Am I Really Qualified to Teach My Child Math?
The answer may be more simple than you think.
You’re sitting at the kitchen table, math text in front of you, your child waiting for direction. Maybe math was never your thing, or maybe you’ve always felt comfortable with it, but either way, teaching it is a different challenge in and of itself. What if you get it wrong? What if they struggle because you didn’t understand it yourself? Or what if you do understand, but you’re not sure how to explain it in a way that makes sense to them?
But here's the thing - math doesn’t need to be a battle. Math doesn’t require perfection and it certainly doesn’t require you to be a math genius. What it does require is patience, a bit of creativity, and a willingness to embrace the messiness of learning together. The truth is: You don’t have to have all the answers to teach math effectively - you just need to show up with the mindset and the determination to learn alongside your child.
I recently saw a post on 𝕏 going around that said, “homeschool moms are the most educated" or something like that… The sentiment was nice, but the reality is this: Your job as a parent isn’t to be a math expert, it’s to teach your child that anyone can do math. And if anyone can, you most certainly can. Remember, you don’t have to be better than a professional mathematician - you just have to be the best teacher for your child. No one knows them like you do and no one is more invested in their success.
Homeschool parents are absolutely qualified to guide their children through math, and in fact, you might be the most qualified person in their life to help them succeed. You don’t have to teach every lesson yourself - maybe you outsource, or use videos, or work with tutors. But if you can read, you’re qualified to facilitate their learning. You don’t need to be perfect, just involved and invested - because pretty much no one is more invested in your child’s future than you are.
The Next Step in Teaching Math Effectively
Now, you don’t have to be a math whiz to guide your child through their learning journey. It helps sometimes but it’s mostly about showing up with curiosity, patience, and the willingness to figure it out together. Here’s how!
1. Shift Your Mindset: You’re Learning Too
If you're feeling unsure, it’s important to remember teaching doesn’t require you to have all the answers right away. What matters is your ability to help your child learn to solve problems, think critically, and embrace making (and finding) mistakes as part of the learning process.
You’re not alone in this… your child is learning just like you, and it’s okay to make mistakes together. Keep it open and honest and it’ll work itself out.
2. Focus on the Tools, Not the Steps
Instead of memorizing rules and formulas, teach your child to focus on the tools they already have. Math isn’t just about steps; it’s about recognizing patterns, using what you know, and applying it to new challenges. For example, instead of memorizing every fraction rule, help your child see that fractions are just another form of division. There are many math programs out there to consider - just be sure yours covers both the procedural math (the steps) and the conceptual math (underlying idea of how or why you’re doing something).
For example, procedural math is knowing you need to have a common denominator before you add or subtract fractions. Conceptual math is recognizing that you can add those two fractions as-is all day long, but if they were slices of cake, it means nothing. “We each have 2 slices of cake - but how do you have so much more cake than me?!” Both approaches to math are important - without one, you will struggle with the other! Depending on the way you learned math, you might be more inclined to teach one way or another - just don’t forget you need both!
Sometimes you need visuals, manipulatives, and real-world examples to help kids connect abstract concepts to something more concrete.
3. Ask Questions, Don’t Give Answers
If you don’t know the answer, don’t panic. Rather than solving the problem for your child, ask guiding questions to help them think through it. This encourages their problem-solving skills and helps you both learn together. For example:
What do we already know about this problem?
Does it look like anything else we’ve done before?
What happens if we try this?
Stay curious together and set a growth mindset in both yourself and your child.
4. It’s Okay to Be Honest
It’s perfectly fine to say, “I don’t know, but let’s figure it out.” Modeling this attitude shows your child that learning is a journey for the long-haul, not just something you were born with. Anyone can do math, they’ve just got to do it.
Admitting when you don’t know the answer builds resilience and curiosity in both of you, and helps your child see that struggling doesn’t mean failure. It’s an opportunity to grow.
5. Stay One Step Ahead (But Just One)
One of the most common fears parents have when teaching math is that they need to be completely prepared for every lesson. But here’s the good news: You don’t need to be a math expert to teach your child. The key is to stay just one lesson ahead - and that’s more than enough.
Here’s how to do it:
Read the lesson the night before. Skim through the material, and get a sense of the key concepts your child will be learning. You don’t need to memorize everything; just familiarize yourself with the topic.
Use a dense reference guide or textbook. This will serve as your quick reminder, helping you refresh key terms, examples, and methods. Keep it close by as a reference while teaching. (I recommend this one for 5-7th grade, maybe also this workbook to follow along if you need more practice).
Don’t stress about mastering the lesson. You’re not required to become a pro overnight. Just a basic understanding of the concepts will help you facilitate learning and answer questions.
Preview the practice problems. If you can, solve a couple of problems yourself before sitting down with your child. This allows you to anticipate any tricky spots and it helps you know where they might need extra support.
The goal isn’t to be perfect - it’s to be prepared enough to guide them confidently through the lesson. When you stay one lesson ahead, you’ll feel more at ease knowing you can handle any curveballs that come up. Plus, it keeps the learning process fresh for both of you.
You don’t have to be a math whiz to teach math effectively. With the right resources (and a little patience and curiosity), you can guide your child through challenges and help them build confidence in their own hard-earned abilities. Most importantly, remember that teaching math is about showing your child how to think, how to solve problems, and how to keep going even when things get tough. And by being here in the math trenches with them, you’re already doing that.
No matter your knowledge or skill level, if you’re willing to show up and learn alongside your child, you’re the right person to guide them. Don’t ever forget that.
Thanks for reading! If this post resonated with you, you might also enjoy my series on helping your child catch up when they’re behind in math (yes, you can do that too!). Until next time—keep learning, keep teaching, and keep going.
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This is where I share general insights and strategies from my own family’s experience and from working with other homeschoolers. Every child’s journey looks different, but these principles can apply across the board. If you’d like to see more, follow along on 𝕏 TimeTrekFam for daily updates and general shenanigans and click below to subscribe for free on Substack for the real content!