When we first started homeschooling, I did what most of us do and thought I would buy all the amazing curriculum and we would sit at the table and work like little bees. Maybe I got that idea from all those videos of homeschoolers I spent hours watching. It would be amazing, right?! Wrong!
Often we start our homeschool journey by buying the perfect curriculum that we just KNOW is the right fit. We jump in with so much excitement! Reality hits when we realize we are surviving instead of thriving and our kids aren’t enjoying all the beautifully laid out plans we had for them. The games I thought would be a hit, were a flop. The fun manipulatives made my 7 year old rage and yell about not wanting to do math anymore. My kids just wanted to do it all their own way.
That’s when I realized that before I ordered curriculum, I missed a critical first step: figuring out how exactly they want to learn and what works best for each of them.
Now, kids aren’t going to tell us “I think the best curriculum choice for me would be something more independent and less instructor led.” The clues will be there if we take the time to deschool and try different things before investing in a curriculum.
It was a tough pill to swallow when I realized that neither of my kids disliked math, they just disliked me being the one teaching them math. Once I got over my hurt feelings and realized it wasn’t about me, my kids thrived and everything got easier. Switching to online math can strengthen your bond with your kids, especially if teaching them is a pain point in your day!
Math Online and Screen Time
A common parenting struggle, whether you are a homeschooling family or not, is screen time. How do I protect their growing brains while not demonizing technology but also promoting nature and all the things I believe childhood is about? Parenting is exhausting!
With this in mind, I’ve read and researched and tried to balance screen learning with book learning with natural learning. When it came to figuring out the healthiest way to incorporate technology without screens being front and center, math seemed like the obvious subject to try given our struggles.
Almost every homeschooler I’ve ever met has to change and pivot as their homeschool evolves. Realizing that your math curriculum isn’t working might feel like a fail, but don’t grieve the lost dollars and time. It’s all part of the learning process!
When it comes to accepting math as part of our screen time, first I had to look at what it was about screen time that I didn’t like. I came up with 3 main points for what was causing my screen avoidance:
- Flashy screens that affect our kids’ attention spans- All the research on brain development and the negative effects of fast-paced shows on growing brains definitely has caused me to second guess what I’m allowing my kids to spend their time doing.
- Isolation- I brought my kids home so we could be together. When everyone is on separate screens, doing separate activities, it feels like we aren’t even together!
- The dopamine craving that prevents kids from doing other things with their time- I didn’t want my kids to prioritize screens over all the other activities that brought them joy.
Luckily, choosing a quality math curriculum can either minimize or completely avoid all of these! Their math is not super flashy, my kids still need me there most of the time for support, and they enjoy their math. They are certainly not asking to do math at all times of the day, but I do get asked if they can do more often!
Relationship First
Anyone who has ever tried to teach their child anything, even as simple as how to put their pants on as a toddler, quickly realizes that there are some things they just have to try to work out on their own. When we try to jump in, that’s when the angry screams of, “I can do it myself!” come out.
Well, the good and bad news is, that never changes. Every time I tried to teach, my kids would look at me and tell me, “I know how to do this,” or “I can do this myself.” So I stepped back, despite my hesitation, because going into homeschooling I knew that I always wanted our relationship to come first. Academics would come, but I would never get this time back with them. I never wanted to look back and reflect on a negative homeschool experience.
Once I let go and allowed them their independence, they began seeking help from me when needed. I wasn’t forcing them anymore, they came to me on their own terms. Just this small shift has helped us always make sure that our relationship is at the top of the priority list.
Our Explanations vs. Their Understanding
Teachers often believe that if they explain something well, understanding will come. Speaking from first hand experience, that is not the case for every child. While my youngest understood my “lessons,” perfectly well, any time I tried explaining anything to my oldest, I got a look as if I had grown a third head.
Her brain works TOTALLY different from mine. The way I work out math in my head (and the way most of us were taught to work out math,) doesn’t compute for her. She needed a different way. Lucky for us, there were plenty of amazing curriculum options out there that taught in the way she learned. The beauty of homeschool is the ability to tailor learning to our individual children, and math is one of the easiest areas to do that in.
Our Favorite Online Math Programs
So what do I recommend? Well, there are tons of amazing math programs out there, but I can only speak to what we have tried ourselves.
Beast Academy
This program has been amazing for my 9 year old. Beast Academy is a rigorous program that often is advertised as being appropriate for gifted kids. I find this to be 100% true. While my 9 year old is gifted, she also gets bored easily and Beast Academy works wonders for that too! The engaging comic strips and challenging puzzles work amazingly for her way of thinking and keep her constantly engaged.
CTC Math
If you’re looking for something flashy with bright colors and flashy characters, this is not the program for you. However, it has been perfect for my 7 year old. While I kept trying to gamify everything and bring flashy and exciting to the scene, she just wanted to get to the point and move on. She has been doing this program without complaint (which is huge for her!) and often tells me how much she likes it.
Math Seeds
Now this is where fun and flashy come in. We have moved past this program now, and I’m not sure if I would consider it a complete program, but it definitely inspired and progressed my daughters’ learning journeys. Both girls used both Math Seeds and Reading Eggs, Math Seeds sister program, and I feel like they got a lot out of both. We had to limit this one due to it conflicting with my “bright and flashy” screens rule, but I loved how it made learning fun using songs, games, questions, and videos to keep both of my kids engaged day after day!
Many of us look back on our experiences with math growing up with a groan. The amount of kids who proclaim, “I’m just not good at math,” should be evidence enough that something we are doing isn’t working. I big priority is for our kids to never look at a learning experience as something they “hate.” All learning should bring joy in some capacity, even if it isn’t a favorite activity like math for many.
There are so many wonderful online math programs out there that can be tailored to your child, and many of them give the opportunity to do a free trial to see if they work for you. Who knows, they might even save your relationship with your kids!