Don't read this if your children are happily following their regular school math curriculum at home. Do read this if you need to be reassured that the activities your children prefer to do may actually have educational value. Right now, my children prefer to play board games.** And not the board games I like. Today... Continue Reading →
Right about now we're all realizing how truly skilled our schoolteachers are. Even I am eating a little humble pi. (We could all use some humor today, even if it's a lowly pun.) Yes, I think I am a good teacher...but I am a good HIGH SCHOOL teacher. I like having a group of kids... Continue Reading →
I was wondering how to build on the mathy moment the 6-year-old and I had last week, when the moment presented itself. As he packed his backpack for school, I noticed that the kid was singing the 2's to himself...2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc. I asked him if he'd ever be able to get... Continue Reading →
The 9-year-old took the MCAS (the Massachusetts school standardized tests) for the first time last year as a 3rd grader. The results are in. I didn't show them to him immediately, though, because I wanted to be thoughtful about how I communicated my interpretation of the results and how I hope he will interpret them.... Continue Reading →
We lucked out when the 6-year-old was in a swim lesson with only one other child. Semi-private lesson for the price of a group lesson! Nice. I sat on the pool deck to watch from afar...not so close that I was "present" at the lesson, but not so far that I couldn't hear the instruction... Continue Reading →
The 8-year-old already describes himself as a "math guy." Though he loves to read, and he writes some very thoughtful things on school papers, he claims that he is "not good" at writing and that it is much too difficult and laborious (my word, not his.) There is nothing wrong with having a preference. And... Continue Reading →
No! Of course not. Well...maybe. It depends. Here was the situation: The 8-year-old, a.k.a the-second-grader, came home with an assignment. He was supposed to read two books by the same author, then DO something of his choosing related to that author. He could make a poster or draw a picture or write a letter or anything... Continue Reading →
mathy moments 