The Sunday Packet
The Learn shelf

Field guides for the kitchen table.

Long-form, honest guides on how kids actually learn math — written because we had to work it out to build the packet, and published because it’s true whether or not you ever subscribe. Free, thorough, no email walls.

Field guide No. 1 · Fact fluency

Math fact fluency: the complete parent’s guide

What fluency actually is (it isn’t speed), the 36 facts that genuinely matter, the strategies that beat brute-force drill, an honest answer on timed tests — and a free six-page practice kit with every answer machine-verified.

12-minute read · 4 figures · free printable kit
Field guide No. 2 · Kindergarten readiness

Is my child ready for kindergarten math?

What “ready” actually means (it isn’t counting to 100), the five pillars of early number sense, a summer plan of two-minute games — and a free observation kit with cut-out subitizing cards.

10-minute read · 2 figures · free printable kit
Field guide No. 3 · Money & kids

Teaching kids about money, by age

A descriptive map of money concepts at 3, 6, 9, and 12 — the coin trap, the change trick, the goal ladder, and the allowance question handled neutrally. Free coin kit included.

11-minute read · 2 figures · free printable kit
Field guide No. 4 · The parent’s manual

Getting the twenty minutes to actually happen

Why kids resist right on schedule (days 3–10, every time), the three motivation types — the Deal-Maker, the Autonomy Kid, the Already-Loves-It Kid — rewards that help without backfiring, and fridge scripts for the hard moments.

11-minute read · 2 figures · free printable kit (no answer key, on purpose)
Field note · guide No. 1, Fact fluency

The hard middle: finally learning the 6s, 7s, and 8s

The fifteen facts that cause ninety percent of the times-table tears — why they’re genuinely harder, and the strategy ladder that takes the island one family at a time.

6-minute read · companion drill in the fluency kit
Field note · guide No. 1, Fact fluency

The summer slide, honestly

What actually fades over the break (facts and procedures — not understanding), a grade-by-grade maintenance map, and the twenty-minute routine that beats any workbook binge.

8-minute read · seasonal · free kits linked throughout
Coming next

Are timed math tests bad?

The most argued-about minute in elementary school — what the anxiety research and the fluency research each get right, and the sequencing that resolves it.

In the works · 2026

One guide at a time, done properly, beats a content mill. New guides land when they’re actually the best page on the internet for their question — that’s the bar.