Last year, at the end of third grade, my daughter came to me with a sad confession. She just didn’t get long division. Now, seven months later, she’s a long division whiz, called upon to help other students in her …[Continue]
Tessellations
Mathematicians define “tessellate” as covering a plane with a pattern, and it is a concept that interests scientists and artists, as well as mathematicians. Join me for a fun tour….[Continue]
Business Games for Kids
Today’s game sites for young entrepreneurs combine fun and learning. The topic was inspired by my nine-year old daughter’s success at selling her already-read-them-don’t-want-to-keep-them paperback books on eBay. After making $24 on her first batch of auctions, she wants to …[Continue]
Math Flashcards
What’s seven times eight? How about eight times eight? Six times nine? I’d love to sit here all day , but I think I have laundry to do. It’s common knowledge that computers are very good at repetitive tasks. They …[Continue]
Real World Math
In honor of April’s status as Math Education Month, I’m starting off the month with a look at how math is used in our everyday lives. Like the little girl in Jon Scieszka’s “Math Curse,” who wakes up to find …[Continue]
Algebra
The word “algebra” derives from the Arabic al-jabr meaning “the reunion of broken parts.” Algebraic concepts were used as early as 1650 B.C. in Egypt and Ancient Babylon, and were brought into Europe by the Arabs. And now, thousands of …[Continue]
Fun with Math
Opportunities to teach math in a fun way surround us everyday. Here are some sites that use magic tricks, photographs and nature to explore the wonders of math. Enjoy! [Editor’s Note: An updated version of this topic can be found …[Continue]
Kids and Money
Sometime between giving them their first allowance and sending them off on their own, we need to teach our kids about money: saving, spending, earning, managing. Where do you start? These five web sites are a great beginning….[Continue]
