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(214) 636-6588
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Book a Free Consultation (214) 636-6588

Pre-K through Geometry

In-home math tutoring in Dallas, from counting to Geometry

Early math Adding through dividing Word problems Fractions and decimals Pre-algebra Algebra 1 and Geometry

Each math skill rests on the ones before it: counting leads to adding, adding leads to multiplying, and all of it comes back in Algebra 1. We offer in-home math tutoring in Dallas and nearby cities, from Pre-K counting through high school Geometry. We work with every student: children who need to catch up, keep up with homework, or get ahead. Kids with ADHD, autism, an IEP, or a 504 plan are our specialty. Every tutor is background checked and CPR certified. Your tutor starts at the level your child is working at now, with custom worksheets made for the skills they need next.

Book a Free Consultation (214) 636-6588
A child's hand pointing a pencil at a row of blue pom-poms beside an addition worksheet.

Early math: counting, skip counting, place value, and telling time

Early math is about what numbers mean. A child can recite 1 to 20 and still lose count of 12 crayons, because saying numbers in order and matching one number to each object are separate skills. Skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s gets a child ready for multiplying. Place value explains why the 1 in 14 stands for one ten, and telling time puts numbers on a clock face.

Math tutoring for kids this young is hands-on. Your tutor uses pom-poms, blocks, Play-Doh, drawing, and games so your child can see and move a number before writing it. To show 14, your tutor might group 10 pom-poms together and set 4 more beside them. For telling time, your child moves the hands on a practice clock.

At home, you might notice objects skipped or counted twice, 41 written for 14, or the hour hand and minute hand mixed up.

Kindergarten readiness checklist and tutoring How to use math manipulatives at home
A child's hand writing answers on a Cedar Elm Tutoring subtraction worksheet, crossing out pictures of apples and stars.

Elementary math: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing

These four operations build on counting and place value, and each grows out of the one before it. Multiplying is repeated adding, and dividing undoes multiplying. Even subtraction leans on place value: to take 27 from 52, your child has to break a ten into ones.

Younger children build a problem with pom-poms or blocks first, then work the same problem on paper. Older students get clear explanations and guided practice: your tutor explains a couple of example problems, then your child tries more on their own. Your tutor checks which ones they can get right without help and explains the rest again, so your child is ready for the test.

If times tables or long division are taking over homework time, an elementary math tutor checks the adding and subtracting underneath them too. A child who still counts on fingers for 8 + 5 has less attention left for the new step on the page.

How to teach multiplication and division

Word problems: reading the question and choosing the operation

Word problems use the same four operations with one more step: your child has to read a short story and decide which operation it calls for. A child who subtracts well on a worksheet may still add every number in a word problem, because nothing on the page says "subtract."

Your tutor slows each problem down. If your child can read it, they read it themselves first. Then they draw it out on the page or build it with blocks, so the problem stops being flat words on the page. "Sally has 5 cookies and Sam has 3" becomes 5 blocks and 3 blocks your child can push together and count, and your tutor explains it more than one way until it makes sense.

If your child does well with numbers but stalls once there are sentences to read, reading may be part of it. We also tutor reading, Pre-K through 8th grade.

About reading tutoring

Fractions, decimals, and percents

Fractions, decimals, and percents are three ways to write part of a whole: 1/4, 0.25, and 25% are the same amount. Fractions are often the first numbers a child meets that aren't counting numbers, and they come back in pre-algebra, measurement, and money.

Your tutor starts with the idea before the rules. Your child draws a shape split into equal parts and shades some of them, or shares blocks into equal groups. Once they can show what 3/4 means, comparing fractions, adding them, and changing a fraction into a decimal or a percent have something to stand on.

You might notice your child saying 1/8 is bigger than 1/4 because 8 is bigger than 4, or adding the tops and the bottoms of two fractions.

Middle school math tutoring, 6th to 8th grade: pre-algebra and equations

Pre-algebra sits between arithmetic and Algebra 1, and it's much of what a middle school math tutor works on: negative numbers, the order of operations, letters that stand for unknown numbers, and problems that run several steps.

Middle schoolers, in 6th to 8th grade, get clear explanations and guided practice built around their own homework and upcoming quizzes and tests. When a mistake comes from an earlier skill, like a multiplication fact, that skill gets practice on the next worksheet. If keeping track of assignments is the harder part, your tutor sets up a homework and study calendar with your child.

You might notice homework taking longer than it used to, a dropped negative sign, or a problem your child could do in class but can't start at home.

We also offer STAAR math prep for grades 3 to 8.

STAAR test prep for math

Algebra 1 and Geometry for high school students

Algebra 1 uses almost every earlier skill at once. One equation can call for negative numbers, the order of operations, and dividing before your child reaches the new idea. Geometry adds angles, area, and proofs, and it still uses algebra to find missing measurements.

When we work as your child's algebra tutor or geometry tutor, sessions follow the class they're taking now: current homework, review before quizzes and tests, and any earlier skill a problem turns out to need.

A high school math tutor can help when homework gets done but test grades slip, or when steps that work on one problem fall apart on the next.

Why does a gap from an earlier grade make this year's math harder?

A skill that never quite set in an earlier grade comes along into every later topic that uses it.

Picture a 5th grader working on long division. Each problem asks her to divide, multiply, subtract, and bring down the next digit. If subtracting 48 from 53 still takes her a slow count backward, she can lose her place before she reaches the part her class is learning. Her mistakes show up in long division, but the skill she needs to practice is subtraction.

Help with this week's homework matters, and your tutor gives it. When an earlier skill is the reason the homework is hard, that skill also needs practice of its own. So at the free consultation, your tutor finds what your child already knows and where the gaps are, and sessions build from that level toward grade level, one step at a time.

That approach has a cost: for a while, some worksheets may look like an earlier grade's math. Older students keep up with current homework and upcoming tests at the same time.

How we start at your child's level Book a Free Consultation

What happens in a 60-minute session with your math tutor

Whatever level your child starts at, every session follows the same order, so your child knows what's coming.

  1. Hello. Your tutor greets you and your child.
  2. Warm-up. Your tutor starts with a light review of something your child already knows, like counting by 5s or a set of addition facts.
  3. Main work. The harder work comes first, while your child is fresh, and it gets gradually easier from there.
  4. Short blocks for younger children. Younger children and kids who need more breaks work in 5 to 10 minute blocks, a different activity in each, with a break after 2 or 3 activities. Older students usually work in longer, focused stretches.
  5. Wrap-up. The session ends on an easy review, so your child finishes on a win.

If your child hits their limit, your tutor asks for one more very short task, under 2 minutes, rewards them for finishing it, and then gives a short break. After every session, you get a session note on what your child worked on.

Math tutoring for kids with ADHD and autism

Your tutor teaches each math idea with objects your child can hold and move, and tries more than one method to see which one works best for your child. Some children build a problem with block cubes they can put together and take apart. A child who loves animals might count small toy rabbits and cats, and another child draws the problem out. Your tutor watches which way works and what your child is motivated by.

Math sessions use ABA-informed strategies: short blocks of work and planned breaks for kids who need them, and praise and small rewards for finished work. When your child hits their limit, the break comes after one more very short task, under 2 minutes, and a reward for finishing it. Sessions stay calm and positive, and we never let your child feel they are difficult to work with.

How we tutor kids with ADHD and autism

How you can help with math at home between sessions

Between sessions, a few minutes of everyday math keeps a new skill in use. These ideas fit into things you already do.

  • Count real things. Count forks while setting the table, or count pairs of socks by 2s while folding laundry.
  • Talk about the clock. Say things like "We leave when the long hand gets to the 6."
  • Ask your child to explain one problem. When an older child explains a finished homework problem, the spot where the explanation gets fuzzy is often the step that needs practice.

If practice turns into an argument, let it go for the day and mention it to your tutor.

Guides for parents on teaching math at home

All guides for parents

Questions parents ask about math tutoring

  • How much does a math tutor cost in Dallas?

    Math tutoring is priced per 60-minute session in your home, at the same rate for every grade, and the current rate is on our pricing page. The price includes custom materials made for your child's gaps, a session note after every session, and a monthly progress report. You're billed monthly or every two weeks, and the first consultation is free.

    See pricing

  • What math do you tutor, and do you offer STAAR prep?

    We tutor math from Pre-K counting through high school Geometry, including fractions, decimals, and percents, help with current math homework, and review before quizzes and tests. We also offer STAAR prep for the Texas state tests.

    About STAAR test prep

  • Do you tutor math for kids with ADHD or autism?

    Yes. Tutoring children with ADHD, autism, an IEP, or a 504 plan is our specialty, and math sessions can run in 5 to 10 minute blocks with hands-on materials and planned breaks. Our founder, Mariya Zakir, is a former Registered Behavior Technician who spent a year working one-on-one with autistic children at an ABA clinic, and she tutored for 3 years at a tutoring center.

    How we teach kids with ADHD and autism

  • Do you offer online math tutoring?

    No. Every session is in person, at your home, so your child learns at a familiar table with your tutor's full attention. We tutor in Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Garland, Carrollton, Addison, Farmers Branch, Irving, Coppell, Grapevine, Lewisville, The Colony, Little Elm, University Park, and Highland Park.

  • How will I know if math tutoring is helping?

    The session note after every session and the monthly progress report tell you what your child worked on, how it went, and what comes next. At home, look for small changes: answering a math fact right away, starting homework with less help, or explaining how they solved a problem.

What happens after you reach out about math tutoring

Math tutoring starts with a free consultation in your home, where your tutor sees the level your child is working at now.

  1. We contact you by phone or email to find a time for your consultation.

  2. We visit your home to learn about your child and your goals.

  3. Together we choose session times and agree on what progress looks like for your child.

Book a Free Consultation (214) 636-6588