Mathematics is one of the greatest tools we humans have inherited. Math is given to us both as a dedicated area of the brain and as a legacy from our society. Galileo understood the importance of math when, hundreds of years ago, he said: “The great book of nature can be read only by those who know the language in which it was written. And this language is mathematics.” Math enables us to understand the cosmos and the atom; to build bridges, tunnels, and skyscrapers; and to determine through statistics which treatment is most likely to cure an illness.  Also, mathematics is necessary fo ..read more

Fractions have a bad reputation as being incomprehensible and unpredictable. Cartoons and jokes exploit this fear of fractions for amusement. Believe or not, it’s all a huge misunderstanding. Fractions are amazing. Fractions are necessary. Fractions are needed, among other things, for telling time, for counting money, and for cooking.  The word fraction comes from Latin “frangere” meaning “to break.” So, historically, fractions were considered only as a part of a whole. This meant they could never be equal to or greater than one. For example, one third meant one of three equal parts of a ..read more

There are ways a grandparent, family member, or friend can help a child with math. Here’s a list of seven things that will help teach math to your favorite young person. 1. Value math and show a positive attitude toward math. Sadly, about 50% of Americans are afflicted with a strong distaste for math. Unfortunately, developing math anxiety becomes a severe handicap preventing a child from learning and benefiting from a good mathematics education. Enjoy math with a child by playing math games. Games are much more productive than mindlessly flipping flash cards or trying to decipher some ob ..read more

The terms development or developmentally appropriate are frequently used, but finding good definitions is difficult. A dictionary defines develop as growing and becoming more mature or advanced. We see physical development in the young child. We know there is a time to crawl, a time to walk, and a time to talk. These special times, Dr. Montessori called sensitive periods while psychologists often refer to them as “windows of opportunity.” During these stages, the skills are easier to learn, seemingly automatic. The child directs their own learning according to their timeline. The same skill ca ..read more

People had been seeking simpler ways to perform calculations for centuries. Engineers, until the 1960s, used slide rules, a hand-operated mechanical calculator. It is one of the simplest analog computers which could perform multiplication, division, square roots, trigonometry, and some other functions, but it is accurate to only three digits. Also, the answers came without giving the location of the decimal point, so general knowledge of the answer was needed. When you hear the word technology, you probably think of computers or tablets. Do you think of calculators as technology? Calculators h ..read more

Most people have heard of Montessori, but often they are not sure what it’s all about. The word Montessori refers both to a person and a method of education. Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was an Italian physician and educator. She is also the developer of the Montessori method of education.  Dr. Montessori originally worked with children living in institutions and then continued with children in a housing project daycare. She introduced child-size tables and chairs and developed four categories of materials: exercises of practical life, sensorial materials, language activities, and ..read more

What’s so special about the manipulatives used for the RightStart Mathematics program? Let’s run through the list. NOT AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE: Cotter AL Abacus: This abacus has 100 beads and is grouped in 5s and 10s using color. It is different from the Chinese abacus, the Japanese abacus, and “play” abacuses (where each string of beads is a different color). Both sides of the abacus are used in different ways. Six Special Decks of Cards: Basic cards (0 to 10), multiplication cards, fraction cards, money cards, clock cards, and Corners cards make up the six decks. Notice that the cards ..read more

I’d like to take some time to discuss the science and art of teaching math. I call it a science because much research has been done into how children learn in general and especially math. I call it an art because each child is different, requiring the instructor to tweak the lesson to help each individual child. The teacher’s role Research has shown that 40% of what a student learns depends upon the teacher. Let’s start with the teacher’s beliefs and attitudes. If the teacher shows math anxiety, the child will probably absorb some of that fear and dread. If the teacher views math simply as a ..read more

Math anxiety can be thought of as a learned fear of numbers or anything to do with math. It results in feelings of tension and fear at the sight of numbers or math symbols, causing poor performance in math, especially on tests. Sadly, in the U.S., over 50 percent of people have math anxiety. I once met a person who had such a math phobia that she wouldn’t do Sudoku puzzles because they contained numbers. Never mind that no numbers are ever calculated. In fact, colors can be used to solve the puzzles. But her fear was so strong that the numbered Sudoku puzzles were not an option for her. Math a ..read more

Approximately one in ten children has a learning disability. For most of these children, traditional methods of teaching math are a source of frustration and failure. Memorizing counting words, then facts, algorithms, and vocabulary is way too much for the struggling brain that cannot easily memorize. Children with learning challenges generally find rote memorization to be nearly impossible. Even when children with learning challenges do memorize, the results usually don’t stick very long. Things are easily forgotten.  It might be tempting to delay teaching math and concentrate on reading ..read more