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Teaching Math for Homeschoolers:
As a homeschooling parent, you want the best for your child. You want to ensure they receive a robust,
balanced education that will carry them far beyond their school years. However, providing this for them can be
challenging on your own.
Many homeschooling parents feel like they struggle finding the right curriculum for their child, especially
for math. As math becomes an increasingly important part of the future job market, there is
evidence to suggest that homeschoolers are falling behind.
What can you, as a parent, do to make sure your child remains competitive and confident in math?
If you’re concerned your homeschooled child might be lagging in math, you’re not alone. Research on
homeschoolers over the last 30 years has shown that while test scores are higher across the board in verbal
subjects like grammar or reading, they are actually lower in math.
This is no accident; many
homeschooling parents feel like if they themselves are not confident in math, teaching it becomes an
impossibility. But, math does not need to be the limiting factor in your homeschool education. Here are some
common challenges homeschool parents face when teaching math and how to solve them
Learning math requires patience and dedication. When children are presented with a large number of formulas
and problems at once, they can often feel overwhelmed and lose focus. The more abstract and difficult the
problems are, the harder it is for them to make the connection between math and the real world, also affecting
their interest level.
The key is to give them a small amount of math to do each day. Instead of presenting them with a new concept
all at once, slowly introducing them to a new idea will allow them to process what they’re learning fully
before moving on to the next step.
Making the connection between math and the real world is also important. Using real-world objects or
situations can engage your children and reduce the tedium that comes from looking exclusively at numbers.
Most math curriculums put children on a linear educational path, adding one concept after another
cumulatively. While some learners can see a concept a single time and have it stick, most need to go back and
review these concepts multiple times for true comprehension.
Making time for review is vital to
ensuring your child’s math fluency. Once they’ve completed a lesson, make sure to occasionally give them
problems that will challenge them to keep them sharp. The more they review, the more they can be confident in
their ability to solve any problem they come across.
There’s no two ways around it: math is difficult. No matter how good your curriculum is, there will be times
when your child will get frustrated with their inability to solve a problem. This can lead to a lack of
confidence that compounds on itself and reduces your child’s willingness to engage with math.
When
this happens, support as a parent is crucial. Something as simple as a little note with words of encouragement
can motivate your child to keep pushing through a tough problem.
Additionally, you can give your
child a goal to work towards. Promising a reward at the end of a difficult lesson attaches positive emotions
to what would otherwise be a negative experience. The joy your child will feel in finally getting what they
wanted after working hard reinforces their ability to persevere through adversity. A valuable skill to have in
both learning and life.
Consistency is important for learning any subject, but even more so for math. Homeschooling parents often have
incredibly busy schedules, juggling your own responsibilities as a parent with your responsibilities as a
teacher. Since math is cumulative, time gaps in between lessons can cause your child to forget what they
previously learned and be unable to progress through their curriculum.
Encouraging independent
learning and giving your child the tools to be able to review on their own will help prevent learning loss.
The more your child is able and motivated to learn things on their own, the more free time you’ll have in the
day for the things that matter to you. Their capacity for self-learning will be an incredible asset later in
life.
An important thing to keep in mind for homeschooling parents is that you’re not in this alone. If your child
is struggling with math and you’re finding it hard to help them, seek out educational support. With rising
costs, tutors and learning centers may not be a financial possibility. Moreover, quality can vary wildly
between each one and the last thing you want to do is gamble on your child’s education. So, what else can you
turn to for supporting your homeschool curriculum?
Fortunately, a cost-effective and proven
learning tool that can help eliminate the homeschool math gap exists - Smile Zemi.
Smile Zemi is a cutting-edge educational platform designed to make learning math and English Language Arts
(ELA) both fun and effective for children. It leverages interactive technology and personalized lesson plans
to cater to each child's unique learning style and pace. Through an engaging combination of digital lessons
and hands-on activities, Smile Zemi transforms traditional education into a dynamic, interactive
experience.
The service includes a specialized tablet and digitizer pen, which allow children to
explore and interact with the curriculum in an intuitive way. Additionally, Smile Zemi provides parents with a
comprehensive portal to monitor their child's progress, strengths, and areas needing improvement. This ensures
that education is not just a one-way process but a collaborative journey between the child, the platform, and
the parents.
In essence, Smile Zemi is more than just a learning
tool; it's a pathway to inspiring a lifelong love of learning in children, preparing them for future success
in any educational setting.
The first step in overcoming the homeschool math gap is making sure you have a math curriculum that covers all
bases. Smile Zemi’s math curriculum is handcrafted by a team of
educational experts that understand how children learn. Learning math through Smile Zemi allows your child to
master all the concepts that they will encounter as they progress through their education and prepares them
for advanced math later in life.
An important part of teaching math is making sure that your child
can see the bigger picture. They may ask, “Why is math so important?” Smile Zemi’s math curriculum relates
math to real-world problems and situations to bridge the gap between abstract concepts and practical
application. This kind of holistic approach to math learning will give your child confidence that will last a
lifetime.
Smile Zemi’s math education also matches
your child’s age and provides review for what they already know. Since math is a cumulative subject, it is
important that your child receives lessons consistent with a curriculum. With hundreds of lessons, Smile Zemi
helps build your child’s math confidence one step at a time.
Research conducted from January to March 2023 showed a whopping 29 percentage point increase in math scores for children who used Smile Zemi. Looking deeper at the data, children were able to improve an outstanding 50 percentage points in subtraction.
This isn’t limited to math either. ELA scores also improved by 21 percentage points, with a notable 35 percentage point increase in grammar skills. Smile Zemi is not just affordable, it’s proven.
If your homeschool child is feeling overwhelmed with math and finds it difficult to focus, Smile Zemi creates a daily curriculum for them that keeps them engaged. Through the Today’s Tasks system, children are presented with a digestible amount of lessons that keep them progressively learning every day. Smile Zemi learns from how your child is doing on their Today’s Tasks and adjusts the lessons according to where they’re strong and where they might be struggling.
As the world becomes filled with more and more distractions, you might be worried that your child may become a victim to the addictive apps found online. Those worries are legitimate, so Smile Zemi provides a closed system that keeps your child safe and focused on learning. With no access to games, web browsers, or online apps, you can be confident that when your child is using Smile Zemi, they are in learning mode.
One of the biggest challenges when teaching math is keeping your child from getting frustrated with all the
difficult concepts they encounter. Once they associate those negative emotions with math, it can be hard to
change their mind later. Smile Zemi works to prevent that negative association in the first place by providing
fun Rewards for completing lessons. Those Rewards provide positive reinforcement for your child’s hard work
and make learning math much less of a chore. This is the first step in convincing your child that learning can
be fun.
Your children can also access a wide range of seasonal events, interactive lessons, and
challenges that reinforce what they’re learning. Review is absolutely vital for math learning. The more your
child is able to review, the higher chance they will retain what they learned later on. Smile Zemi provides
that review in an engaging way that doesn’t involve piles upon piles of dull worksheets. Once your child
begins wanting to review on their own, there’s no limit to the amount of things they can learn.
Parent of a 3rd grader
Parent of 1st and 3rd graders
I absolutely love this tablet. It’s easy to use and it allows my daughter to engage and she’s not
bored using it.
Parent of a 1st grader
Parent of a 2nd grader
Parent of a 4th grader
Parent of a 2nd grader
As a homeschooling parent, you have responsibilities as both a parent and an educator. For your child to be
able to consistently practice math, you need an educational service that works on your time.
Smile
Zemi allows your child to learn anytime, anywhere. The specialized tablet can be used with or without an
Internet connection to ensure that your child continues practicing even when you’re on-the-go. This prevents
learning loss even when you and your child are busy with extracurriculars or other activities. The less time
you have to spend stressing about coordinating your schedule, the more time you will have to do the things
that mean the most to you.
You can also directly monitor what your child is learning for the day
and how they’re doing in their lessons. Smile Zemi’s Parent Portal allows you to fulfill your role as their
teacher by giving comprehensive data on how your child is progressing, accessible entirely through your
smartphone or computer. Crafting the perfect homeschool curriculum becomes simpler when you can see exactly
how they are approaching new concepts.
There are times when your child may hit a wall in their math learning. They may not understand how to solve a
problem or have lost interest in what they are learning. During these times, it is ok to seek out educational
help.
While tutors and learning centers can provide learning opportunities for your homeschool
child, forcing them through the problems they’re encountering can deprive them of independent learning later
in life. The primary goal of Smile Zemi is to make sure your child never loses that ability. Every part of
Smile Zemi, from the curriculum, to the Rewards, to the tablet itself is designed to help foster a
love for learning that will keep your child wanting to learn, even when
they are not forced to.
Smile Zemi’s structure gives your child an opportunity to work through
problems on their own and gives support when they need some help. As your child begins getting used to
learning on their own, their capacity for independent learning will improve. As they go through their life,
their status as an independent learner will keep them competitive and confident. Whether it’s math or any
other subject, Smile Zemi helps your child find their own potential.
*Above chart is based on a survey we asked 291 parents of children Grades 1 to 5 living in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles about the average monthly payment for Learning Centers and tutors.
*The Smile Zemi cost shows a monthly fee for a 12-month contract.
With all the extracurricular activities and learning supplies, homeschooling can be expensive. Getting educational support for your child on top of those already high costs seems impractical and undesirable. Smile Zemi provides solutions to homeschooling hurdles at a fraction of the cost.
Ready to give your child the educational support you’re looking for? Try Smile Zemi today!
Don’t miss out on affordable and personalized learning that keeps your child safe and engaged.
Sign up now and watch your child find their potential with Smile Zemi.