Hi! I’m Lusi and I have been homeschooling my kiddos for the past 15 years. We initially began the homeschooling journey because the local primary school (that our daughter was already attending), could not meet the needs of our neurodivergent son who was due to start kindy. It quickly became clear that homeschooling would be our only option. We decided to give it a go for 6 months and now have completed 15 years (and are still going!) Our eldest 3 children have ‘graduated’ from our homeschool. They entered into either university, TAFE or apprenticeships around the age of 16. We have 2 children still homeschooling daily (ages 14 and 12). Our family is neurodivergent and we also deal daily with the symptoms of chronic autoimmune disease. This means that we need resources that have elements of structure and flexibility. I am so pleased to say we have found both of these things in Maths Pathway!
Why We Chose Maths Pathway at Home
We had previously been using a maths program that was written in America and adapted for Australian audiences. I struggled to find something that was Australian-made for Australian audiences. My older 3 did like the structure of the other program but my younger two….not so much! I started trying to look for alternative programs. I wanted to find something that would be engaging, not too dry, not covering too much content that they couldn’t relate to. I wanted to find a program that had a mix of both online and written activities. I started searching for something that would help us fill in maths gaps (especially as Miss 14 is heading more towards the end of her homeschooling journey). And it was important to me to find something that both Miss 14 and Mr 12 could do. I didn’t want to have to buy and keep on top of 2 different maths programs.
Enter Maths Pathway at Home!
I was invited to undertake a trial of the program and I am normally very sceptical of such offers. As a blogger, I get asked to trial things all the time – but I went and looked at the Maths Pathway at Home website and was won over! It had me choosing it when it mentioned a personalised homeschooling program that was written and created BY Australians FOR Australians. I like that it mentioned that you start the program by finding out what your child knows and is confident with, uncovering gaps in their learning that you may not have come across. This is exactly what it has done for my kids! The diagnostic tests were thorough and there is no assumption of knowledge based on ‘ages’ or ‘grades’. This is really just finding what your child understands right now without attached labels. So rare to find this!
How Maths Pathway fits into our Homeschooling Rhythm
Each week, part of our homeschooling rhythm, is to write all the learning we’d like to do over the coming week on a big whiteboard. We do this for all the learning and activities we’d each like to cover in the week across all our subjects.
Before Maths Pathway, anytime we got to writing maths up on our board, there would be groans. I had found a fun video platform with maths videos but it only went so far and wasn’t really challenging for Miss 14.
Now, when we write Maths Pathway up on the board, the kids say they’d like to do at least 4 lessons of it each week. That is remarkable to me! They are actually WANTING to do maths work now! Our weeks are pretty full. Sometimes we have to take our learning with us to attend medical appointments or if we are waiting for one child to finish an activity. The brilliant thing about Math Pathways for us is that it has been a portable option! Here Mr 12 is smashing out his work at one of our local cafes (enjoying his side serve of citrus tart!)
Some of the Features of Maths Pathway We LOVE!
There are many things we really like about Maths Pathway. Let me share a few with you here.
Best of Both Worlds: Screen & Paper
As a homeschooler, I love that there is the option to use both screen and paper. The workbooks that are printable are so easy to manage and they become great work samples too.
The kids love working on the screen and can see the lesson laid out.
This helps them work in their own way and at their own pace.
Giving choices in what you work on next give kids agency and helps them move towards learning independence whilst still working within a framework.
Graphics and Illustrations for Visual Learners
Both the workbook and screen lessons have very clear headings with a good use of colour and illustrations. This is something that appeals greatly to me (because it helps keeps my kids interested – they are both visual learners!)
And keeping my kids engaged in their learning is really important to me because it helps them go deeper!
Easy Format to Navigate
One of the best things about the format of Maths Pathway is the four steps: warm-up, entrance ticket, module Questions, exit ticket. My Miss 14 loves that they are separated out so she can go bit by bit. My 12 loves that there is room to practice before being tested on anything. And I love that Math Pathway picks up on where the kids are at in their math knowledge, then offers clear lessons in the module questions which allows them lots of time before they get to the mastery stage. This has helped my kids particularly in the area of fractions that they have both had struggles with in the past.
Encouraging Messages
There are often little encouraging messages that pop up on the screen. This helps the kids move forward through their learning, helping them to stay focused and motivated. This is a lovely touch.
Data Insights
Over the years, I’ve wondered which areas I can focus more on with my kids in their maths work. Maths Pathway has this covered in the ‘Data’ section. I can click on that and see (according to the diagnostics my child took) which areas they are confident in and have mastered and which areas they need to work on. This is really helpful. Personally, I’m not aiming for my kids to be the next Einstein but I do want to give them a good quality education. I think it is important, therefore, to know which areas I can help them in.
Moving Forward with Maths Pathway
For our family, switching to Maths Pathway this year has been the best learning decision we have made! The kids are happier, they enjoy hooking into their lessons and I feel more confident that I can help them in the areas of their greatest needs. I can also look at the areas they are doing well in and use that in other areas of homeschooling learning too. For example, my son loves engineering so I can use the math knowledge he is acquiring in Maths Pathway and integrate that in his science lessons. Recently, he covered dot plotting in his module and so we used that to discuss recording data in his science lesson.
I believe Maths Pathway is helping my children have a more well-rounded math education. I am so happy that we began this program and I hope that other Australian homeschoolers like us give it a try too!
