Ask any kid to rank their favorite parts of the day, and math usually ends up somewhere between cleaning their room and eating broccoli. Math has a branding problem.
If we want kids to thrive, we have to put the fun back in fundamentals.
As a Lower School Math Specialist, I’ve tried countless tools, but Struggly is the only app my students actually beg to use. During Struggly sessions, the energy in the room shifts completely. Kids don’t want to stop playing math—not because they’re getting easy gold stars, but because the rigorous, visual math feels like play.
Examples of Struggly visual math tasks
The best part? The joy doesn't just happen when they get an answer right. It happens when they struggle, get confused and persevere through challenges. With Struggly, my students naturally collaborate. Instead of staring silently at screens, kids walk across the room shouting:
"Daniel! I figured it out! You need to…!"
Most educational apps treat learning as individual work, but Struggly encourages students to see math as an adventure where sharing your thinking and discoveries is encouraged.
Struggly doesn't just teach math, it teaches you different ways to see things, different perspectives, but in a really fun way. - 4th grade student, Synapse School
As math educators we need to do everything we can to rebrand Math into the ‘Fun’ category whether that be through cards, dice, dominoes, or Struggly.
