Overwhelming research supports the benefits of one-one-one tutoring in improving students’ grades, study skills, and confidence. Tutoring provides effective one-on-one assistance with specific math concepts. It can be a great supplement for students struggling with math concepts or interested in advanced math skills. The one-on-one attention compels students to think through the problems, to communicate about the problems, and to receive direct answers to their math questions. MANGO Math games and activities are a perfect resource for tutors who are working with students Kindergarten through 8th grade and beyond. Lessons within each grade level can help students make sense of a specific skill and persevere to come up with solutions. The games create a format for instruction, each game focusing on a particular common core math strand and provide guided questions to help students reason abstractly and quantitatively.\n\nProviding individualized tutoring helps to promote mathematical practice as stated in the Common Core State Standards Initiative. “The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students. These practices rest on important “processes and proficiencies” with longstanding importance in mathematics education. The first of these are the NCTM process standards of problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, representation, and connections. The second are the strands of mathematical proficiency specified in the National Research Council’s report Adding It Up: adaptive reasoning, strategic competence, conceptual understanding (comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations and relations), procedural fluency (skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently and appropriately), and productive disposition (habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one’s own efficacy).\n\nAge level for tutoring doesn’t matter but starting when they are young has the most affect.  According to this Wall Street Journal article, having a positive, sunny attitude about math will make for sunny, positive math students.  Getting students at a young age to appreciate math is the foundation for building strong academic success:\n\n“The math skill at kindergarten entry is an even stronger predictor of later school achievement than reading skills or the ability to pay attention, according to a 2007 study in the journal Developmental Psychology. Parents don’t have to know math to help kids get off to a good start. Teaching youngsters to make connections between numbers and sets of objects—think showing a child three Cheerios when teaching the number three—helps children understand what numbers mean better than reciting strings of numbers by memory.”\n\nAt MANGO Math, we have created a lot of games to help parents, and all those working with children, with a fun and easy way to play with kids in math. We have researched all the skills students need to learn per grade level and put them into fun, easy to understand games that build a strong, positive foundation to mathematics.