Recommendations for math tuition for Grades 4-6
July 7, 2022 2:46 AM Subscribe
My kid is struggling with maths and needs individual tuition. She hates in-person classes and is very reluctant to ask at school. She's now in an online group tuition that is torture getting her to complete the worksheets and then sit through a 1.5 hour class at a fixed time.
She doesn't like gamification or Khan Academy videos (we'll try again if that's the best currently). I'll pay for good online maths that's no frills, explains concepts clearly, and allows lots of practice so she can do sprints at her own pace.
Our kids have liked reading the Beast Academy books from Art of Problem Solving and they have robust online offerings. I find the approach engaging and more creative than what I had in school, but some of the problems are very hard which can be frustrating for some kids.
posted by ElizaMain at 4:21 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by ElizaMain at 4:21 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
(Side question, with apologies for derail: is this another UK vs US English difference? In US English, ‘tuition’ refers to money paid for education, while ‘tutoring’ is extra help from a tutor. It seems to be that ‘tutor’ is used differently between the two countries (in the US, a tutor is often a slightly higher level student picking up some extra cash similar to how one would for babysitting, while in the UK it seems to carry more prestige and be of higher rank?), so it would make sense that related words would also be different, and it looks like your ‘tuition’ is the same as my ‘tutoring’?)
In the US and Canada, university math majors or graduate students will sometimes take on one-on-one tutoring for younger students (middle and high school levels here, so approximately age 12 and above, usually?). Since that also happens in Canada, where the university system is closer to that of the US but a bit of a mix between the US and UK systems, if there is a university near where you live, you might contact their math department and ask?
posted by eviemath at 5:41 AM on July 7, 2022
In the US and Canada, university math majors or graduate students will sometimes take on one-on-one tutoring for younger students (middle and high school levels here, so approximately age 12 and above, usually?). Since that also happens in Canada, where the university system is closer to that of the US but a bit of a mix between the US and UK systems, if there is a university near where you live, you might contact their math department and ask?
posted by eviemath at 5:41 AM on July 7, 2022
At this age you're dealing with two things - shoring up a shaky math foundation (the more you don't get, the harder it is is to get more) and building an identity that girls can math, specifically, THIS girl can math.
Beast Academy (web) is great for kids who want to understand the *whys* of math. But it's pretty frilly and sometimes can get a little philosophical. It's great if you're lining your kid up for AOPS down the road, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to a kid who's got a shaky math identity. The online platform is decent enough but from what you describe here it might not be a good match for your kid. I would recommend it for kids who need more math engagement because standard curriculum is dull but who don't want to accelerate or advance any more, and I'd recommend it for kids who are going to do math competitions in high school.
She might be a bit old for Todo Math (app) - hard to guess at this age, she might be having some childhood nostalgia - but if her difficulty is that she missed the foundations, it might be a confidence booster. It *is* gamified, so I'd only use it if she needs to backshore missing curriculum really fast. Todo is for younger kids, Beast is for older kids, but the advantage of Todo over Beast is that you can do it fast and Beast is harder to compress. Todo is probably cheaper, too.
I'd recommend Mathnasium (online tutoring) for your kid. I liked them because unlike Kumon, they don't drill and kill, and unlike Kahn, the individual tutors were very good at working with kids and not boring. Tutors usually work with a group of 3-4 kids at a time. There's no lecture. The kid is given a sheet that's right at the right level (they do placement testing first), if the kid needs it explained, it's explained. If the kid needs more or less practice, they adjust accordingly. They gently push the kids to make sure progress is being made should. They took pride in specializing in truly individual learning to every kid and my kid benefitted in seeing kids at all different stages of learning. They do have their own proprietary curriculum but I found that it aligned well with the school standards and when we did want to do something extracurricular, they were super accommodating. They do some math identity building things, but I found that didn't matter as much as that constant feeling of mastery that would happen in every session.
There are also the private tutors but I found them to be really expensive and I liked that the Mathnasium tutors had support if they needed it.
If your school offers Study Island access over the summer, don't take them up on it. Especially at this age, the informational lessons don't align to the tests and don't align to Common Core standards (might not be a problem for you since you called it maths) and it's a serious exercise in frustration.
Life of Fred are books that I wouldn't recommend as stand-alone curriculum but they were awesome for just introducing the idea of math as fun and another good confidence booster. Even if you just read the first one together as bedtime stories, it might help if she's starting to develop negative / avoidant feelings toward math. The math itself is really simple, even though the concepts were a bit more. When we did get into prealgebra, it really did help. Don't get put off by the age recommendations, I never could figure out what curriculum they thought they were aligning to.
posted by arabelladragon at 5:56 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
Beast Academy (web) is great for kids who want to understand the *whys* of math. But it's pretty frilly and sometimes can get a little philosophical. It's great if you're lining your kid up for AOPS down the road, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to a kid who's got a shaky math identity. The online platform is decent enough but from what you describe here it might not be a good match for your kid. I would recommend it for kids who need more math engagement because standard curriculum is dull but who don't want to accelerate or advance any more, and I'd recommend it for kids who are going to do math competitions in high school.
She might be a bit old for Todo Math (app) - hard to guess at this age, she might be having some childhood nostalgia - but if her difficulty is that she missed the foundations, it might be a confidence booster. It *is* gamified, so I'd only use it if she needs to backshore missing curriculum really fast. Todo is for younger kids, Beast is for older kids, but the advantage of Todo over Beast is that you can do it fast and Beast is harder to compress. Todo is probably cheaper, too.
I'd recommend Mathnasium (online tutoring) for your kid. I liked them because unlike Kumon, they don't drill and kill, and unlike Kahn, the individual tutors were very good at working with kids and not boring. Tutors usually work with a group of 3-4 kids at a time. There's no lecture. The kid is given a sheet that's right at the right level (they do placement testing first), if the kid needs it explained, it's explained. If the kid needs more or less practice, they adjust accordingly. They gently push the kids to make sure progress is being made should. They took pride in specializing in truly individual learning to every kid and my kid benefitted in seeing kids at all different stages of learning. They do have their own proprietary curriculum but I found that it aligned well with the school standards and when we did want to do something extracurricular, they were super accommodating. They do some math identity building things, but I found that didn't matter as much as that constant feeling of mastery that would happen in every session.
There are also the private tutors but I found them to be really expensive and I liked that the Mathnasium tutors had support if they needed it.
If your school offers Study Island access over the summer, don't take them up on it. Especially at this age, the informational lessons don't align to the tests and don't align to Common Core standards (might not be a problem for you since you called it maths) and it's a serious exercise in frustration.
Life of Fred are books that I wouldn't recommend as stand-alone curriculum but they were awesome for just introducing the idea of math as fun and another good confidence booster. Even if you just read the first one together as bedtime stories, it might help if she's starting to develop negative / avoidant feelings toward math. The math itself is really simple, even though the concepts were a bit more. When we did get into prealgebra, it really did help. Don't get put off by the age recommendations, I never could figure out what curriculum they thought they were aligning to.
posted by arabelladragon at 5:56 AM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seconding Mathnasium. Their approach is low-key and positive. My kid was doing a program similar to Russian Math; she was learning a lot, but she hated it so much that she started hating math. Mathnasium has been the opposite. She may not be learning as much, but her feelings about it are very positive, which I believe will pay off long term in her relationship with math. (One caveat: I believe Mathnasium is a franchise, so there is likely variation among franchisees.)
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:47 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:47 AM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you are open to workbooks, Jump Math might be a good fit. (Or maybe Jump Math + online tutor).
ALEKS or Teaching Textbooks might be of interest as well.
posted by oceano at 6:34 PM on July 7, 2022
ALEKS or Teaching Textbooks might be of interest as well.
posted by oceano at 6:34 PM on July 7, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks - none of the answers were specifically helpful, as y'all mostly assumed we are US-based. We are back to Khan Academy and going to look for a one-to-one tutor.
She liked Beast Academy enough that I'm ordering the books, but it's too US-focused to really work.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:46 AM on July 15, 2022
She liked Beast Academy enough that I'm ordering the books, but it's too US-focused to really work.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:46 AM on July 15, 2022
Are you sure Mathnasium will only accept US-based students? They offer online sessions, in addition to in-person. You will need to connect to a specific franchise, and it will be up to the franchise owner. But unless their website specifically says it's not allowed, I wouldn't rule it out.
I'm happy to share the contact info of the franchise owner I work with. I've found him to be very friendly and accommodating. Memail me if you'd like that.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:05 AM on July 15, 2022
I'm happy to share the contact info of the franchise owner I work with. I've found him to be very friendly and accommodating. Memail me if you'd like that.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:05 AM on July 15, 2022
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posted by nouvelle-personne at 3:01 AM on July 7, 2022