Building Confidence and Strengthening Your Child’s Math Foundation /2
Part 2: The How-To Guide for Catching Up in Math
You may have recently realized your child is behind in math.
Maybe they’re frustrated, avoiding math when they can, or convinced they just aren’t “good at it.” You don’t know exactly when the struggle started, but you suspect gaps from earlier years are holding them back. Enough is enough; it’s time to get back on track.
Catching up isn’t about starting over - it’s about rebuilding confidence and skills at the same time. Here’s how to rebuild your child’s math skills in a way that boosts confidence instead of making them feel behind.
(This is part 2 of a series on catching up in math. You can find links to the whole series at the bottom of this page.)
You need a strategy that:
Meets them where they are without making them feel small and crushing their confidence.
Identifies what’s missing so you can fill in the gaps as needed.
Keeps them moving forward so they stay engaged and don’t feel stuck.
Makes immediate and consistent changes so that improvement begins now.
Here’s how to do it:
1️⃣ Keep It Positive. Your child needs to feel like math is something they can do. The more frustrated they feel, the harder it will be. Remind them often that struggling in math doesn’t mean they’re bad at it - it just means they’re missing a few important steps. The more you fill in these gaps, the more your child will realize that math is less difficult than they once believed. They might even be good at it.
2️⃣ Protect Their Self-Esteem. Struggling in math is hard enough - feeling behind and feeling like you can’t do it makes it worse. The goal is to make sure they have the prerequisites needed for the math at-hand. If your 6th grader needs to revisit 4th grade concepts, how we approach that matters. We can let them know they’re “brushing up” on some skills they already know “because it’s been awhile,” and that might feel better than if a teacher put them back in a 4th grade math class. By choosing age-appropriate materials - skipping the oversized fonts and cartoon-heavy workbooks - we can remove a reminder that the math problem is intended for younger kids. They need help remembering they are smart, capable learners; they just don’t have all the tools.
3️⃣ Follow their Lead. Let your child have a say in their learning. They’re not running the show, but giving them some control makes them more engaged and helps you target the areas they truly struggle with. At the end of a lesson, topic, or problem ask: 🗣️ “How did that feel? Do you want more practice, or are you ready to move on?”
Then make a plan together for how to proceed. Ultimately, you are in charge of the lesson but weigh their feedback heavily; if you disagree with their answer, explain your reasoning. 🗣️ “I think you could use a few more practice questions since that last one was a little tricky” or “I think you’ve got it, let’s start the next topic!”
4️⃣ Focus on What They Know, Not What They’re Expected to Know. Take the math they are currently doing and assess what’s missing. Don’t assume you have to start over from scratch. It would in most cases be inappropriate to put your 5th grader into a math class intended for 3rd graders. That might be the answer, but I’d be willing to guess you can find some middle ground. Look at what’s actually causing them to struggle by working through some lessons together. Pay attention to the strategies they use. Can they perform basic arithmetic or do they count it out every time? Do they follow order of operations? Do they understand the rules of fractions? Often, kids are missing just a few key building blocks - fill those in, and everything else starts to click.
Making up lost time
Catching up in math isn’t about going back to repeat all their old lessons. Instead, you’ll be looking for specific gaps in foundational skills to fill while progressing from where your child is now. By focusing on building the foundation and addressing missing skills, you can help your child move forward with confidence. Your child is not bad at math!
In Part 3, we’ll dive deeper into how to actually rewind in math while also protecting your child from feeling like they’re falling behind.
Thanks for reading! 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!
