain her steps, she hesitated.Halfway through her explanation, she stopped mid-sentence and said, “Oh—wait. That’s where I went wrong.” Just like that, she found her own mistake. That’s the power of talking math out loud. It slows thinking down, reveals gaps, and helps students turn confusion into clarity. Why It Works When students explain their reasoning, they organize their thoughts, connect vocabulary, and...
4 months ago • 1 min read
She frowned at her paper. Everything looked right, but the answer was off. She started to erase it right away. But I asked her to wait. “Instead of erasing it right away, can you spot where things started to go wrong?” A few seconds later, her eyes lit up. “Oh! I added instead of subtracting.” That moment—when a student finds their own mistake—is when real learning happens. But as parents/teachers, it’s hard to watch this process. When your child keeps missing problems they should know, it’s...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Pencil in hand, she stared at the paper. She wanted to use a calculator, but this was a non-calculator problem. So she started counting on her fingers. It took her a moment to remember what 12 + 3 equaled. It wasn’t that she couldn’t get the answer. She could. But every problem took so long. That’s when I introduced her to a few mental math shortcuts. 12 is 10+2 right? What does 2+3 equal? Now, we add 10. Yep, the answer is 15. These weren’t tricks, but ways of breaking numbers apart so the...
4 months ago • 1 min read
She stared at the page, convinced it was impossible.The problem stretched on, step after step.She wanted to give up. But slowly, piece by piece, she worked through it.And when the answer finally clicked, her whole face lit up.That problem—the hardest one—became the one she was most proud of. I’ve seen it again and again: the problems that frustrate students the most are the ones they carry with them the longest. Those victories matter. Here’s what helps students turn those “impossible”...
5 months ago • 1 min read