Why We’re Excited About All About Math from All About® Learning Press
A 1000 Hours Outside Product Spotlight of
All About® Learning Press
There are two kinds of confidence. The first comes from getting the right answer. The second comes from believing you're capable of figuring things out.
Only one of those truly lasts.
As parents, we're often tempted to chase the first. We celebrate correct answers, completed worksheets, finished curriculum, and checked boxes. But the longer we've homeschooled, and the longer we've talked with families around the world through 1000 Hours Outside, the more convinced we've become that confidence isn't built by moving quickly. It's built by moving deeply.
That's true whether we're teaching a child to climb a tree, start a fire, bake bread, identify birds, or understand fractions.
Real learning almost always begins the same way.
It begins with experience.
Children Learn Best When They Can Touch What They're Learning
One of the reasons we spend so much time encouraging families to get outside is because the outdoors constantly reminds us of how children naturally learn.
A child doesn't understand balance because someone lectures about it. They understand it because they wobble across a fallen log.
They don't understand distance because they memorized a definition. They understand it because they hiked another half mile than they thought they could. Learning sticks with someone when it becomes tangible. It's one thing to hear about something, but it's another thing entirely to hold it in your hands.
That same principle applies whether we're talking about science, reading, or math.
Unfortunately, math is one of the subjects that often becomes detached from experience the fastest. Somewhere along the way, numbers stop representing real things and start becoming symbols on a worksheet.
Children who once counted rocks, acorns, pinecones, cookies, and birds suddenly find themselves staring at abstract problems that don't seem connected to anything they know. It's no wonder so many children eventually conclude:
"I'm just not a math person."
But what if they aren't bad at math? What if they've simply been asked to think abstractly before they've had enough concrete experiences to support it?
Mastery Is More Important Than Momentum
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that it reminds us there is no prize for finishing first. Children are wonderfully different. Some learn to read at four. Others at nine. Some memorize multiplication facts quickly. Others need more time working with manipulatives before the concepts click.
Neither child is behind. They're simply learning.
That's one of the reasons I appreciate that All About Math , which offers different levels from kindergarten to 5th grade level math, isn't built around racing through grade-level expectations. Instead, it's built around mastery. Students move forward because they understand a concept—not because the calendar says it's time to move on. The program even includes placement guidance so children can begin where they're actually ready, rather than where their age suggests they "should" be.
As homeschoolers, that's incredibly freeing. It allows children to build on a strong foundation instead of constantly patching holes while trying to keep up.
Because here's the truth: Math doesn't become easier when we hurry. It becomes easier when we understand.
Learning That Looks Like Childhood
One thing I appreciated immediately when looking through All About Math is how intentionally hands-on it is.
Instead of asking children to simply memorize procedures, the curriculum encourages them to build understanding through manipulatives, games, discussion, reflection, and visual models. Fraction tiles, base-ten blocks, activity pages, review games, and guided conversations all work together to make abstract ideas feel concrete.
That feels very familiar to us! Like, ‘very’ familiar!
At 1000 Hours Outside, we've spent years encouraging families to trade passive consumption for active engagement.
Instead of ‘just’ watching nature documentaries, go find the salamander. Instead of ‘just’ reading about birds, learn their songs outside. Instead of memorizing patterns, how about trying to build them.
Math works the same way. Children remember what they've experienced.
Twenty Minutes Can Change Everything
One detail that really stood out to me is something that seems almost too simple. All About Math is designed to take about twenty minutes a day.
That matters! Not because math isn't important. But because childhood is.
One of the greatest gifts homeschooling offers is margin. Margin to linger over breakfast, or to read ‘just one more chapter’ or to spend the afternoon building forts, or to disappear into the woods for three hours because everyone is curious about the creek after yesterday's rain.A curriculum should support that rhythm, not compete with it.
When lessons are focused, intentional, and efficient, they leave room for the rest of childhood. And that's something we'll always celebrate.
Confidence Is Contagious
Something we don't talk about enough is that homeschool curriculum isn't just teaching children. It's often teaching parents as well! Many parents carry their own math anxiety. My husband Josh ‘hates’ math because he struggled with it early on and never quite got the building blocks in place for further growth.
Maybe math was the subject that always felt intimidating to you, too? Maybe teaching upper elementary concepts sounds overwhelming.
One thing I appreciate about All About Math is how much thought has gone into supporting the adult sitting beside the child.
Lessons are scripted. Preparation is minimal, and everything is laid out step by step. The program was intentionally created for parents - not just classroom teachers, which means you don't have to invent lesson plans or wonder what comes next.
Because here’s the truth- when parents feel confident, children usually do too.
Screen-Free Isn't Just a Feature
People often ask why we're so passionate about reducing screen time. It's not because screens are inherently evil. It's because every hour has an opportunity cost.
Every hour spent consuming is an hour not spent creating. Not spent exploring. Not spent talking. Not spent wondering.
That's one of the reasons I appreciate that All About Math is intentionally screen-free. There's something incredibly refreshing about sitting around a table with physical books, manipulatives, pencils, conversations, and mistakes.
Education doesn't always have to happen through another glowing rectangle. Sometimes it looks like a parent and child solving a problem together.
What We Love Most
If I had to summarize why this curriculum resonates with us, it would be this:
It respects both learning AND childhood.
It understands that children aren't empty buckets waiting to be filled with information. They are inherently:
Explorers
Builders
Question askers
Pattern finders
Story tellers
They deserve a math curriculum that works with how they naturally learn instead of against it.
That doesn't mean this is the perfect curriculum for every family. No curriculum is.
But if you're looking for one that values mastery over memorization, hands-on learning over passive instruction, confidence over comparison, and family rhythms over educational pressure, All About Math is absolutely worth a closer look, ‘especially’ if you have young students from kindergarten through 5th grade math levels in your home
Our Encouragement
As another homeschool year approaches, remember this:
The goal isn't to create children who plow ahead and finish the curriculum the fastest.
The goal is to raise curious, capable young people who aren't afraid to wrestle with hard things.
Math is one of those hard things. But it doesn't have to become a source of frustration. With the right tools, the right pace, and the freedom to truly understand before moving on, math can become something very different.
It can become another opportunity to discover that learning is an adventure. And that's a lesson worth carrying far beyond the worksheet.
Learn More About All About Math
If you're planning your homeschool year and looking for a math curriculum that emphasizes mastery, hands-on learning, and confidence, while still leaving plenty of time for the rest of childhood, we sincerely encourage you to look at All About Math.
