I love starting the school year teaching geometry. I use it as a hook to get my students interested in math. Not that they aren’t. But often, kids come into class thinking that math is all about adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. I know this because it’s the first thing I ask during day 1 math. So I kick off the math school year in geometry. It’s visual, hands-on, and fun. All math is…as students will discover through the course…
Teachers often use the estimating jar as a way to promote good estimating skills in their students. Throw a little candy in that jar and now you’ve got students excited and motivated to do math! The following activities are a twist on the traditional estimating jar and have been done with second through fifth graders. I introduce the estimating jar, filled with Hersheys kisses, by asking students to give a reasonable estimate as to how many kisses they think are…
Ryan just got back from Winco. He was grocery shopping. For me. My entire weekly list of items. For over a year, Ryan has asked me if he could do the grocery shopping. He knows it’s way down on my list below scrub the toilet and clean the hair out of the sink. But for some reason, I thought it would be more of a hassle having him do it than me just going and getting it over with. I…
“There’s no way I want to write down everything I eat.” That comment came from my 16-year old son, Ryan, as we were driving home from his sports medicine appointment a few weeks ago. Ryan is a runner. And recently he’s been experiencing extreme lethargy after his races. So, naturally, as a parent, I want to figure out what’s going on. After confirming with his pediatrician, the cardiologist, and the sports medicine doctor that Ryan is healthier and in better…
Ryan just learned how to use the ATM machine at our bank. It’s Sunday and the bank is closed but Ryan really wanted to deposit several checks that he’d been holding on to. “No problem”, I said. “Just use the ATM.” It occurred to me that maybe he had no idea how to use an ATM, after all, he’s only had his checking account for several months. But he didn’t bat an eye when I recommended it, so I passed…