What I'm hearing from St. Michael families this September

Parents in St. Michael are telling me the same thing I hear every fall. It is hard to balance demanding after school programs with a consistent tutoring schedule. We have tried to make that easier by building some flexibility into our calendar, and we have been running surveys to understand what actually works for families' schedules.

Kids are also just plain tired right now. Going back to school takes a real toll, not only physically but mentally too, and it shows up differently in every student. That is part of why I like what we do here. We get to be one consistent, steady space for kids while the rest of their schedule is in flux.

On the struggles side, gaps show up fast once the school year picks back up. For our older students, even a small gap in fractions or decimals can make new material much harder to grasp. For younger students just getting into second or third grade, being a little behind on numerical fluency can snowball into a bigger issue quickly. Confidence matters just as much as the math itself. I have worked with students who genuinely know the material, but if they cannot answer confidently on something they already covered, it is tough for them to build on it going forward.

My advice for parents at home is to spend regular time with your kids doing everyday activities together. A consistent, positive space at home helps get a student's mind into learning mode when it matters. Ordinary interaction and a little practice here and there goes a long way toward pretty extraordinary results.

Big things happening at the center right now. St. Michael students are taking home Refer a Friend cards this month, so if your student knows someone who could use help with math, that referral earns a free month. We also just brought in new prizes for the school year, and they are going fast, especially the stuffies and squishies at the Prize Cabinet. We are working hard on staying connected with parents too, collecting feedback and hearing from more families on Google reviews.

Locally, we are starting to team up with a few local businesses on some cooperative marketing, so keep an eye out for new prizes and deals from businesses around St. Michael in the coming months. And Mathnasium of Andover and Mathnasium of Blaine are hosting a Math Night together at Sand Creek Elementary on Thursday, November 19th, open to the community.