Firecracker Math

Our son’s experience with Berkeley Math Circle was mixed. Pros: the elementary program was great— lots of interesting math and engaging instructors. For the high school circles, the math was often very interesting, and the math circle book is wonderful as well. The staff seems dedicated and they’ve kept it affordable. Cons: a few years ago at least, the high school program was run almost like a military boot camp— lots of scolding emails about talking in the hall (none allowed, even in quiet voices), exactly how to write checks to the program (including which words to capitalize or not), etc. Some of the emails were almost humorous in their exactness, but it didn’t make for a welcoming atmosphere. Maybe that’s changed? Also, the classes were lecture-based, with not very much participation asked for, and the program over-enrolled, so some students had to sit on the floor along the wall in a very crowded classroom  (not enough chairs and desks).  For advanced math students, I highly recommend the advanced classes at Firecracker Math— the classes are small and inquiry-based, with incredible subjects you’ll won’t be exposed to at school, and cooperative problem-solving in small groups— really fantastic. Good luck!

Have you also looked into Firecracker math? We had very good experience with their program. Small groups, great teaching with lots of discussion and input from the students, making it into a unique group learning experience. Specifically, my son (in 6th grade at that time) enjoyed the upper division classes taught by Dr. Eli Lebow. These classes were transformative and opened up his eyes to a world of math and math concepts not taught in schools. There was no homework, so no stress and all fun. Later, my son joined BMC which is great in many different ways, but my son still talks about those Firecracker math classes as the best learning experience ever.

Check out Firecracker Math. They are a wonderful place for math enrichment. Our child who is advanced in math has enjoyed camps and instructions there. 

My kiddo HATED math and I have a graveyard full of broken pencils to show for it!  The stress of it just exacerbated the problem.  Then we found Ali Mansour at Firecracker Math and everything changed!  Ali helped my child develop so much math confidence and an actual appreciation for math!  We hired Ali last summer for one weekly private session, and my child, who was a full year behind in math prior to the summer, got 100% caught up and ended up being one of the strongest math students in their class last year.  Everytime we had a challenge in math class during the past school year, we did a session with Ali and magically, all the stress and anxiety of not understanding a new math skill would evaporate.  If you can get a few sessions with Ali, it could be a gamechanger.  

We were in your shoes eight years ago, and BMC was not a great fit for our kid, for all the reasons you name. However, we found an *excellent* substitute for our math kid— FIrecracker math classes. They are small (in our experience, 4-10 kids in various classes over the years), interactive, collaborate, and the skilled teacher was able to consistently challenge our son by extending and individualizing the group lesson when he needed it something more advanced. Most of all, they’re fun! I can’t recommend them highly enough. They work with kids’ natural energy and curiosity, rather than trying to suppress it. 

Our first grader is advanced in math as well. A year ago when our kid was your kids age, our kid was doing what your kid was doing. We're in OUSD and the school curriculum falls very short and we've been told by the teacher that the school can't do much for the kid. We send our kid to Firecracker Math camps during school breaks and after school class. They do fun math games. We also supplement at home by doing fun everyday math games while we cook, eat, clean, play shopping games, etc. We ask the kid to measure ingredients (Ex. We need a half cup of flour but I only have 1/4 cups. Can you help? We have only 3 carrots but we are 5 people. What should we do? How many plates and cups are on the table? How many should we each grab to clear the table that will be fair for us all?)

Highly recommend Quantum Camp if you can get him out of school once/week (or do the summer program or homeschool). Firecracker math was also helpful as an afterschool supplement. We had little success obtaining differentiation or challenge in Berkeley. The expectation is to seek that outside of school.