Russian Math: Grades 3-4 A (Thursdays, In-Person)

Third and fourth graders are ready for real ownership of their mathematical thinking. They learn through Peterson's Activity Method — the reasoning-first approach used in the top Russian and Israeli math schools. By the end of the year your child should be able to explain their reasoning, plan their own steps, check their work against a standard, and apply a fix-it algorithm when they catch their own error.

How the classroom actually works

• When your child answers, the teacher asks "Why?" and "How did you decide?" before saying anything about correctness. Justification matters more than the answer.
• Wrong answer? The teacher asks your child to describe their own steps out loud, first. When children verbalize their wrong path, they almost always catch the error themselves — the central diagnostic move of Peterson's Method.
• After a correct answer: "How can you be sure?" Self-checking becomes an automatic habit.
• "Is there another way?" — multiple correct methods are praised equally.
• The teacher never reveals the structure of a problem (the formula, the columns, the method). Your child learns to find it themselves.

What your child will learn

Multi-digit arithmetic up to millions · Written long multiplication and long division · Multi-step word problems using the three classic formula families — distance (s = v·t), cost (C = a·n), work (A = a·t) · Area and perimeter · Compound equations like a·x + b = c · An early taste of set theory (∈, ⊂, ∪, ∩, Euler-Venn diagrams) and logical statements with "not", "if…then", "every", "exists".

Class format

Up to 8 students. 90 minutes weekly, in-person at our Bernal Road classroom in South San Jose. Your first evaluation lesson is free — the teacher assesses your child's current level and confirms fit.