Videos and Books That Will Help You Teach Homeschool Math with Confidence

Whether you prefer to learn from videos or books, these resources will help you learn to teach homeschool math like a pro. Even if you feel weak in math yourself, these courses and books will break down concepts so that you can teach them to your children with confidence.

My Video Courses for Parents Who Teach Math

Math That Makes Sense: How to Teach Elementary Arithmetic

In this free 8-session course, I’ll teach you everything you need to know to teach elementary arithmetic from kindergarten to fourth grade. Includes:

  • Different ways of understanding and representing the meaning of the operation
  • How to teach basic math facts
  • How to teach children to compute accurately and efficiently, both mentally and on paper
  • Children’s common errors and how to correct them
  • How to use manipulatives (hands-on materials)
  • The role of drill and practice
  • How to teach children to solve word problems

This class was originally taught live to adult students using a college teacher education textbook. If you’d like to dive deep into the material, I recommend using the text so that you can try out the homework problems. But the textbook is not necessary–all the key material is presented in the videos.

Fractions That Make Sense

Update 3/23: The videos for this course aren’t currently available. I hope to get them up sometime this spring. -Kate

In this FREE 3-session seminar, I’ll show you how to teach fractions to your upper-elementary students (approximately grades 3-6). Each 1 ½ hour video also includes a detailed summary handout and specific activity ideas you can use right away.

  • Session 1: Fraction Fundamentals
  • Session 2: Adding and Subtracting Fractions
  • Session 3: Multiplying and Dividing Fractions

Books To Help You Grow as a Math Teacher

Arithmetic for Parents

By Ron Aharoni. If you feel intimidated by teaching elementary math, this is the book to start with! The author writes with a friendly, accessible voice and does a beautiful job explaining how to teach elementary arithmetic from basic addition through long division. His passion and love of teaching young children shines through and makes it a lovely read.

Elementary Mathematics for Teachers

By Thomas Parker and Scott Baldridge. This is the textbook used for my Math That Makes Sense course (above). It provides through explanations of the mathematics that you’ll find in your children’s elementary and middle school books. If you’ve ever wondered why long division works, or why we invert and multiply to divide fractions, this book will answer your questions so you can explain these concepts to your children. (This book is based on the Singapore Math curriculum, so you’ll find it especially relevant if you use that program.) Amazon sometimes charges an arm and a leg for it. If the price there is high, you can also buy it directly from Singapore Math.

Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics

By Liping Ma. This book is a classic of math education. Rather than giving you an overview of all of elementary mathematics, it provides an in-depth case-study of several essential topics. The book is structured as a comparison of Chinese educators and American educators, but the real beauty of the book is the way it will help you understand what deep knowledge of elementary math looks like. (The most recent edition is sometimes ridiculously expensive–you can also go with a used copy of the 1999 edition and save a ton.)

Disclosure: Some of the links above may be affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link, I’ll receive a small commission from the sale (without any additional cost to you). Thank you!

7 thoughts on “Videos and Books That Will Help You Teach Homeschool Math with Confidence”

  1. Hi Kate,
    Thanks for the recommendations above! I am pretty confident in math, but I also feel a lot of anxiety about what is to come – so many unknowns about elementary math. Which book would you suggest I begin with? Also, if you suggest the Parker and Baldridge book – do I need to buy all the accompanying Singapore textbooks?

    TY!

    Reply
  2. Hi Laura,

    I’d start with Arithmetic for Parents. It’s a great foundation for understanding the big picture, along with a lot of concrete examples of what good teaching looks like.

    For Parker and Baldridge, you don’t need to buy all the books unless you decide you want to do the problem sets in each chapter. They provide most crucial info right in the textbook.

    Happy Math!
    Kate

    Reply
  3. Hi! I’ve used your books successfully with students in individual tutoring… Now, because of COVID-19, I will have to teach virtually. Do you offer any webinars on how to teach math virtually?

    Reply
    • Patricia, so glad to hear that you’ve found my books helpful in your tutoring! Teaching math virtually is a huge challenge, and it will require a ton of creativity this year. I’m afraid I don’t have a webinar on it, though.

      Best wishes in your teaching, and happy math!
      Kate

      Reply
  4. Hi, do you have any interesting recommendations for a parent (who likes math) to do mental math problems ? (maybe a book or a game?) For the reason to show the child that I too need brain practice, and that I enjoy it. He would probably join me, too. Truth be told, I would have normally done it old-school vertically as that was drilled into me. Only now am I seeing the big picture as an older Mom!

    Reply
    • Hi Dee,

      My favorite mental math book is Mental Math in the Middle Grades. It’s out-of-print, but still available used. It’s mostly just problems, though. How about something like Sudoku or Kenken?

      Happy Math!
      Kate

      Reply

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