Grade 1 math, unit by unit

How do you teach first grade math at home without a textbook?

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You read a short script, put objects in front of your child, and listen. Tens, Ones, and Adventures: Grade 1 Mathematics is eight units and 15+ hours, and your child answers by tapping, so no teaching background is needed. It follows the Common Core State Standards.

The eight units

Counting, Comparing, and the Number Line. What the Equals Sign Really Means. Adding and Subtracting Within 10, Fluently. Making a Ten: Addition and Subtraction Within 20. Tens and Ones to 120. Comparing and Adding Two-Digit Numbers. Measuring Length and Telling Time. Organizing Data and Composing Shapes.

A whole unit on one symbol

Unit 2 teaches the equals sign as 'the two sides show the same amount,' not 'now write the answer.' The guide says this is the unit parents are most tempted to rush, because a child who rejects 5 = 2 + 3 as wrong gets stuck in every unit after it.

The make-a-ten trick

Within 20, your child breaks one number to fill a ten-frame and adds what is left over. The same ten-frame later makes sense of what a 'ten' is, so two-digit numbers become bundles of tens and ones that your child built with straws before any digit appeared.

Compare tens first

Your child learns to compare 42 and 51 by checking the tens digit first and the ones only after a tie. They also learn to tell in advance whether adding a one-digit number to a two-digit number will cross into a new ten.

Clocks, data and equal shares

Length is measured with same-size units laid end to end, then the same idea reads a clock to the hour and half hour. The year ends sorting objects by one rule, building picture graphs, and cutting circles and rectangles into equal halves and quarters.

What this is not

It is not worksheets. Most of the time is spent with counters, straws, paper clips and a paper clock, and nothing needs to be printed or bought beyond household items.
It is not a course to reorder. The guide explains why each unit hands the next one something it needs, and warns against moving Unit 2 later to get to real math faster.
It does not need a grown-up with a math background, but it does need one in the room, since you run the script and watch what your child does with the objects.

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We collect only what it takes to teach your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers and progress, and their chat with Clara (written by Anthropic's AI, read aloud by OpenAI). Nobody trains AI on it or sells it, and you can see or delete it any time. You create your child's account yourself. Ticking the box below is how you, as the parent, give consent.

Read what we collect and why

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What we collect from your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers, time on lessons and progress, and their chat with Clara. Used to run the lessons, build their transcript and show you how they are doing.
Who else handles it: Anthropic writes Clara's replies from the chat, the lesson and your child's first name. OpenAI turns lesson text and Clara's replies into the read-aloud voice. Spoken answers are turned into text on our own server and never sent anywhere. Our email provider sends you reports. Nobody sells your child's data or uses it for anything else.
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Questions parents ask

What should my child be able to do before starting?

The guide asks three things: touch-count 10 to 12 objects without skipping, recite the numbers from 1 to 20 in order, and say which of two small groups has more. Kindergarten math covers the same ground if any of them is shaky.

How long is a session?

Five days a week, starting at 12 to 15 minutes for most of Unit 1 and stretching to about 50 minutes by Unit 7. Almost all of that time is hands-on with objects.

How do I know what has stuck?

Each unit ends with a short check you run yourself, followed later by a delayed check, usually a week or more out, to see what stayed and not just what was fresh.

What does it cost?

$29 a month or $290 a year for every child. The first 30 days are free with no card.

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