A workout for those math muscles

A couple of years ago, a small sign at a strip center caught my eye.  The name on the sign:  Mathnasium.  Ugh for me.  But for my son – a dream come true.  So we had to stop in.

Turns out – it’s not a store full of math games, but rather a tutoring shop. And they offer summer workouts – a six-week balanced diet of math to give students that extra boost as they tumble into the new school year.
equationI’m thinking there are two kinds of kids that go to Mathnasium. Those whose parents make them. And those who just seriously love math and want to flex those calculating muscles.  Mathnasium takes a very regimented approach to skills building, utilizing one-on-one help, worksheets and games.  The price starts at about $25 per hour, but, if your child needs tutoring, it’s still less expensive than hiring a private teacher.

Rajani Karla is the director at the location at 281 and Bitters (there are several around town).  She recommends two or more hour-long sessions a week as the ideal schedule. However, my son (who loves math) could only handle once a week because of the repetitiveness of the tasks.  Like the school system, Mathansium is big on going deep with skills before going wide. But I can tell you, after a couple of months, he knew division backwards, forwards, sideways and any other way you can think of.

Over the summer, the curriculum gets a bit of a boost. Mathnasium offers two, one-hour sessions of games every week as a free, added bonus. These sessions are devoted entirely to logic, geometry and number sense. Now that’s the kind of stuff you can sink your teeth into.

The 411

  • Dates:  All summer long, for hour-long classes, Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m.
  • Camper ages: 5 to 17 years old
  • Cost: 12 sessions start at $295; 24 sessions start at $520

Bitters/281:

  • Where:  13410 US Hwy 281 N, Suite # 103 (at Bitters)
  • Register: In person, by phone at 210-494-4111 or email sanantonio@mathnasium.com

Austin Highway:

  • Where: 1550 Austin Hwy, Suite 107
  • Register: In person, by phone at 210-696-6284 or email austinhwy@mathnasium.com

Stone Oak:

  • Where: 19903 Stone Oak Parkway
  • Register: In person, by phone at 210-404-0123 or email stoneoak@mathnasium.com

Bandera (near Helotes):

  • Where: 10350 Bandera Road
  • Register: In person, by phone at 210-684-6284 or email northsidesanantonio@mathnasium.com

Want to know more?
Mathnasium Online

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  • http://www.dreambox.com Tracy

    For the parent’s of younger kids attending the Mathnasium who will be there because their child really enjoys math – I’d like to invite you to check out a fun math learning game I’ve been developing. It is called DreamBox Learning, and it is for student’s in grades K – 2. Meanwhile, keep up those fun summer math activities everyone!

  • http://www.mathnasium.com/northsidesanantonio Rick

    Thank you for writing this article. It is always great to hear from parents. With this being report card month for most students, we will see more activity from parents looking to get their children help in math. We offer a great program at a great price, in some cases as low as $17 an hour. That includes curriculum, great instruction and homework help.

    We look forward to helping students learn math in a way that makes sense to them while helping parents by taking some of the stress out of home work time.