Welcome To Our Math Program.
Our math program is a little different from what you will find in most places.
Nicola, our Founder was a child with natural math ability, but who struggled (and still struggles) with mental arithmetic, times-table memorization, and flipped numbers. In short, she could do the tricky parts of the math but time and time again would mess up on the basics.
As an educator and a parent, she discovered that she wasn’t the only one with these struggles and has spent countless hours reviewing research, best practices and guidelines looking for a better approach to support children who need to learn math differently to how it is often taught in elementary classrooms.
The Notch Hill Math approach is a compilation of multiple research honed strategies that work for alternate learning styles, glued together with an understanding of what it feels like to ‘not understand’ almost every class. This is not an approach that simply provides ‘more of the same’ math your child has been learning in class in the hopes that s/he will ‘get it’ this time.
Every child has a ‘math brain’. It’s not the child who is at fault, it is the method of instruction. The aim of this program is to prove to your child that math is a pathway that is open to them.
Notch Hill Math is centred around the Multisensory Math approach, pioneered by Maria Montessori and refined through the evidence-based principles of the Universal Design for Learning protocol.
Numbers are inherently abstract, and this can cause children to develop gaps in understanding. Following the CRA (Concrete, Representational, Abstract) approach, we first teach using manipulatives, then we teach the same concept in using different visual representations to develop a deep understanding of the concept. Finally, when the concept is well understood, we move to the abstract, but more efficient number system.
Each section is taught using a mastery-based system. Families are presented with concepts explained through video and practice activities. To move on to the next level, children complete a “Mastery Check” to prove that they understand the concepts.
Knowledge is overlearned using a variety of games to enable children to practice retrieving the information they have learned.