Vacation Starts Now! NOT!

After one of our iLEAP tests, I monitored a group of students who finished early.  They asked if we could play cards.  I offered to teach them "500 Rummy."

At first, the game was too hard.  They wanted to play fish or war games that did not require math.  But, they stuck with it, and caught on after a few hands.  I started to reminisce about how my mother used to sit on the porch with us and play this game when it was hot and rainy - before the days of airconditioning.

They wanted to know "how far back that was" and I said, "Oh it was a long time ago, before color TVs were invented."

As shocked as they were to find that I might be older than their grandparents, I was surprised at how hard it was for these kids to do math in their head.  Where I was calculating scores by doing addition and multiplication in my head, They wanted to do "arrays" -- where you draw a visual image of the problem to tally rows and columns.

If I didn't know better, I would have guessed these kids did not have math facts in their head.  If I wasn't a trained teacher, I might have concluded that kids today are weak in math.  But, maybe because my training is recent, I do know better.  I am keenly aware that our kids have math skills that you and I know nothing about.  They think and problem solve differently today because of the different teaching methods that are used.

For one thing, our students are exposed to statistics, algebra, and geometry the minute they start the first grade. I don't know about you, but, I never had to study and interpret a data graph until I started my doctoral program.  Algebra, geometry, science were taught in high school - never in the elementary and middle schools.

All these changes have made it very intimidating for parents who want to coach their kids in math - or at least, help with the homework. How can you help when your kid speaks one math language and you were taught a completely different way?

But, that doesn't mean that parents can't do some fun play with embedded math coaching with their kids, as my parents and my aunts coached us when we were little kids.

If your kids see that you care about math skills, they will hone theirs.  Back in the day, when we sat and played "500 Rummy" all day long, each of us had to take turns keeping score to 500.  My mother would watch and check how we added, subtracted, multiplied and divided. Needless to say, we also learned how to count in our heads as we tracked cards for points.

My parents never, ever once let on that they were engaging us in study skills while they played Monopoly with us on Friday nights.  We had a blast playing that game.  It never occurred to us that we were practicing multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, skip counting, etc.

If I had money to spare, I'd set up a math coaching program for parents to help their kids do homework and play games all year round that build practical math skills.

I don't have that kind of money, but, I do have two websites that are MOST helpful for parents and teachers who want to coach their kids in mathematical thinking that I would like to share with you:

The first, aaamath.com is totally free, with lessons, practice sessions, and then, timed contests.  If it weren't for this website, I would not be a teacher today.  I was able to practice skills at every level without feeling intimidated. I started at the very beginning, and worked my way through 12th grade math skills.

The second site, http://www.ixl.com/math/ has parts that are free, and practice sessions that are free.  You can pay for more intense practice sessions.  If my kid struggled with math, and I needed to vary their online math explorations, this would be a good one to try.

It couldn't hurt.

You might get to the point where your kids start seeing math as fun - not hard work.  Because they will have learned that numbers and math magic are the most powerful toys ever invented.
Copyrighted April 24, 2014.  This article first appeared in Eunice Today on Sunday, May 11, 2014