We have a 5th grader who hates math. And for whatever reason, she struggles with it, from the simpler things like subtraction to the more complex stuff like beginning algebra. She has had a tutor (who was a former teacher I guess) and we have done countless drills with her, but it has gotten to the point where it is just not working - for any of us. We are not trained teachers, so our approach can't be ideal not to mention the fact that the girl is sick of math and I think having math at home as well as at school be such a focus and frustration was getting to be too much.
We drive by Mathnasium every day so we decided to give it a shot. Granted, she has only been going for a couple of weeks, but so far, so good! While math is still not her favorite thing, she doesn't mind going and she is having some success... and she's proud of that success! I really like their approach: they gave her an assessment to establish where she's at with her math skills, then they build her a binder with customized curriculum based on the assessment. When she arrives, she grabs her bind, checks in by scanning the barcode on her binder with electronic barcode reader near the front, then she grabs a seat and goes to work. There are several sections in her binder which all cover different subject matter, so if she tires of working in one area, she can go on to a different section. I like the fact that they encourage her to work independently, but are there to assist when she needs it - all she has to do is raise her hand!
All in all, I would highly recommend Mathnasium to anyone who wants some additional help with math. Jeff Pudewell, the Director is awesome, the facility is convenient & clean and the approach seems to be a solid one that is working for our family. read more