As mentioned elsewhere, I like to play games in my math classes - and I find that, almost as fun as playing the games, is coming up with ideas for new ones. I came up with the idea for my current favorite game a couple months...
It’s June. In the next two weeks, my DS13 graduates 8th grade from The REALM with Inspire Charter. Oh. My. Friggin’ goodness! I’ll refrain from the actual expletives here. But, boy, the shock and flurry of big emotions that this huge moment elicits bring all kinds...
I met Dar a couple years ago. Vicky had scheduled me to spend an hour with a new student, just playing around with math. I didn’t know anything about him except that he was six. I brought along my number cards, which are pretty great...
As I sit down to write about my son’s transition from traditional public school to a hybrid alternative education in hopes of nudging other families to take this magnificent leap, I realize most of what I have to say is about how hard it was...
I’ve been teaching with Vicky for about 15 years. Many years ago, I apparently mentioned to her that when I was in high school, I had been on the “In the Know" team. In the Know was a Columbus Ohio TV quiz game that pitted...
I think we learn more when we’re having fun. I don’t know whether or not we learn better through fun activities than through drudgery, but since we enjoy fun more than drudgery, I think we’re more inclined to spend our time doing the fun stuff...
If anyone had told me that I would one day be a ‘homeschooler’ I would have told them that they were nuts. There was no way I would have ever considered taking on the responsibility of teaching our son, Dar. And now, guess what, I’m...
In a previous post, I wrote a bit about a mental math method that I refer to as Xinwan’s trick. It involves multiplying two-digit numbers times eleven by splitting the digits and placing the sums between them. For instance, to multiply 62 x 11, you...
Mental math - or mental calculation - really has very little to do with math. Well, I suppose it depends on how you look at math, but to me, mental math is mostly just a fun way to practice analytical thinking and problem solving -...
I like to play games in my math classes. The other day, I was playing a game with my mental math class, when a student asked me about the design of my game cards. Most of the games I play in my math classes involve game...