Math Options – Facebook Live

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After our camping trip, I found I had no time for the weekly Facebook Live event. Sorry I missed my weekly rendez-vous live with you all last week. So this week I spent over 20 minutes talking live. The topic? Math options.

Math Mammoth

Our favorite math curriculum, Math Mammoth.

Love it or hate it, math is essential. I happen to love it. My kids like math. Like reading, the more you do it, the more you love it. Continue reading »


Lessons from the Tenth Week

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Time flies when you are having fun. Indeed, it applies to us this school year. Some days fun eludes us, but, overall, we can say with certainty this year has turned out better than the last.

Kids on a trail

Ijams trails

Just last week, my son exclaimed, “I love this new way of doing math!” He was referring to how we skip around the page, not doing every single problem in the chapter. I observe him solve the first few exercises to make sure he got the concept, and then I assign certain problems or exercises as I see fit. Continue reading »


Thoughtful Thursday Week 5 – Speed vs. Depth

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Did you grow up hating math or loving it? I grew up liking math. I made good grades in it, but I never thought I was a “math person” per se.

It turns out, there is no such thing as a “math person.” Everybody is capable of learning math. And everyone should have the chance of being introduced to math in a creative, fun way. Math should not be a series of mindless drills and repetition exercises. Math facts – especially the ones in arithmetic, or the early grades – should be understood.

Thoughtful Thursday

Which is why we chose to switch to Right Start Mathematics, a Montessori-inspired math program put together by Dr. Joan Cotter. I was getting a bit bored of this curriculum, not to mention confused – because it is so different, when… I discovered an MOOC by Stanford University called How to Learn Math – For Students. It totally reassured me Right Start Math is the right way to introduce my children to math concepts.

Oh, what a treasure trove of brain research and busted myths about mathematics I found in this Stanford course. It took me about two hours over two days (three sessions total) to finish all the lessons. My children came and hovered over my shoulder for a bit, as I watched the videos and answered the quizzes. Not sure they got much out of it, but some things sounded more interesting than others, I suppose. They stayed longer for some sessions.  Continue reading »