One of the features of the AoPS Company blog will be a regular "Ask AoPS" column, in which we share a recent question we have received, and our answer.

Question: I have a 9-year-old daughter who has completed Prealgebra and has had some light exposure to algebra and geometry. Would your Algebra 1 course be appropriate for her?

Answer: We do have some 9 year olds in our Algebra 1 classes, and sometimes they are among the strongest students. In order to be successful in our classes, students must work very well independently. They must work with the textbook outside of class time, ask questions when they need help, and be willing to struggle with very hard problems. An eager student who has completed PreAlgebra outside of AoPS (we plan to have a PreAlgebra book and class of our own within a year) is probably ready for our Algebra 1 course. We do allow students to drop a course before the third class for a full refund, so if you try the course and she finds it too demanding, you can drop it and come back when she's a little older. We have had plenty of students go this route with great success.

It's often beneficial for our new students, particularly younger ones, to work with the textbook on their own for a few weeks even before the course starts. This helps them overcome any intimidation they might feel in starting a new style of learning.