For parents · grades K–8
“I Don’t Get Math”
A Parent’s Guide
What your kid’s teacher wishes they could tell you about helping with homework in grades K–8 — from a thirty-year math educator and National Board Certified teacher.
For parents · grades K–8
A Parent’s Guide
What your kid’s teacher wishes they could tell you about helping with homework in grades K–8 — from a thirty-year math educator and National Board Certified teacher.
You learned math as procedure. Your kid is learning it as understanding. Nobody handed you a translation guide.
“I Don’t Get Math” is a practical, grade-by-grade guide for parents navigating homework help when the way math is taught has changed — but the way you learned it hasn’t. Each chapter tackles one real moment of homework-table conflict — fractions, word problems, “that’s not how I learned it,” timed tests — and gives you the specific thing to say instead, by grade band, K through 8.
This isn’t about becoming a math tutor overnight. It’s about understanding what’s actually happening when your kid gets stuck, so you can help without a fight. Fluency follows understanding, not the other way around.
Inside the book
Free with the book
Promised inside the book’s introduction, chapter 9, and the closing page: three grade-band “Ask This Instead” cards (K–2, 3–5, 6–8) plus a one-page fold-out covering every chapter. Join the list and they’re yours.
Get the free resources →Patty Stephens has spent thirty years in K–12 math classrooms — as a teacher, an instructional coach, and a National Board Certified educator. She’s also a parent who has had the same homework-table moments this book is about.