Recently, some hometown friends and I were reminiscing about a favorite 8th grade science teacher. I'm sure we learned chemistry well that year, but what we really recall and appreciate were the constellations and the birds. Each week, we were required to accurately color a black and white drawing of a bird and to identify... Continue Reading →
My favorite mathy moments are the ones I didn't expect. Several months ago, I decided to make a whiteboard mandala for my kids to color. They had fallen in love with an adhesive one that was stuck to a table at the children's library in town, but I didn't want to pay $100 to buy... Continue Reading →
I was recently asked to tutor a high school student who was struggling with natural logarithms and the number e. My first reaction was, "Oh. Crud. I don't remember that stuff very well." My second thought was, "Not an issue! My schedule is packed, and I'm not even available to tutor!" My third and more thoughtful reaction... Continue Reading →
A recent 2nd grade homework assignment became the opportunity to delve deeper into math as well as to connect to family (again!). And it all started with the need for a ruler. "Mom, do you have a ruler?" "Oh yes. I'm sure I do...let me go find it..." "Never mind. I'll ask Dad. He'll have... 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 