Here you will see students as young as 4 and 5 years old doing algebra and "advanced" math, without ever knowing it's supposed to be hard.
You are invited to learn how to use this method...



Sunday, July 19, 2009

8:29 Morning Math in bed...

Well, so far today with the wee ones

First we did a quick math lesson on same. I just brought a tiny white board into bed. Often we watch Multiplication Rock vids...but today we did this instead.

= means same.

Then we did 3x + 2 = 2x + 5

They love erasing same on both sides.

It looks like this:

||| : = || ::.

The could easily see same because I had color pens, the x's are blue lines, the units green dots.

So they erased same on both sides

| : = :::.

First we erased x's.

One little boy got to erase two on one side the other little boy got to erase two on the other.

We talked about HERO ZERO! (2x - 2x) older students hear hero zero no fun get back to one repeatedly.

3x + 2 = 2x + 5
-2x -2x

Then we erased two green ones from each side. One boy got to erase two green ones from one side and the other got to erase two from the other.

| = :.

x + 2 = 5
-2 -2

x = 3


This took a lot of counting and thinking for the 4 year old using his fingers to take away 2 from three 2 from 2 and 2 from 5 BUT ALL WE DID WAS COUNT and understand the CONCEPT of same.


The we made sure we were right replacing each x with a 3 because we found that

x = 3!


So if x =3 then each blue bar is a THREE.

:. :. :. .. = :. :. :. ..

3 +3+3 +2 = 3+3+5

11 = 11

Counting to 11 was a big deal...and lots of fun.


This is what the white board looked like when we were done:




This is even clearer with the right manipulatives...


THEN

we read "Ten Apples Up on Top". We counted the apples just about every way possible including skip counting and counting by tens...

Then we read The Popcorn Dragon which has no math in it at all...

As I type this they are watching PBS Kids...

GO for more explanations, click the Prblm Solving tab:

http://www.crewtonramoneshouseofmath.com/

2 comments:

  1. I always excused my lack of math skills by telling myself you can either write or work with numbers. Obviously, I write. But numbers fascinate me...especially when you add the alphabet to the mix...may as well be another language...I will follow and hope I learn something. Thx for starting the blog.

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  2. Thank God I am pretty....I can't believe a 4 year old is biting here....really, some of us must be left brained and others right brained.

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