The Power of Yet (and I Don't Know)

This one's for all the parents facing the "why...?" and "how...?" and "why not...?" and "do I have to...?" questions. And for the teachers (and parents) who are uncomfortable with admitting they aren't the omniscient geniuses we'd like our kids (and students) to believe we are.

There is a LOT of power in the word YET.

And even more power (in my opinion) in admitting you don't know. Students of all ages need to know that they don't have to know everything - and the people in their lives don't know everything either.

Try it out. It's OK to not get it, yet. It's OK to not know. Let's find out together.

Comments

The sum is the same, no matter how you got there; so how'd you get there?

Yet another example of adults saying "But there's a better way..." No one would argue that you, adult, can add probably faster than an elementary school student. We are in the process of building UP TO that speed and accuracy. By encouraging your child to imagine the groupings, you are building their imagination (draw whatever you'd like!), their math skills (count up, make 10s), and their mental flexibility ALL IN 1 PROBLEM! Check out my NEW addition video for a little more about how this problem is VERY similar to what many adults already do! Making sense of a problem IRL isn't about having an algorithm to write out your work. Instead it's about applying what you know to a REAL situation. This is what most adults think of when they see an addition problem: But this is what many ...

There's HOW MANY ways to add 2 numbers?

To answer the title question - a LOT! We take for granted that most of us adults can add quickly because we "know our math facts". For many of us that may be true, but I would bet that the vast majority of adults out there do quite a few of the addition strategies your children are taught in elementary school without even knowing it! This video addresses some of the addition strategies that I've seen frustrating parents. Addition Video As always, let me know if there's a topic you'd like to see Demystified!

3D thinking - early and often!

I'm guessing that if you grew up around the same time I did, you experienced a similar progression. Master the 2 dimensional shapes and their measurements (perimeter and area) and then move on to the 3 dimensional shapes and their measurements. Throughout this process, at least in my elementary years, I'm fairly certain not a single elementary teacher I had in front of me had a degree (major or minor) in mathematics. So they did what they'd always done, show some pictures in books and talk about formulas and calculations. Once we made the leap to 3D though, my brain really struggled to "see" what was on the paper as taking up space - even with the paper nets we cut and taped into 3D objects. Do you suffer from the same affliction I do? I can't say that my parents didn't ask me to do this often enough or not, but I certainly needed some more practice! Don't shy away from letting your child do this kind of spatial thinking. Have them order containers s...

Demystifying Elementary Math (from a Secondary Perspective)

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