I loved playing the game Rack-O as a kid. And, darn it, my kids are going to love it, too. The concept of Rack-O, a classic Milton-Bradley game, is simple; get a set of 10 cards in ascending order before your opponent does. Strategy and patience are necessary, though, as you decide whether to draw... Continue Reading →
I love lazy math. Not the kind of lazy math that students do when they don't show their work or document their reasoning, but the kind of lazy math parents do when we inspire our children's curiosity without having to do a lot of planning or instruction. It is one of those unwritten rules of... Continue Reading →
Infinity is such a fun, crazy, mind-expanding, mind-boggling concept. It's a topic that some kids will gleefully try wrapping their thoughts around. I've been noodling on how to play with it in a rich and interesting way with pre-schoolers. (If you have ideas, please share.) In the meantime, though, I'm finding ways to touch on... Continue Reading →
I got rid of our blocks the other day. I sent them over to my sister's house so that they could clutter her space rather than mine. Oops. What I mean to say, really, is that I sent them over to her house so that her nearly one-year-old child could enjoy them as much as... Continue Reading →
"In math the technique we use is logic. We only want to use sheer logical reasoning. Not experiments, not physical evidence, not blind faith or hope or democracy or violence. Just logic. So what are the things we study? We study anything that obeys the rules of logic." -Eugenia Cheng, How to Bake Pi The... Continue Reading →
Do you have a lawyer in your house? No, not the kind that actually has a degree, earns a salary, and is an adult. I'm talking about the free-lance, unschooled, and relentless child legal expert who calls you out on every breach of fairness or word choice. I have one. He's 9. One day, if... Continue Reading →
Here's another way to reinforce multiplication concepts with your elementary school kids. You just need a hundreds table and some markers. You can present it like a puzzle. Or you can be fancy and tell your kids that they're going to make the Sieve of Eratosthenes. Yes, that will get their attention. Here's the quickie... Continue Reading →
It's the type of question young children are always asked: "How many animals do you see?" "How many cars are there?" "How many children are in your class?" "How many sheep are in this picture?" These are good questions. They usually have a clear and correct answer. That's nice. What if they didn't? What if,... Continue Reading →
What can you do instead of flash cards to practice multiplication facts with your kids? Multiplication and division fluency is a cornerstone of developing a strong mathematical foundation. The middle and high school students I tutor often struggle with the time and effort it takes to retrieve a calculation fact they were assumed to have... Continue Reading →
