How Mathnasium of Littleton helps MOTIVATE students!

Glad you asked! Let’s take a sneak peak inside your local Mathnasium of Littleton and ask their instructors!

Q: What helps students in your center stay motivated?

A: We have a variety of ways to keep our students motivated but the bottomline is we make math fun and they see progress - both of which are great motivators! In addition, we have contests, drawings and awesome rewards which really help with motivation when students first start with us and maybe aren't so fond of math.

Q: Tell us about the reward cabinet!

A: Our rewards cabinet goes beyond the cabinet itself to include larger items like Lego building kits and large stuffed animals on top of the shelving units. We have everything from mystery bags which are a surprise of candy, small toys and sometimes rewards cards themselves, to candy and snacks to big ticket items like an iPhone, Beats Pro headphones, Nintendo Switches and more! Anything a child wants, if their parents approve of it, we will get it for them!

Q: How do students earn prizes from the reward cabinet?

A: Students earn stamps or points for finished work, accuracy, engagement, working on their math homework from school and so much more! We try to make it easy to earn stamps so kids can earn their rewards for hard work! They also need fewer stamps or points to fill out a card for each level they obtain at the center. The first level takes 24 stamps to complete a card which is equal to about a dollar whereas the highest levels, level 5 and above, only requires 10 stamps to complete a card!

Q: How does your center celebrate student success?

A: We LOVE success! We celebrate every chance we get with the whole center stopping to applaud and acknowledge the student we're celebrating! We have a Brag Board where student math tests from school with an ""A"" grade are posted (and the student earns a NERD Award certificate for each ""A"" test they bring in). We also have monthly Students of the Month who are selected based on six criteria including attendance, attitude, effort, progress, self-advocacy and respect for the instructors and other students. They earn 300 stamps (the equivalent of $15), a certificate, their name on a plaque at the front of the center AND the chance to sit in a red-cushioned chair like the instructors use labeled Student of the Month! We celebrate 100% Mastery Checks at the end of a topic packet. The student gets to ring a bell and spin our rewards wheel for extra stamps. When we hear the bell ring, everyone stops and applauds the student! We hold regular contests both for individual and group achievements as well as a monthly No Error's Drawing from the students who made no errors on their pages during a session. We celebrate birthdays, upleveling or moving from the white binder (Level 1) to the red binder (Level 2), etc. and have a new Attendance Club Board that showcases the students who have been with us the longest!

Q: What is your favorite student success story?

A: One of our recent success stories involves a middle school boy who was with us for several years. His parents decided he would move to Las Vegas for high school and live with his grandparents. When he cashed out his rewards points, he got a $380 Visa gift card for his hard work! We've had several students save up over time to purchase our Nintendo Switch OLEDS. It's just so much fun to see the kids work hard and then get something they really want for their efforts.