Whether you’re a math whiz or can’t stand it, you should assign yourself 10 minutes of math work outside of class work every day.
What if you have lots of math homework already?
Spend 10 minutes a day doing unassigned questions from the textbook, looking up Khan Academy videos or practice questions, or trying some Kuta worksheets on the current topic to get the same concepts from other sources. This adds context so you don’t feel like your class is in a bubble.
You could also spend those 10 minutes looking up some concept from months or years ago that never quite clicked. Now’s the perfect time to take another look at it and try to make sense of it. Math is very cumulative, so filling in those gaps will almost definitely help you down the road.
What if you don’t have a math class right now?
That’s even more reason to practice! It can be really, really hard to slip back into a math class after months or years of not doing math practice, and you don’t want to do that to yourself! Both Khan Academy and Kuta have math materials organized by content so it is easy to look up material from the last math class you took and keep those concepts fresh. Don’t lose what you’ve worked hard to gain.
Why 10 minutes a day?
No matter how busy you are, you can find 10 minutes somewhere in your schedule. It doesn’t even have to replace something already in your schedule. Do yoga while watching a Khan video. Brush your teeth with one hand while you solve a math problem with the other.
Consistency is good. You’re not cramming before a test; you’re building and maintaining a life skill.
What if you don’t like the Khan Academy or Kuta formats?
Yet another option is IXL. A personal subscription is $10 a month and gets you infinite practice questions. I am not getting anything from IXL for suggesting it; I honestly feel like it’s a good source of practice material, and sometimes a paid subscription is just the motivation you need to commit to 10 minutes a day.
And if you run into a hard math problem, feel free to reach out. I love a puzzle and I love helping.
Sincerely,
