Mathnasium 'Mompreneur' makes learning Math easy!

Mompreneur, Krista Kamenski Adams, 43, of South Charlotte, began Mathnasium in Charlotte in September of 2006. Krista tutors math to students of all ages and helps prepare them for the EOGs. Keep reading to see if your child can benefit from Mathnasium’s help!

Q. How did you get started with Mathnasium?

A. After teaching for 12 years and private tutoring for 4 years, I knew I wanted to stay in education but not necessarily in the classroom. I like owning my own business even though it has challenges too.

Q. What is your teaching background?

A. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from East Carolina University in 1991, spent 2 years teaching at St Thomas the Apostle in Delaware, 10 years teaching 5th and 6th grades in CMS, and became National Board Certified in 2001.

Q. What drew you to teaching and tutoring?

A. I really enjoy working with and teaching children, especially the pre-teen ages.

Q. What exactly does Mathnasium do?

A. We are a year-round math learning and enrichment center. We work with children of all ability levels.

Q. What grades/math do you tutor in?

A. Grades 2-Algebra 1 during school year in our main program. Summer adds a Kindergarten and 1st grade readiness program. We offer private tutoring for High School Students.

Q. What kinds of events do you hold for students?

A. Every year we host the North Carolina Math Competition which holds local competitions all over the state. The top 20 from each grade level are invited to UNC-Chapel Hill for the State finals. This is sponsored by Healthy Communities, a non-profit organization.

Q. What are the signs that you should get your child a tutor?

A. If you start to notice a lack of confidence in your student as well as struggles with homework, you may want to explore the various learning centers in the area and find the one that best fits your child and your family.

Q. What are the most common challenges?

A. Managing multiple children's homework and activities often make it difficult for parents to provide the all the necessary support at home. Coming to a neutral setting like Mathnasium takes the pressure off of parents and allows for more quality family-time in the evenings.

Q. What types of activities do you do to help the child?

A. We offer math homework support, quiz and test prep, EOG prep, grade-level readiness over the summer, and EOC prep. Our program is individual instruction in a small group setting so that students get both one-on-one instruction and independent work-time. That way they demonstrate understanding of the concepts on their own. The last thing we want is a learned-dependency (when they can only perform when we are guiding them.) Our program offers a nice balance.

Q. What is your favorite part about tutoring?

A. As a classroom teacher I was often not able to meet the individual needs of all my students. At Mathnasium, we can customize and tailor instruction to the individual. Students are not coming to us because they are bad at math - they come to us to practice their math, just as they do for soccer, dance or piano. The more they practice, the more confidence they gain, and the better their math skills get! That is then carried in to the classroom, often across the board to all subject areas.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/13/3852517/mompreneur-makes-learning-math.html#storylink=cpy

Is your child being left behind in Math?

When students can do these questions (at their grade level and below), mentally — without using pencil and paper — they are likely doing well. For students who can't handle these questions, this is a warning sign. Very often they need help outside of the classroom. Students who can do the questions at and above their grade level may need a more challenging experience. 

See how well your child answers these questions. The results may surprise you!

First Grade:	11 + 12 = ___
Second Grade:	1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 = ___
Third Grade:	How much is 99 plus 99 plus 99?
Fourth Grade:	Count by 1¾ from 0 to 7.
Fifth Grade:	Which is greatest: 17/18, 23/30, or 18/19? Explain how you got your answer.
Sixth Grade:	Halfway through the second quarter, how much of the game is left?
Seventh Grade:	How much is 6½% of 250?
Pre-Algebra:	On a certain map, 6 inches represent 25 miles. How many miles do 15 inches represent?
Algebra:	When you take 3 away from twice a number, the answer is 8. What is the number?
Geometry:	What is the Absolute Value of the point (3, 4)?

For the answers, click here or visit our site!

Weekly Math Fact: Prime Numbers

The longest prime number has been discovered and it's 17,425,170 digits long, surpassing the prior number discovered in 2008 which was a measly 12,978,189 digits long.

Discovered by University of Central Missouri mathematician Curtis Cooper, the number is 2 raised to the 57,885,161 power minus 1, NBC reports.  A prime number is by definition a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself.

This message was brought to you by Optimus Prime Number!

Daily Math Laugh

Rule of Thumb: Math may seem strict, but we have a sense of humor.  Check out our Pinterest for a little laugh!

Making Math Crystal Clear

Cari Waggoner at our Mathnasium in Granger, MN made the most of the icy conditions.

Larry on the subject of Math Anxiety

The bell rings and everyone takes their seats. The teacher passes out the test and, with sharpened pencils, everyone prepares to turn the page and begin. The student next to you flips open the first page and seems to begin answering questions with ease. Time seems to speed up, nervousness kicks in, and you stare at the first test question but forget how to complete it, even after having studied the material over and over. Panic rises and before you know it, the hour is done, the test is over, but the innate fear of it all hasn’t subsided. Parents, this is what we call “math anxiety.”

Numbers on a page not only confuse some children, but can also potentially give them full-blown anxiety. This “math anxiety” is intense and feels similar to stage fright. In many cases, math anxiety comes from a student’s memorization of the correct procedure and routine to solving a problem, as opposed to developing a core understanding of the problem. When this happens, children quickly forget what they’ve learned, and anxiety sets in.

As parents we want to eliminate as much stress and offer as much support to our kids as we can. Working with teachers and outside resources is one the best way to get your child comfortable with math content. It is extremely important that you let your child know that just because they don’t understand something the first time doesn’t mean they won’t understand forever.

One way to sharpen these skills and avoid math anxiety is through math instruction outside of school. It is a false misconception that extra help is only for children falling behind in school. Additional lessons and preparation is not only beneficial for kids struggling with the material, it also benefits those students who understand the material and want to strive for further concept and skill development. We want to see our kids keep up with the curriculum, not just try to catch up with daily lessons.

One of Mathnasium’s core math lessons helps our students with Computational Fluency and this includes effortless recall of number facts with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These core skills and principles are extremely valuable for building a strong foundation of basic math aptitude, which will carry forward through grade levels.

We will make sure our students are able to:

Be fluent in adding single digit numbers, something they will be able to do quickly and efficiently with practice

Count from any number to any number, by any number; this will aid them with more advanced math problems

Use Mental Math, for example:

• How much is 5, three times?

• 99 + 99 + 99

• 301 – 195

• 4 x 26

• 1,000 ÷ 16

• 7% of 300

• 6 ½% of 150

All of the above skill sets are crucial to the core understanding, and ultimate advancement, of the math knowledge necessary to compete in the global economy. At Mathnasium, we work to eliminate “math anxiety” and replace it with “math confidence.” From this confidence comes long-term success in math.

- Larry Martinek