Why I Created Mathora | A Teacher’s Story ✨

When I first started teaching, I quickly realized something that many people outside of education do not see. Teachers spend a LOT of time searching for resources that actually work for their students. And I mean actually work for their students.

Not just worksheets. Not just random problems thrown on a page.

Sometimes I needed help writing lesson plans. Sometimes I needed hands-on activities. Sometimes I needed practice problems that were actually on my students’ level. Sometimes I needed resources that matched the way I taught the lesson. And honestly? Finding those things was one of the hardest parts about teaching.

I first started teaching at a private school. I taught elementary math first — kindergarten through fifth grade — and eventually moved into sixth through eighth grade math. Luckily, I did not walk into teaching completely empty-handed. My mom was a teacher my entire life, so I had access to a lot of physical classroom resources already. I had counting blocks. I had fake money. I had manipulatives. When you walked into my classroom, it looked like I had everything I needed.

But here’s the thing…

The students my mom taught and the students I was teaching were completely different. My students were all learning at different levels, thinking in different ways, struggling with different things. And as a first-year teacher, even though I technically had resources, I did not always know how to use them effectively.

So now imagine this.

You’re trying to:

• learn the standards

• write lesson plans

• support students at different levels

• manage behavior

• grade assignments

• and somehow create meaningful lessons at the same time...

  
  

Whew.

Some days I honestly felt like I was trying to build a plane while flying it.

Every single day, I had to build the plane, load the passengers on it, make sure everybody was buckled up, fly it, and somehow land it safely by the end of the day. And even though it may have looked like I had it all together inside that classroom, I was low-key freaking out sometimes.

I remember waking up in the mornings Googling things like:

“adding and subtracting decimal worksheets”

…and then immediately getting frustrated.

The worksheets would either:

• be way too difficult

• not match the lesson

• look visually overwhelming

• use vocabulary I didn’t teach

• have too many problems

• not enough problems

• or honestly just not feel student-friendly at all

  
  

And yes, my school did provide access to Teacher Pay Teachers credits, which helped. But when you are teaching an entire school year and trying to carefully choose which resources are actually worth using, you realize very quickly that good instructional materials matter.

Not just “cute” materials.

Not just “print and go” materials.

Real instructional materials.

That experience changed the way I think about teaching completely.

It taught me that good resources should feel:

• clear

• intentional

• supportive

• teacher-friendly

• and student-friendly

  
  

Teachers already have enough on their plates. Honestly, some teachers do not even have plates anymore because they already gave theirs away helping everybody else.

And students already carry enough frustration and anxiety when it comes to math. The materials used in the classroom should help reduce that pressure, not add to it.

That is one of the reasons I created Mathora.

Mathora was built from the perspective of a teacher who understands what it feels like to need support, structure, and quality instructional materials. Every worksheet, review activity, reflection piece, grading rubric, and error analysis resource I create is designed with purpose.

And honestly? My resources are not going to be free.

I’m just being real.

I had to learn how to “build the plane” under pressure. I had to learn how to create resources while teaching in real classrooms with real students on different levels. I had to learn pedagogy, lesson sequencing, differentiation, grading systems, student engagement, and mathematical reasoning through experience.

So yes — these resources have value.

But what I can promise is this:everything I create is being designed intentionally.

My resources are built to:

• support teachers first

• support students second

• and help parents understand the learning process too

  
  

I design resources that are:

• visually clean

• not overwhelming

• easy to grade

• aligned to instruction

• and structured to build mathematical thinking step-by-step

  
  

One thing I learned as both a teacher and curriculum creator is that students do not grow simply from being told they are wrong.

Students grow when they can:

• identify mistakes

• reflect on their thinking

• understand why something does not make sense

• and figure out what to do differently next time

  
  

That skill — thinking about your thinking — is called metacognition. And honestly? That skill matters far beyond math class.

It is not just:

“Can you solve the problem?”

It is:

“Can you explain why your strategy works in different situations?”

That is why mathematical reasoning matters just as much as the final answer.

As I continue building Mathora, my goal is to create resources that make learning feel more clear, more approachable, and more supportive for everybody in the classroom — especially teachers who may be teaching out of field, first-year or homeschool teachers trying to survive, or students who feel like math “just isn’t for them.”

I want teachers to feel confident using my materials.

I want students to feel capable when they approach the work.

And I want learning to feel less overwhelming overall.

If you're reading this...this is only the beginning, but every worksheet, lesson, game, reflection activity, and grading system is being built with intention.

Because at the end of the day?

Now I know how to build the plane.

✨ Learning Made Clear

— Ajanay Brown

Founder of Mathora