Y'know, one of the very best skills any child can possess these days is math.
And MamaBear ain't just talking 'bout memorizing rote mathematics! Heck, that's sheer memory power and, while very good to internalize, doesn't begin to touch upon the *real* benefit to mathematics.
And that is…
Turning real-life stories into useful math.
What does MamaBear mean by that?
Simple! Think to yourself the following adventure MamaBear had herself in her junior year at college.
"You're in a maze of twisty turning passages…."
"You're in the local market and see the customer ahead of you ordered 3 pairs of socks at $2.99 each. You then notice that because her calculator was broken (I *did* say MamaBear experienced this in her college years, back when clerks used calculators…), the clerk was trying to figure out the amount owed with paper and pencil.
Possessing more mathematics than your typical sea sponge, you simply inform the clerk that the price is $8.97….and when faced with her amazement, you explain that $3 is one more cent than $2.99, and 3×3 is 9, so 3*2.99 would simply be $9 minus 3 cents, or $8.97.
Then you watch when said clerk utters in amazement…"My gosh, you must be a math major!"
True story, that. 🙂
Anywhos! It was stuff like that which led MamaBear to promise herself that *her* children would never be as idjut-like in math as she was, 'way back then.
So! When her cubs were starting grammar school, MB ferreted out some rather tremendous learning resources on the Internet.
And one of them is:
What makes MB shiver in joy over this particular site is the focus on learning how to solve mathematical word problems.
After all, in the Eastern school of thought, applied math is taught right from the get-go with series like
Alas, MamaBear never did get her paws on that particular series; she had tried buying it at eBay but it never came thru. Wah.
But back to MathStories – it has showcases goodies like:
Make a Table
Question: You save $3 on Monday. Each day after that you save twice as much as you saved the day before. If this pattern continues, how much would you save on Friday?
Strategy:
1) UNDERSTAND:
You need to know that you save $3 on Monday. Then you need to know that you always save twice as much as you find the day before.
2) PLAN:
How can you solve the problem?
You can make a table like the one below. List the amount of money you save each day. Remember to double the number each day.
|
Day
|
Amount of Money Saved
|
|
Monday
|
$3
|
|
Tuesday
|
$6
|
|
Wednesday
|
$12
|
|
Thursday
|
$24
|
|
Friday
|
$48
|
You save $48 on Friday
Draw a picture:
Question: Laura has 3 green chips, 4 blue chips and 1 red chip in her bag. What fractional part of the bag of chips is green?
Strategy:
1) UNDERSTAND:
What do you need to find?
You need to find how many chips are in all. Then you need to find how many of the chips are green.
2) PLAN:
How can you solve the problem?
You can draw a picture to show the information. Then you can use the picture to find the answer.
3) SOLVE:
Draw 8 chips.
3/8 of the chips are green.
and other great goodies to boot.
Thus, if you want to give your young cub a great start in mathematics, check out MathStories today. It's definitely a great investment! It costs $26 for a years' enrollment.
Parent well,
MamaBear
