Math tutoring · Grades 1 to 12
Math tutoring in Ottawa, from the root up.
When math stops making sense, it’s usually one earlier skill giving way. We find it, fix it and check it held, then build the reasoning your child will need long after the test.
- Grades 1 to 12
- Mapped to the Ontario curriculum
- English and French
- Coming soon to Ottawa
Where children get stuck
Math gaps are quiet. Until a new unit makes them loud.
Common sticking points at each stage, where they sit in the Ontario curriculum and the earlier skill they often start with.
Still counting on fingers after classmates have stopped
In the Ontario curriculumNumber
Often starts withSeeing 8 as 5 and 3, or as 10 take away 2
Adding and subtracting with regrouping
In the Ontario curriculumNumber
Often starts withPlace value: the 4 in 45 means four tens
Questions like 5 + ? = 12
In the Ontario curriculumAlgebra
Often starts withThe equals sign as “the same as”, not “the answer is”
Multiplication and division that stay slow and effortful
In the Ontario curriculumNumber
Often starts withFacts that never became automatic, and what multiplying means
Comparing, finding equivalent and adding fractions
In the Ontario curriculumNumber
Often starts withMultiplication facts, and fractions as numbers on a line
Area and perimeter mixed up
In the Ontario curriculumSpatial sense
Often starts withWhat a unit of area is: squares, not lengths
Solving equations with negative numbers
In the Ontario curriculumAlgebra
Often starts withAdding and subtracting integers
Ratios, rates and percent in word problems
In the Ontario curriculumNumber
Often starts withFractions, and thinking in “times as many”
Budgets, interest and the better buy
In the Ontario curriculumFinancial literacy
Often starts withPercent and unit rates
Linear relations and their graphs
In the Ontario curriculumGrade 9 math (MTH1W)
Often starts withIntegers, and rearranging an equation
Transformations and inverse functions
In the Ontario curriculumGrade 11 Functions (MCR3U)
Often starts withFactoring and rearranging from Grades 9 and 10
Logarithms, rates of change and derivatives
In the Ontario curriculumAdvanced Functions (MHF4U), Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U)
Often starts withExponent laws, factoring and function notation
Finding the root
A wrong answer is a clue. We follow it back.
How a mentor traces one missed Grade 7 question to the skill underneath it, then builds the plan from there.
Noah knew how to solve the equation. One sign slipped in −19 + 7, so the plan starts with integers, not with more equations.
Illustrative example.
The six steps of Hikmah tutoringA session
One idea, shown, then theirs to keep.
Each block is short, and each has a job. The practice is built from your child’s own mistakes.
A session · Math · Noah, Grade 7
- Recall warm-upA few mixed questions from past weeks.
- One idea, shownA worked example, step by step.
- Together, then aloneSupport fades until they can do it unaided, and say why.
- Mastery checkShort, and different from the practice.
- Use itA real problem: a budget, a recipe, a survey of their street.
What you receive
You’ll never have to guess how math is going.
Plain words, from the person who knows your child’s work.
- After the diagnostic
- What’s secure, what isn’t and where the gap began, in plain words.
- A written learning plan
- The skills in order, root first, each mapped to the Ontario curriculum for your child’s grade.
- A progress update every month
- Skills mastered, what’s next and one thing to try at home.
- A mentor to talk to
- The same person every time, who knows your child by name.
The +
AI can do the arithmetic. Your child decides what it means.
Alongside the foundations, your child practises the parts of math that stay human.
Solve problems
Choosing the method
Mixed problems make them decide which approach fits, and say why.
Think critically
Does the answer make sense?
Estimate first, then check an answer, including an AI tool’s, against it.
Communicate
Explaining the reasoning
Out loud and on paper, so someone else can follow every step.
Decide
Math for real decisions
A budget, a better buy, a survey of their street: math that ends in a choice.
Questions from parents
What parents ask about math tutoring.
My child is in Grade 2. Is that too early?
Not at all. Number sense and place value are built in the early grades, and small gaps are easiest to close early. Sessions for young children are short and hands-on.
Will you work on what my child is doing in class?
Yes. The plan follows the Ontario curriculum for their grade, and the mentor plans around upcoming units and tests. The root gap comes first, so class work gets easier on its own.
What if my child’s school teaches it differently?
We teach for understanding first, then show how it connects to the methods your child sees in class, so the two support each other. Tell us what the teacher uses and we’ll work with it.
Can my child move ahead of grade?
Yes, on solid ground. When a skill is secure, your child moves on, with a mastery check at each step.
Is math tutoring available in French?
Yes. Hikmah is bilingual from day one, and sessions will be in English or French. How sessions in French will run will be shared with founding families before we open.
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