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Every guide in the Math Prizes resource hub, newest first. Page 12 of 16.
Allowance and Money Math: Teaching Value Without a Lecture
The math kids remember is the math with something on the line. Here's how allowance teaches value and arithmetic at once, no speech required.
How to Tell If Your Kid Is Behind in Math or Just Having a Rough Week
One bad math test doesn't mean your kid is behind. Here's how to tell a real gap from a rough week, and what actually deserves your attention.
Is My Child Behind in Math? How a Teacher Actually Decides
Behind compared to what? A teacher explains how she actually decides if a child is behind in math, and why one bad report card almost never is.
How to Tell If Your Kid's Math Practice Is Actually Working
Twenty minutes a night of the wrong practice can go nowhere. Here is how to tell if math practice is working, and what real progress looks like.
The One Question That Unsticks Almost Any Homework Problem
You do not need to know the math to help a child stuck on a math problem. You need one question, and the patience to wait for the answer.
How to Celebrate Effort When the Answer Is Still Wrong
A wrong answer is not a failure if the thinking underneath it was real. Here is how to honor the work without pretending 6 times 7 equals 48.
Learning Through Games Done Right: The Difference Between Fun and Junk
Not every game with a cartoon and a math problem is teaching anything. Here is how to tell learning through games apart from busywork in a costume.
Teaching Kids to Type: When to Start and How to Make It Not Boring
When to start teaching kids to type, why the hunt-and-peck habit is worth breaking early, and how to make the practice something they'll actually keep doing.
Screen Time by Age: A Simple Table for Grades 1 Through 5
A straight screen time by age chart for grades 1 to 5, plus the honest truth about why the number on the timer isn't the whole story.
Rounding Numbers Without the 'Look at the Neighbor' Chant
The rhymes and chants get kids rounding for a week and forgetting it by the test. Here is how to teach rounding numbers so it actually sticks.
Addition Facts First: Why Subtraction Gets Easier When You Flip It
Subtraction feels like a whole new mountain to kids. It isn't. If they know their addition facts, they already know subtraction. They just need to flip it.
Mistakes Grow the Brain: How To Actually Convince Your Kid of It
Kids don't believe mistakes help them learn just because a poster says so. Here's how to make it real enough that they stop erasing everything in a panic.
The Word Problem Wall: Why Reading Trips Kids Up in Math
Your kid can add and subtract fine, then hits a word problem and shuts down. The problem usually isn't the math. It's the reading, and that's fixable.
Worksheets or Apps: When Paper Still Wins for Elementary Math
I build a math app for a living and my own kids, and I still hand them a paper worksheet for certain things. Here is exactly when paper wins.
Grocery Store Math: Turning a Shopping Trip Into a Lesson
The grocery store is one of the best math classrooms you've got, and it's free. Here's how to turn an ordinary shopping trip into real practice your kid won't resist.
Tutor, App, or You: How to Decide Who Helps With Math
A tutor, an app, or your own kitchen table? The right help depends on what's actually wrong. Here's how a teacher decides who should step in with math.
Fifth Grade Math: The Last Stop Before Middle School Math
Fifth grade is where the math either holds together or quietly falls apart before middle school. Here are the skills that actually carry weight in sixth grade and beyond.
The Case Against Math Grinding: More Problems Is Not Better
A fat stack of worksheets looks like progress, but it usually isn't. Here's why too many math problems can quietly make a kid worse at math, and what works better.
How to Check Math Homework When You Are Not Sure of the Answer Either
You do not need to remember how to divide fractions to help. Here is how to check your kid's math homework when you are lost too.
When Bribes Backfire: A Teacher's Honest Take on Paying Kids for Grades
Twenty dollars for an A sounds fair. Here is what actually happens to a kid's motivation when the money shows up, and what works better.
Play Based Learning at Home: How Playing Math Beats Drilling It
A kid who counts money in a pretend store learns more than one who fills in a worksheet. Here is why play based math sticks, and how to do it.
Digital Literacy for a Second Grader: The Five Things Worth Teaching First
Your seven-year-old does not need to code. But there are five small digital habits worth teaching now, before the harder years show up.
How to Set Screen Time Limits That Your Kid Actually Respects
The screen time fight isn't really about minutes. It's about how the limit gets set. Here is what makes a limit your kid respects instead of games.
Counting Coins and Making Change: Money Math That Sticks
Counting coins is where a lot of kids first meet real-world math, and it trips them up for one specific reason. Here is how to fix it.