As a long-time homeschooling mum to 5 amazing kiddos (all now in their teens or 20s), I can say we have trialled our fair share of maths programs, apps, websites, and games over the years. You name it, and we have probably tried it out!
In the preschool days, mathematics learning centred around counting with manipulatives, playing games with dice, doing puzzles and even counting star-jumps in the backyard. In the early years of primary homeschooling, my kiddos loved interactive games played online – I’m sure it was the novelty factor that engaged our multiple neurodivergent learners. I coupled this with book work as they got older (mostly because that was what I thought was the more ‘serious-learning’ approach (and ps: there is no prize for taking a more serious learning approach!) I digress! As the kids headed into the high-school years, we moved away from a play-based, interactive approach to maths to a more streamlined textbook approach.
Ask my older 3 (now graduated) homeschoolers, and they will tell you that it killed their chances of ever really falling in love with maths. This makes me sad, but it’s the reality I had to face – forcing them to learn maths more traditionally did not inspire them and was not conducive to developing a love and understanding of maths.
So, I decided I needed to try a different approach for our youngest two homeschoolers. In their later primary years, I found a series of videos on YouTube that I liked (and the kids tolerated), but the cringe factor set in when they became high schoolers, and I knew it was time to let it go and find something else.
I found Maths Pathway!
The only regret about this program I have is that I didn’t find it sooner and my older kiddos never had a chance to learn using it. Seriously. It has been THAT good for our kids.
High School Years: Hopes and Needs
In the high school years, we have learnt that, more than ever, our kiddos need stimulating, engaging delivery of their learning content. We hope they know their worth and have a strong sense of self. We also want them to be prepared, independent learners with a solid foundation as they stretch from the older teen years into adulthood. We hope they, of course, not only know HOW to access information for their learning, but that they fall in LOVE with learning itself. I’ll share about how I think Maths Pathway nails all of these things.
Engaging Content
We love that Maths Pathway is an Australian program using an engaging mix of digital and printable modes of lesson delivery. One of my teens loves to print off the PDFs – which have great graphics and illustrations, but some days she prefers to work on the screen – in the photo below, she had just picked out the Taylor Swift lyrics reference! Great graphics, sounds and examples. It keeps my kiddos’ attention for each lesson – sometimes now they CHOOSE to do more than one lesson.
Self-Paced, Self-Confident Learners with a Solid Foundation
One of the best things about Maths Pathway is that the content is delivered depending on what the child already knows and has mastered in their understanding of maths concepts, and is NOT based on their age or grade. This means that each child will get a tailored program of learning dependent upon the gaps in their foundational maths knowledge. That is a HUGE difference to any other program I’ve seen – and I love it (and so do our kids!)
How this practically works is the child undertakes a diagnostic assessment, but even these are engaging! My teens have always loved the little graphics and messages that pop up, like this one:
Once they have taken the diagnostic test, they are then given access to maths modules that will help them cover what they need to learn next. The modules have lessons with videos that the kids can watch if they enjoy learning that way. My kids often skip the videos and just like to get stuck into the work (either working through the activities online or in their printed sheets).
Despite using a different maths program for years before finding Maths Pathway, my son had a HUGE gap in his understanding of a few math concepts. Instead of being told he had to “go back a grade or two” when we made the switch to Maths Pathway, he was given access to the modules he needed without shame, guilt or any kind of knowledge that he’d ‘missed out’ on the basics.
How refreshing it is to find a program that meets you where you are without making the child (or parent!) feel bad! And how wonderful for his self-confidence to have avoided taking a hit or being ‘babied’ in some way. The result? Well, he mastered those couple of modules in no time at all AND the added benefit is, of course, that thanks to Maths Pathway, that gap has been identified and rectified now! A really solid foundation has been built that makes this homeschooling-mama-heart very happy!
One of the other things I love about Maths Pathway is that navigating a digital platform like this has helped prepare our teen daughter for self-paced learning through TAFE that she has now begun. She has a good grasp on goal setting, meeting deadlines and working to a plan – all things that she has benefited from through the Maths Pathway platform.
Learning HOW to Learn and Learning to LOVE Learning itself
We can’t possibly know all there is to know in the world (that is ludicrous because no one can!), but we CAN give our kiddos the tools to know HOW to learn. We can also give them the chance to fall in LOVE with learning itself. How?! Well, taking away the painful, boring, monotony is a good start! We all need stimulation when we are learning something new. How often do you sit down to a Zoom call or even just to read a chapter of a book WITH a cup of tea or coffee next to you? We make sure the environment is right (not too hot, not too cold!) and we get stuck into it. Well, it’s the same for our kiddos. Removing unnecessary obstacles from their learning path AND creating an enjoyable, relaxing environment can help increase their ability to absorb information, which includes maths concepts! We supplement Maths Pathway with hands-on, real-life maths games and activities as well, which complement all that they are already learning.
And here is a link to a video of him explaining to me in his own words how the Maths Pathway Modules work and how the colour coding helps him know which step he’s up to:
I’m so proud to be a Maths Pathway Partner – and why wouldn’t I be?! I think you can see just from the few points I’ve shared here that Maths Pathway has been an amazing addition to our home learning program – you’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a shot yourself.
Explore a free trial of Maths Pathway today to experience this success for yourself!
Happy learning,
Lusi
www.thathomeschoollife.com.au
Hear from Lusi in a video!
