This online maths tutor is my new favourite thing

I’d been expecting it, but it happened embarrassingly quickly. In fact, it was when my son hit Year 5 that I had to quietly mention I was no longer capable of helping him with his maths homework. He’d have to (gulp) wait until his dad came home. Year 5. The shame! It will therefore come as no surprise to anyone that when we were invited to add our voice to other MathsOnline reviews, I leapt at the chance.

Brought to you by MathsOnline

I think it was Year 5 fractions that broke me, or maybe it was long division. Either way, I knew in that moment that there was no way I was going to pass my ‘maths block’ onto my kids. Ever since, we’ve taken maths homework and revision seriously. I’ve been open with my kids about the fact that if you don’t keep up with the maths lessons, it’s very easy to fall behind. After that, you feel lost forever. I don’t want that for them.

I think it was Year 5 fractions that broke me, or maybe it was long division.

Online maths tutor

My eldest daughter has been tutoring my youngest for about a year to earn a weekly ‘wage’. Arabella is in Year 8 this year, Lottie in Year 6. When contacted to be part of the MathsOnline reviews, we realised it made great sense to use a good online maths tutor to help Arabella support Lottie in her maths revision.

MathsOnline did not disappoint. I don’t have a lot of experience with other online maths tutor programs, but I can’t imagine finding a more suitable, easy-to-use program for Aussie kids. If you’re like me and struggle to find the funds needed to hire a maths tutor for your crew, this program is a great tool. It covers the Australian curriculum for Kindergarten right through to Year 12, so it’s great for kids in every school year. Here are seven more reasons why we love it.

7 reasons why MathsOnline suits our family

Oh, if you’re already sold, skip to the bottom of this article for a really fantastic offer from MathsOnline!

1. Short, video-led lessons

Each of the maths lessons is around four-five minutes, with some a little longer. The instructions are clear and concise, with diagrams helping to visually reinforce the concepts. These aren’t ‘games’ maths lessons or purely multiple choice, both of which I’ve seen in other online maths tutor programs. There are a couple of cute games as part of the program, but the main focus is on short, sharp video maths lessons that get to the point. The kids can ‘rewind the teacher’ any time they don’t understand a concept. In fact, they can rewind the lesson as many times as they need in order to feel confident to move onto the next lesson.

2. Nice-guy teacher

The teacher who has created all these video lessons is Patrick Murray. He’s a father of 10 kids (10!), and he clearly understands both kids and parents. From the careful way he explains concepts and encourages understanding, to the progress reports that are emailed to parents, this guy gets it. He also has a lovely speaking voice which I think really matters to draw the kids into his enthusiasm for maths. None of my kids thinks this is important, by the way. Ha!

3. Self-paced, easy-to-follow curriculum

I’ve got two reluctant maths students and one who powers ahead. My power-baby is the kind of learner who will seek out additional information when she’s not confident of what she’s learned in class. MathsOnline gives her all the maths resources she needs to work at her own pace, whenever she feels like jumping on.

The curriculum is set out clearly, with each lesson building on the lesson before.  A self-motivated learner can easily see what they need to do next. There is also a ‘weekly revision tasks’ area; a quick way to test whether you’ve learned the key concepts well. There’s a section called NAPLAN that we haven’t investigated yet, but I imagine will be helpful in building confidence around May each year…

4. Supported learning

My two reluctant maths learners need some nudging to get going with maths revision. Serious ‘nudging’. MathsOnline allows me to set them ‘homework’ via the parental controls. So, at the beginning of the week I can set them a few tasks to help them set a maths revision goal to work towards.

This is such a great way for the kids to reinforce what they are learning in class each week. It comes as no surprise to me to learn that many teachers use MathsOnline to set their students homework. It’s going to be particularly good around exam time when my older kids need motivating to study…

5. Individually-tailored learning

One of the best things about this online maths tutor is how easy it is to tailor a plan to suit each child. Even down to the ‘pass mark’ you set for topic tests. The system also allows me to set tasks from a lower or higher year levels, without notifying the kids. This makes revision of concepts learned in earlier school years easy; without making my child feel like they are not ‘up to scratch’. So far, I’ve found it helps to get the kids to go back and revise a topic from an earlier year level. This builds their confidence on things they know, before introducing new concepts.

6. Pause and rewind

The kids have used other online maths tutor programs for school, none of which held their interest. Some of the programs were game-based, but in our experience, these are ‘boring’ once kids are in high school. Others use only multiple-choice driven testing, without a good explanation of concepts.

I therefore think the single best thing about MathsOnline (aside from #7 below!), is the video content. A teacher, patiently explaining the concepts in an easy-to-follow way, that you can pause and rewind whenever you need to. I know this kind of approach would have made all the difference in the world to me as a maths student. To be able to hit pause while you write things down, or rewind when you can’t quite grasp something, is absolute GOLD.

7. Fantastic value for money

The entire program costs $297 per year, for a whole family (it’s $197 if you only have one child using it). In our area, a half hour of maths tutoring costs around $50, so it would cost $150 a week for us to get less tutoring each week. Price-wise, it’s a complete no-brainer for me.

An offer for Mumlyfe readers

If you’re keen to get your own kids started with MathsOnline, you can get an extra 6 months access for free when you sign up for 12 months. So, you’ll get 18 months access for $197 for one child, or $297 for your whole family. There is a 12-month money-back guarantee as well. You really can’t go wrong.

18 months access for $197 for one child, or $297 for your whole family.

Click here to find out more.

Incidentally, I’m taking the MathsOnline notion of ‘family’ very seriously indeed. I’ve signed myself up as a student and I am currently working my way through the maths curriculum myself. Starting with Year 5 fractions, of course…

Have your kids used an online maths tutor? Thoughts?