About Us
Our Story
We’ve dedicated our lives to spreading the love for math, and we’re excited to have you join us on this journey.
I’m Alpa Patel—a dedicated math educator with a master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Memphis. I began my career in the early 2000s, working with Fortune 500 companies. By 2008, I had been promoted to a research engineer due to my strength in product testing and developing technical documentation.
But life had a surprise in store—the birth of my son changed everything.
How It All Started
In 2008, my interest in Abacus Math was sparked after I discovered its incredible benefits, particularly in fostering whole-brain development through mental math techniques. Determined to give my son this advantage, I spent nearly 3 years studying the method before introducing it to him when he was a little more than 4 years old. We began with simple "finger techniques," and soon he was performing basic math (0-9) effortlessly. By age 5, he was confidently doing addition and subtraction up to 99.
We turned learning into fun - practicing during car rides and making games out of mental math. Seeing his success inspired me to share this gift with other children. In December 2010, I launched Abacus Math classes through Mental Math Abacus USA LLC!
The Birth of Life of Math
My husband, also a civil engineer, and I combined our strengths to design our own syllabus. Our curriculum was thoughtfully designed to be engaging, easy to understand, and fun for kids. And of course, my son became the face of the program - demonstrating techniques and even advising parents!
As demand grew, I was invited to teach at the top schools in my area, and the results were clear: students were performing better and achieving incredible results. Principals saw dramatic improvement in student performance within months. By 2011, I had left my full-time job to dedicate myself to my son and our growing math program. We expanded to six schools, offering both before- and after-school sessions. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with kids loving the program and Malhar continuing to be a key part of it.
Expanding Our Vision Beyond the Abacus
In 2011, we added Grade-Level Math to complement our Abacus Mental Math program, enhancing critical thinking and real-world problem-solving skills. In 2016, both my husband and I completed an Advanced Diploma in Vedic Mathematics, further elevating our offerings. Our lesson plans gained recognition among international educators, and Kalpesh achieved perfect scores.
In 2019, we rebranded to Life of Math (LOM) to reflect the broader scope of our curriculum. We began offering high-quality video lessons, making our teaching more accessible and affordable for families.
Committed Through Every Challenge
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we dedicated countless hours to recording video lessons and creating assignments to help students stay on track. Parents appreciated the structure and quality, and kids were able to continue learning despite school closures. Our commitment has always been -- and will always be -- to our students’ success. Because in our world, math never stops.
In 2021, both my husband and I became Certified ACT Educators, offering specialized prep for ACT Math, ACT Science, and SAT Math. Our students have achieved remarkable improvements, including gains of over 100 points in SAT Math, and we've helped many students earn perfect scores in the PSAT/NMSQT math portion!
High School Planning and Academic Advising
As homeschooling parents since 2017, we’ve had the privilege of shaping my son’s education, focusing on both academics and athletics. We crafted a unique academic path combining Honors, AP, Dual Enrollment, and AP/CLEP exams to allow him to balance intense athletic training with a challenging yet manageable academic workload. This approach led to his acceptance into every college he applied to, with offers for merit-based scholarships and invitations to honors programs. He ultimately chose an Ivy League school as a student-athlete.
This success story was made possible by a customized approach to high school planning, and our mission is to help other families achieve their own aspirations as well!
Today at Life of Math
Today at Life of Math, we offer the following services, and we are teachers by choice!
Help set up mental math using abacus programs in schools.
In-person and online tutoring in mental math, abacus, gradewise math, and Vedic mathematics Test Prep: SAT Math, ACT Math, PSAT Math, CLT Math.
High school planning, along with resume building, community service guidance, and college prep
Our Mission
We believe that:
Math is fun when taught the right way. Every child deserves access to quality math education. There’s no one ‘right’ way to do math—the more methods, the more creativity and brain development! We are committed to making math affordable, enjoyable, and meaningful for every child. Join us and spread the love for math!
