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5 Steps’ student Ivan who is only 9(!) yo passed Cambridge O-level Math exam. This is the Singapore Record.

Ivan is one of the four sons of 5 Steps Math owner Dr Alex (PhD). He started learning Maths when he was 6 and finished the whole school maths curriculum in just 3 years. His father sais,

Ivan’s intellectual abilities are only slightly above average and the secret is in the method of learning. Nowadays, motivation and self-learning skills are the most important factors of success for students. A good teacher is not at all a good lecturer now but the one who can encourage and explain the most difficult parts of the syllabus individually taking into account student’s personality and learning style. Students will do the rest themselves.

Ivan lives in Singapore and he is a homeschooler. He aims at the A-level this November which will be the World Record.

Fast advancing in Mathematics can serve as a locomotive of personality changes especially in boosting self-esteem and confidence. Our researches show that if a child excels in Maths and got accustomed to being a leader in his class it is unlikely for him to be a loser in other subjects.

And what can you as a parent do to maximise your child’s potential?  Follow the 5 steps below to help your child to get ahead in Mathematics with the highest possible but still comfortable pace.

1. Set Your Priorities Straight. All of us have time constraints but our kids’ education, independence and success are truly important. Everyone can find 15-20 minutes for one of the most important things in his life, right? You are going to spend these precious minutes mostly on encouraging your child.

2. Choose the Right Training System. The best learning comes from practising. Nowadays you can find lots of excellent e-learning tools and resources that comprise both theory and practice questions corresponding to your child’s level. Some e-learning tools generate an unlimited number of problems to solve with detailed explanations and revision links (even with video). Thus, you don’t need even to refresh your own Maths as it’s not you who is supposed to teach. You can use simple textbooks, but they may not be as entertaining as multimedia learning systems.

3. Teach self-learning skills. Show your child how to deal with information and particularly with the system you’ve chosen. A bit time consuming, but, fortunately, only in the beginning. After that, your role is mostly to encourage your child. A real learning autopilot.

4. Set Feasible Daily Workload. This means the number of pages your child have to read per day, the number of problems to solve or the number of levels to pass (for learning game systems). Make sure your child has enough brakes and time to rest. Overwhelming with information and overwork can easily kill motivation.

5. Support, Encourage and Celebrate! And this is the best part that can bring about lots of joy and strengthen your family bonds. First of all, agree upon the awards for every significant milestone like jumping to the next level or finishing a textbook. They can be Lego sets, travelling overseas or whatever your child dreams of (within a reasonable budget). Then, ask every day how is it going and whether your child needs any assistance. Finally, remember that your “Good job!” and “Well done!” can work wonders.