How Do I Use this Book?

How Do I Use this Book?


This book is divided into introductory material that
explains the basic principles behind the current approach to
math, sections on activities you can do with your children, and
lists of resources. The activities take place in three
locations: the home, the grocery store, and in transit.

The activities are arranged at increasingly harder levels of
difficulty. Look for the circles, squares, and triangles that
indicate the level of difficulty. The means that a child in
kindergarten through 1st grade could probably play the game,
the is for those in grades 2 and 3, and the signals an
activity for a child in grades 4 through 8.

The activities you choose and the level of difficulty
really depend on your child's ability if your child seems
ready, you might want to go straight to the most difficult
ones.



The shaded box on an activity page contains the answer
or a simple explanation of the mathematical concept behind the
activity so that you can explain when your child asks, "Why are
we doing this?"

With these few signs to follow along the way, your math
journey begins.


Important Things To Know


It is highly likely that when you studied math, you were
expected to complete lots of problems accurately and quickly.
There was only one way to arrive at your answers, and it was
believed that the best way to improve math ability was to do
more problems and to do them fast. Today, the focus is less on
the quantity of memorized problems, and more on understanding
the concepts and applying thinking skills to arrive at an
answer.



Wrong Answers Can Help!


While accuracy is always important, a wrong answer may
help you and your child discover what your child may not
understand. You might find some of these thoughts helpful when
thinking about wrong answers.

Above all be patient. All children want to succeed. They
don't want red marks or incorrect answers. They want to be
proud and to make you and the teacher proud. So, the wrong
answer tells you to look further, to ask questions, and to see
what the wrong answer is saying about the child's
understanding.

Sometimes, the wrong answer to a problem might be because
the child thinks the problem is asking another question. For
example, when children see the problem 4 + ___ = 9, they often
respond with an answer of 13. That is because they think the
problem is asking What is 4+9?", instead of "4 plus what
missing amount equals 9?"

Ask your child to explain how the problem was solved. The
response might help you discover if your child needs help with
the procedures, the number facts, or the concepts involved.

You may have learned something the teacher might find
helpful. A short note or call will alert the teacher to
possible ways of helping your child.

Help your children be risk takers: help them see the value
of examining a wrong answer; assure them that the right answers
will come with proper understanding.


Problems Can Be Solved Different Ways


Through the years, we have learned that while problems in
math may have only one solution, there may be many ways to get
the right answer. When working on math problems with your
child, ask, "Could you tell me how you got that answer?" Your
child's way might be different than yours. If the answer is
correct and the strategy or way of solving it has worked, it is
a great alternative. By encouraging children to talk about what
they are thinking, we help them to become stronger
mathematicians and independent thinkers.


Doing Math in Your Head Is Important


Have you ever noticed that today very few people take
their pencil and paper out to solve problems in the grocery,
fast food, or department store or in the office? Instead, most
people estimate in their heads.

Calculators and computers demand that people put in the
correct information and that they know if the answers are
reasonable. Usually people look at the answer to determine if
it makes sense, applying the math in their heads to the
problem. This, then, is the reason why doing math in their
heads is so important to our children as they enter the 21st
century.

You can help your child become a stronger mathematician by
trying some of these ideas to foster mental math skills:

1. Help children do mental math with lots of small numbers in
their heads until they develop quick and accurate
responses. Questions such as, "If I have 4 cups, and I
need 7, how many more do I need?" or "If I need 12 drinks
for the class, how many packages of 3 drinks will I need
to buy?"

2. Encourage your child to estimate the answer. When
estimating, try to use numbers to make it easy to solve
problems quickly in your head to determine a reasonable
answer. For example, when figuring 18 plus 29, an easy way
to get a "close" answer is to think about 20 + 30, or 50.

3. As explained earlier, allow your. children to use
strategies that make sense to them.

4. Ask often, "Is your answer reasonable?" Is it reasonable
that I added 17 and 35 and got 367? Why? Why not?



What Jobs Require Math?


All jobs need math in one way or another. From the
simplest thought of how long it will take to get to work to
determining how much weight a bridge can hold, all jobs require
math.

If you took a survey, you would find that everyone uses
math: the school teacher, the fast food worker, the doctor, the
gas station attendant, the lawyer, the housewife, the painter.