Moving on with Manipulative Multiplication

Two weeks later we revisit multiplication as we make are way through the 20x20 matrix. The idea is not just to be able to do multiplication with symbols or blocks but to be able to do the multiplication quickly and easily in your head. In order to do this we need to be able to organize our thought and count very rapidly.

Manipulatives expedite this. The mind wants to work rapidly.  The device it uses is the brain. Brain and mind are not same, just like computation and mathematics are not same. Computation is how we DO math. Mind uses brain, brain does not use mind. But I digress.

As I am doing this video I try to impart some concepts not just on the students but on the adult viewers who may be parents or teachers. Concepts like the stages to competence. Do you see the blend of drawing symbols and base ten blocks? Driving home the point that "no" needs to be removed from the lesson. I was going to make the point that they are building neuro-pathways and now that we know some neurophysiology, you understand it takes a little bit of time for the child to form the thoughts and then vocalize them.  When they learn new things this takes up a lot of the brain and it takes a few seconds for the brain to process and compute and then make the information available for the mind verbalize. We are faster because the pathways have already been built. We are also going to use repetition to make the information available for instant recall and store it in the long term memory, but we are going to have FUN doing it. No muss, no fuss, no tears, no need for endless worksheets and drill.

The idea that the partial products model was supposed to be a way to help you count and organize thought and that it was a stepping stone to understanding multiplication and doing it fast was interrupted. Mortensen math uses the term "split and shift" to show this. Manipulatives illustrate partial products superbly, BUT here is a faster easier way to go about multiplication counting the big ones FIRST.

Already getting very positive feedback for this vid. People are stunned and amazed because one of the students is "only" six.



 I make one error in this presentation I expect you will see it easily but it doesn't slow us down or make a difference to the lesson. The blocks show 18x13 when I am doing 18x12 with the symbols. There are a couple of other subtle errors I caught while I was watching this, perhaps if you find them you can put them in the comments below. Lets see if YOU are paying attention, LOL.

Problem is, things got a little muddled along the way and many students get bogged down in the algorithm and instead of it unleashing speed it actually hobbles them. As you can see I am training them to go left to right. Count the big stuff first, understand that we're counting hundreds then tens and then units...adding them up is SUPER EASY IF you understand your addends. The youngest boy needs some practice with addends. He is going to build pyramids NOT do worksheets.

Since this first post we have maybe practiced this for an hour over two weeks. Maybe. There has not been drilling or worksheets, there has been some play (playing algebra and building math towns and such) and some practice. Soon we will make a game of practicing all 400 facts.

Note the order...first we get single digits facts mastered. Then we do the single digit times two digit facts. WHILE we are doing this, we have been building squares all the way out to 20x20. This helps us practice addends, addition and single digit multiplication. We have played with 11's (and nines) so those are easy. Also played with 12's. As we do this we are now also doing two digit by two digit which of course includes square numbers, 11's, 12's and the "easy ones where the tens addends add up 100, which are 11x19, 12x18, 13x17, 14x16 and 15x15. We can play with the little one like 12x13 and all those where there are no tens "hiding" first. These are great for building confidence with the little kids because it makes them feel like they are doing big kid math.

Concurrent and compounding lessons make all the difference.
Note that concurrently with learning addends, addition, and multiplication they are learning algebra which reinforces this...and also fractions, percentages and problem solving. You will also see compound lessons on square root and and the concept of square numbers tossed in as a matter of course.

I think you will agree they are making fine progress. And this is the way it works first you crawl, then you walk then you can jog and pretty soon you can run where you used to stumble and fall.

I hope you can hear the excitement. So much energy that many times I don't get to complete my thoughts...math learning should be FUN not done in silence to the scratching of pencils.

Raymond has his own page where you can track his progress. But you need a password. Great page if you have a five six or seven year old. Sarah's is a good page to visit if you are dealing with Autism. There are also tons of sample lessons and videos (free and password protected) on my site, and please come join me on Face Book.

Base Ten Block Parent Teacher Training

The way to Abstraction.

People are demanding that I spoon feed them math even though I have a huge semi-organized website, hundreds of youtube videos and this blog with hundreds of entries. I haven't covered everything but I've covered a lot of stuff in 5 years. With Crewton Ramone plus a search engine you should be able to find lots of stuff on division or algebra or whatever it is...

Now people are wanting actual training...so I am going to make a video series that you can actually buy (down load or eventually buy physically and have shipped). I will have an actual product on DVD in a case and everything..."soon." To start though I'll just stick it on a password protected page with it's own password (have to do this with my book too) and for the fist 50 people who get it I'll sell you a that password for 15 bucks  AND I'll give you a couple months free to the rest of the password protected pages if you don't already have that password. (That will be two passwords.)

Anybody with a Lifetime Password gets the password to this and a download automatically. (Told you a life time password would pay dividends down the road and there's plenty more to come).

FOR 15 bucks you'll get over 2 hours of training like you see here and some more pages and videos that I think are especially pertinent that are out there lurking on the web for FREE that you just might not have seen or found yet but the training you see here won't be available anywhere else...except for maybe Pirate Bay after I make the DVDs. Further if you want physical product after that you can get that too just pay "shipping and handling".

THEN for the next 50 the price is 19.99...but no second password but if you want the physical product just say so and I'll ship that to you no extra charge.

After that the price will be 19.99 for the download/single use password and 24.99 for the download and the physical DVD. Then maybe I'll do a subscription where once a month or so you get another DVD...also eventually I will get an outline and edited transcript done, and that will be part of the package.

Also I plan to "gussy up" the video with some editing and captioning before it goes to the physical DVD stage...and hopefully before it goes up on my site for download too, but a lot of people want it NOW never mind the polish...of course you can have both if you in the first 100. Also a lot of people are going to get the download for FREE, like I said those who are in the early adopters club and any parents who have paid for tutoring...I think with the DVD and transcript plus notes (eBook and physical) it'll be well worth the money.  If you disagree say so in the comments.



If you are new around here, here is an Hour Long Intro and a bunch of other vids. This is good "training" in and of itself. FREE.

Then here is a Getting Started Page. It's for the Deluxe Curriculum Starter Kit but it certainly applies if all you have is a combo kit or just some blocks you got off ebay or whatever.  Be sure to download and read the pdf's there. Still FREE.

People are amazed at my site and all the stuff they get for free...there's even free worksheets (which you are to use SPARINGLY) then they are even more amazed when they cough up a few bucks for a password and see all the stuff they get there. 25 bucks is damh near free when you consider the thousands (and thousands) of bucks I spent traveling to Idaho and bringing Jerry to Maui and and and to get trained because there is very little good training on base ten blocks out there for free or for money. If you find some let me know...put links in the comments box. I aim to be the best. I'm not there yet but I'm going to be.

Here is a lady I liked a lot who was trying to show you didn't have to buy expensive blocks and kits and such; just use what you already have over on Vimeo. She re-made some of my videos except she used her (exceptionally cute) daughters which may be better for those of you with little girls so your daughters can relate...you'll notice I made a few comments on some of her vids.

More updates and math stuff as it happens on my facebook page.  I scour ebay for blocks and Mortensen Math stuff...so you might want to follow me there for that if nothing else...often good deals to be had but they get snapped up quick...


UPDATE: The page has been built and here is the link: http://www.crewtonramoneshouseofmath.com/parents-teachers.html

Patterning With Base Ten Blocks And 11's.

Here is a lesson where we basically play spot the pattern. We start off with base ten blocks and very quickly move to symbols only; however, this lesson does answer a lot of questions with regard to WHY some of the "tricks" with 11's you may have learned work the way they do.

This why we like math, the patterns are easy to see, the rules are consistent, you can prove your answers...but don't get caught up in the rules and theorems. Play and put the children in a place where they can discover the rules for themselves. Once they see the patterns they can often make up their own rules and then test them to see if they always work...if you do it right they will tell you the Pythagorean theorem you don't have to tell them. This is just more of that.



This is a simple lesson just playing with 11's. You could play with 9's (← note those are 1st graders in a classroom) or other numbers just for the fun of it. If the child is curious and having fun the lesson is much easier. We went pretty long considering it was just on 11's but they were fairly well engaged for more than a half hour.

In this lesson they got to practice their addends again, and do some addition and use their counting skills creatively and learn a little about patterns. More fun to be had at Crewton Ramone's House Of Math.

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Manipulatives For Two Digit Times One Digit Multiplication.

At Crewton Ramone's House of Math we don't just get multiplication through 9x9 down, we go all the way out to 20X20. Notice I say "get it down" not just memorize. Manipulatives make multiplication easy, so easy, ans so fast that it will look like they have it memorized even if they have to do a little calculation in their heads...with enough practice they will memorize their multiplication facts but instead of it being difficult and hard we make it fun and easy. In this lesson they learn and practice several things at once.

If you watch the video below you can see why I spend so much time on addends. Addends are important. This lets them practice their addends WHILE they do multiplication like the big kids. No worksheets. No symbols to start with, just play with blocks and have fun, let them build the problems. Don't tell the youngest kid but I was teasing him a little bit by telling him this stuff was "too hard" for him. SO of course he wants to show everybody he can do it too...and he does. (Proper motivation works wonders. You need to be smarter than your six year old.) Any little kid can do math especially if they speak English. On this blog and on my website I try to show you their best use.

The seven year old kept confusing multiplication with addition and wasn't always sure which numbers to add when he was just looking at the symbols. He was also over thinking it and getting ahead of me because he knew there were more than just 3 tens in (17)(3) = 51 and that there were 5 tens not just 3. But I was asking him to count the blue ten bars not the ones "hiding" in there with the sevens. Note how the younger boy wasn't even thinking about the tens hiding with the sevens he just saw the 3 tens, and the oldest boy knew what I meant. He understood I was going thru the problem in parts.

If you listen you can hear the development differences between the three boys. They also get different problems for their skill level but the basic concept is the same throughout. Don't lose track of the idea that the concept remains the same the numbers just change. I use smaller numbers that require less counting for the younger boys and bigger problems for the older boy, but very soon they all can do any problem...they just need more practice with single digit multiplication but it doesn't stop them from doing this in fact this teaches them that. I also want to point out we are practice skill sets not drilling. There is a difference.

We also talked about multiplication being addition...you just do it over and over again.

They get to practice and learn their multiplication AND addends, I try to make this blatantly obvious during the video. Again: one teaches the other and visa-versa: you don't have to have all your addends memorized before you can do this this will help you leran them, neither do you need to have all your single digit multiplication facts memorized before you can do this, this will help you learn those too...especially when you are playing with the blocks. It also just makes it natural to see you are adding the tens plus whatever the units are. Basically just adding two rectangles, in the case of (17)(3) = 51 you are adding 30 plus 21 they can SEE it.

Also note that even though you can't see them it sounds like they are having fun, because they are. Laughter should be a part of math, it's fun when you get it right, it feels good. I see so many math classes where they are forced to do worksheets in silence. Or where they are expected to learn in SILENCE. Why not make math fun?

Notice that pretty soon we are just using symbols, no blocks but after the lesson on vid we went back to using blocks, this was just a demonstration for YOU the viewer.

 We've gotten so poor at teaching math public schools can barely get them to memorize the 9x9 matrix, that's only 81 facts, we are on our way to memorizing 20X20, that's 400 facts.  Addends are not just "kinda important", they are crucial.  Same with multiplication. Addends make multiplication easy and multiplication makes ALL the math easy because it allows you to count quickly, see patterns, find common factors and more. I can't stress enough how important it is.


There are those who say we don't need to learn our multiplication tables because calculators are so ubiquitous...the problem with that is kids hit 7x6 when they mean 7x9 because the six is right under the nine and it's easy to miss or "fat finger it" and they don't even notice. There's a big difference between 42 and 63, but they don't have the number sense to catch the mistake.

All of that can be avoided and it doesn't take hard work, tons of work sheets, or drudgery. Multiplication tables have their place but early introduction and playing are much more fun and effective than handing them a multiplication table and saying here memorize this.  If you only click one link on this page click that one.  And of course once you are done playing with multiplication it's time to to play with division.  Then again it should be hard to do one without the other...

Can you think of the reason we count the tens first other than that it makes it easier?

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Go to Raymond's Password Protected Page.

"You save an old man and you save a unit; but save a boy, and you save a multiplication table."  

"Time neither subtracts nor divides, but adds at such a pace it seems like multiplication."

Crewton Ramone In The Kitchen: Veggie Superfood Sandwich.

In whcih we answer the question, "what do you feed those boys of yours?"

Oh look! More pics of food. Here is a short video showing the making of a simple sandwich with Dave's Killer Bread, sprouts, raw zucchini slices, sliced tomatoes, chia, cracked hempseed, a little brewer's yeast, a little butter and some 5 onion spread...plus a little home made fresh soft cheese made from whole raw milk. Put it together so the seeds don't fall off and stuff it in your face.

All the stuff you see here went into the next sandwich.

Healthy food = healthy brain function, so you can do math.   You can eat the ingredients one at a time or combine them to make delicious sandwich. I like to toast the bread just a bit but you don't have to. If you are a strict vegan it should be pretty obvious which ingredients to leave off. I am neither a vegetarian or a vegan but most of my calories come from fruits and vegetables, seeds and grains. The bread is made with 21 whole grains. Almost all of the ingredients are considered super foods, the sprouts, and chia and hempseed are super foods you may or may not have heard of, but do a quick search with the term zucchini super food. I was surprised to find out it was considered a "super food" too...despite their creamy interior color zucchini are one of the best sources of carotenoids and other vitamins, making them a nutritional powerhouse." Read more here.  "High blood levels of carotenoids, including lutein, are associated with decreased risk of a number of different cancers including cervical, kidney and colorectal. Lutein in particular is associated with reduced colorectal cancer and may be protective.

Zucchini is also an excellent source of manganese, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and riboflavin.

Interestingly, many of the beneficial antioxidants found in zucchini are more readily absorbed in the body when the vegetable has been cooked." Add lightly cooked zucchini slices on this sandwich sprinkled with Spike; it would be REALLY good, but I didn't want to spend the time.  Sometimes fast and easy is better, but if you have the time you might try it.

Chia is considered one of the ULTIMATE super foods. If you are not familiar with it do some reading. Same with hempseed. Chia is a complete protein which means it contains all the amino acids essential to us humans. It's low glycemic index is great, and that means it has a negligible effect on insulin levels, it’s also hydrophilic, it absorbs 10 times its weight in water–a low-calorie food that is filling because of its volume. It’s rich in B vitamins, iron, calcium, zinc, fiber antioxidants and the anti-inflammatory flavonoid quercetin. Read up on all the studies done on quercetin.



I put that shot in because it sort of shows the tomatoes stuck in the spread. I have little boys and sandwiches tend to fall apart on the way from the plate to their mouths, so I stick them together using the ingredients as natural glue. Also, I have seen so many people sprinkle chia seeds or what have you on the sprouts...and then they fall out of the sandwich...




 I could have sliced the tomato better but it worked. I bet you can do better.

 Here is a shot of the sprouts and spread...the spread is made locally with fresh ingredients and no preservatives...5 different kinds of real onions. Real Sour Cream, real cream cheese.

I know the family that grows the sprouts...they are not certified organic but I've been to the farm; they don't use chemicals (no pesticides or herbicides) getting certified costs too much I guess. It's a Maui farm and the owners understand the concept of healthy food.

Anyhow here is a quick vid showing how to make it:



If you do a quick search on each of the ingredients you will see that this simple sandwich is a nutritional bonanza....and it's also super tasty! Healthy food should taste GOOD. Nothing worse than having to choke down food that is supposed to be good for you but tastes terrible. This sandwich is kid certified...my sons are not particularly fond of watercress but if you stick it in this sandwich they eat it no problem. I would have, but the store I went to was out.

A lot of behavioral problems can be solved with simple nutrition. Thinking burns calories and in order to keep a healthy brain proper nutrition is essential. FEED YOUR HEAD. The benefits to the rest of your body should be obvious. You'll also be surprised how filling this sandwich is...drink a lot of healthy fluids with it or just plain water. I make a tea out of Yerba Mate, honey, molasses, a dash of ionic trace minerals and some powdered l-glutamine...but that's another vid and post...

Also you could search "Crewton Ramone in the kitchen" I have a couple of other videos  as you may have surmised because this is #3. I'll make more as time goes by...

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The House Of Math.

Crewton Ramone Just Play With Base Ten Blocks And Learn Math.

Yes, it's true just playing with base ten blocks can teach kids a lot of math on both the conscious and subconscious level. People are stuck in the mode of thinking playing isn't learning and certainly math isn't fun (because it wasn't fun for you) and "playing math" doesn't even sound right.  Making Math Fun is a huge challenge for a lot of parents gauging from the email I get. (you can find the whole vid on the Sample Lessons page) And then if they have too much fun you start to wonder if they learned anything....

Let me start of by saying it's not like your kids will just hover around the blocks and learn math by osmosis...they need some direction and it is purposeful play we are going for not just messing around and throwing blocks at each other.

A seminar company I used to work with way back in the 90's made it sound like all you had to do was buy a kit and your kids would be math geniuses in no time even if the kit just got stuck under their bed and never saw the light of day. They were excellent salesmen. People believed them. Well, turns out children learn a lot thru play and if you aren't new to my blog and website you have heard this all before. A lot. You've seen lots of quotes, and videos...but you haven't seen this one. I just added it to the first grade math worksheets page.

By now I hope you understand that the worksheets are to be used sparingly. They are NOT a primary teaching tool. The blocks are.

On that page CLICK the links or the worksheets for FREE downloads of them. That's right FREE. There is another short video there I would encourage you to watch, and here is a much longer video by the same guy,  Dr. Doug Clements. Teachers in particular might want to make the time to watch that.

Once you have some experience with manipulatives you will see clearly all the learning taking place, these are second graders after all. If you are new around here spend some time perusing the house of math and this blog. After a while you will be able to see the math concepts they are internalizing and how important they are...AND they get to associate FUN with "math time."



Commenting on blog posts and vids is encouraged. The search engines don't care what you are saying as long as you are talking...so you don't have to be complimentary. Make comments, ask questions point out grammatical errors and typos and spelling whatever. Constructive feedback is good...what would you like to see more of or less of or what would you like to see covered that you can't find or that I haven't gotten around to...? I make vids and posts and am met with silence 99% of the time. Actually if I did the math I bet it's even higher than that...if it wasn't for the spammers there'd be hardly any comments at all...

Meantime you can come play on Face Book.

Base Ten Blocks Make Math Fun For Five Year Old

Base ten blocks are very effective at teaching math so effective kids can teach each other. Not only are they effective they make math fun. They even make algebra fun.  This lesson was lots of fun and lasted an hour, we built 25 addends in the tray, we played what's under the cup did a little skip counting and generally had a gay ol' time.

It used to be called Mortensen MORE THAN Math for very good reason. Here a little brother is helped out by his big sister. I can't think of anything more beautiful than siblings learning from each other...unless it's parents learning math from their kids and vise versa. This little boy has two older brothers too, one of whom was supposed to have class with me but we ran out of time and he asked if he could take his brother's place. He is the youngest and only 5 so he was a little shy, so his big sister came in for moral support. She was by coincidence doing her math from school while she watched/helped us.

 A family that plays math together stays math together...or something.

Addends Built and Proud.

She has had quite a few lessons with me and now her school work is easy and she's getting A's. When she get's to "harder" algebra she will still get A's. As you know the most common grade for algebra is F. Most students who take it FAIL. What does that do to a child's self esteem, particularly girls?  There are some child psychologists who have figured out that if they fix the math grade a lot of other family problems disappear.  Problem is most of them can't teach math any better than their clients teachers. Until now.

"She's doing math, I'm doing Math too!"

Why not avoid the problems in the first place?  Here is a system for teaching mathematics that makes it so easy even math phobics can learn how to do it. I have taught more than one mom who hated math to play math with her children.  Often that's the first hurdle...getting them to make math fun. This child's mom also works with him and spent a lot of time home schooling the other three...with a few supplemental lessons from me when it came to math. So playing math over the internet is natural to this little boy, although he was a little shy at first and wanted somebody to be there for security. Mom had to take his brother to swimming practice...so his sister was elected.  Here we see him playing what's under the cup with my little boys. Even though these games are far under the older children's skill level, having their addends reinforced this way doesn't hurt anything.

Repetition is the mother of skill, but this kind of repetition doesn't get boring or tedious because they are just playing with another kid...imagine if they had a worksheet with 50 of these problems, even if they were set up algebraically where they had to find x it would be drudgery or had to go through a deck of addition flashcards.

On top of that, the emotions and associations that go along with play are positive whereas the emotions and asscoiations that go along with drill work and work sheets are negative. You need only look in the mirror in most cases for confirmation of this. What asscociaitions do YOU have with math? Yes you reading this.  Chances are they are quite negative...and even if they are neutral you don't associate FUN or PLAY with MATH. There are a very few reading this that do... Why is that? And if you hate math as a teacher or a parent, do think that might maybe somehow perhaps transfer to you students or children.  People used to think they had bad math genes.

At this age even sorting the blocks is useful, I admonish parents NOT to clean up after their kids after a math lesson. Make them do it, or make them do MOST of it with your help. While you put away blocks you can count and do a little multiplication just so they hear the patterns...when they are very young you might just have them put same with same...at this age you can say things like 3 sevens is 21 and as you put fives away count them, five, ten, fifteen, twenty... This would also be a great time to put a skip count CD on or multiplication rock songs as music to clean up to. If you sing the clean up song by Barney while you do it, the ten bars will turn into snakes at night and disable your pets.  And now that song is stuck in your head again. You're welcome.

Learning is going on all the time...even during clean up.

When you get right down to it, he doesn't really need me because his sister (who as I said has MANY lessons under her belt) and his mom who has spent some time on my blog and website,   plays with him too. His sister was actually a big help during this lesson.  Soon it can be just me an him as he get used to Crewton Ramone.

The video snippet below gives you a feel for what happened during an hour long session with a five year old who is learning his addends. I also put part of a game of what's under the cup on it which will get him ready for some simple algebraic problem solving...this is so important and yet it is rarely done in public schools across the country. You can certainly hear his enthusiasm.  The pictures alone should be enough to warm your heart. I know parents who wish their kids would play together but sometimes it's hard when the ages are far apart.

Once counting is mastered we can do all sorts of math, in this case it's addition using addends and of course we make a game of it and play math. What's under the cup is a kid favorite.

Soon he will see 8 + x = 15 instead of the cup...and it will make sense that x = 7...and when he sees some rules years from now in public school those will make sense too... you can find more on tmy blog and website.

You know how you're supposed to read to your kids? You should probably math to your kids too.

Meantime Dboyz are just fooling around playing and building stuff....they also were doing some factoring together, you can't see it well but they factored 2x² -3x - 9...and just had fun building towers and a "castle" out of addends. They are 7 and 9 so for them it's just play (if you ask them they are sure they didn't learn anything...there are lots of other kids for whom these activities would still be challenging learning exercises. Dboyz are reinforcing facts they already know without paper and pencil or  math worksheets.





Learn to use your base ten blocks.

Multitasking is no problem with all you are doing is directing play...

Manipulatives Introduce A 4 Year Old To Problem Solving

 

Can your 4 year old solve this? Why not?

 Using manipulatives to teach math really does make things easier for everybody involved. And as we used say Mortensen Math makes math child's play: because it does. Preschoolers can do math that amazes adults. Here we begin introducing symbols to a very young child but before we did any of this we played games and especially a game called "What's Under The Cup?"  This is an absolute favorite of pre-schoolers. Start doing what you see here and eventually you can work your way up to what you see here, "advanced what's under the cup." And we'll get to problems like 3x + 2 = 2x + 5.


Problem solving is simple when you baby step your way there.  So for now we are just figuring out problems like 8 + x = 12. Keep it easy no need to rush. just play.



After this we played what's under the cup for real...and we played for a good 20 more minutes. Even though if you listen you will her ask "Can I go now?" She stayed and they played. She had fun because my youngest was playing with her instead of me and her dad. Kids like to play with other kids which is why group learning can be so effective...it's also why I try to put young students in groups.

I paid my youngest a dollar for helping me tutor this little girl in Chicago...and he is thrilled.

"Wait, you're paying me for this? This is so awesome!"

Just as aside, this child was being taught via vid chat, I wasn't even there in person.  I agree that you lose a little when you do it over the internet instead of in person but you don't lose that much.  Lots of people could benefit from internet tutoring...again if I can make it this easy for her using the blocks, I can probably make it much easier for older kids too....in fact lots of teens go from "F" to "A" in short order.   I prefer YOU teach your own kids but tutoring is what I do. So if you need help be in touch. I also "coach" teachers and parents.

All we did was play what's under the cup. I didn't get that on vid...because when the camera goes on things change and my first obligation is to the paying customer not making vids for the internet...my boy is an old pro at this game and for him it's super easy but he like to play with this little girl via vid chat, she had fun and our lesson lasted longer than usual because she was fully engaged in playing math.  Here he is "back in the day" when he was also four.



We made a problem for her, then she made one for us and she learned addends...and I had an epiphany myself while watching them PLAY. I can't stress enough how important it is to let them play, you provide the framework or game and some direction and they'll do the rest if you let them. I also have to work a little with the father on removing NO from the lesson and letting her fool around to get the right answer. She's never wrong just getting more information. 3 + X = 12 she picks a 7 because she knows 3 needs a 7 to be ten and that's often a right answer when there's a three involved...she sees it's a little short and then sees she needs 2 more so she makes the addend for 9 with a 7 and a 2 AND she gets the answer for 3 + X = 12.  In her head she realizes she needs a 9 because she can see it. Harder to do if you just have symbols. Her thought process in no way benefits from her being told "no" when she gets the 7.

Fear of Failure Can Be Taught Unconsciously or UN-taught Conciously.
We also want to remove the fear of failure. Ever hear of Sara Blakely? Her father actually used to ask her how often she failed. You might go read that article because it is very rare that I link to stuff I haven't written...and even less to Forbes or CNBC. They don't need my help. (I need your help though, you could link to me, like pages pin on pinterest etc, it helps people find my work. Page rank, all that SEO stuff.) But that's a good article and a fun interview. Billion with a B.

Parents might want to apply it as best they can with their own kids. It will be hard because in school kids learn to fear the all-mighty "F". They learn to fear failure instead of looking at it as an important part of learning and a crucial part of success. Whether it's mathematics or life in general. This patterning starts young. Instead of being afraid to try or being hesitant to look stupid or displease mom or dad, they just play and learn. There should also be some words of encouragement to keep trying even if you get it wrong more than once.

What usually ends up happening is children or teenagers fail math (algebra is still the most failed subject) learn to hate math and don't keep trying. I can't blame them, really. They are put into a system where they can't succeed; where the system doesn't change to fit the student's natural learning style instead they expect the student to adapt to the teaching style. Worse, it's EXPECTED that a certain percent will fail. Bummer for you if you're in that crowd. At the house of math one of the axioms is put the child in a situation where they can not fail, although they may fail on the way to right answers with directed discovery they eventually get there maybe even on their own.

We've Gotten To The Point Now Where We Expect Students To Fail Math.

Having said all this about failure, I remember a teacher that came to one of our trainings got excited and really applied the lessons she learned and the use of the blocks to her algebra class. I was the trainer that gave her another 30 hours when she had come back after her first 10 hour training. She was so excited and happy and MAD. Her pre-algebra class got all A's because of this method. No one failed, no one even got a "B." Was the principal thrilled? Hell no. He told her she had some how made the tests too easy and that she needed to make the class harder. Her algebra class where she had similar success, not ALL A's but no F's was met with a similar response. This was not a brand new teacher this was a veteran teacher. Some kids should be failing or she wasn't doing it right. This was a training with about 100 people in it, in Utah. Other people chimed in with similar experiences.

I removed all but one of the expletives from the above paragraph for your reading enjoyment. If a four year old can do this and you can see second graders doing algebra and problem solving perhaps teen-agers can do it too. You might also search Crewton Ramone in the classroom and see what comes back.

Now, get yourself a password and get started. I know you're wondering what you get for a password. So I made a whole blog post just for you. I am told I don't charge enough. I am going to give Raymond his own page, fix the percents page and add a trig page here shortly. Then there will be training pages you can buy...just give it a little time; I remember when there were no videos and passwords were a buck.

Give your child a headstart in math with my counting book.

Dboyz Night Time Fash Card Caper.

First I want to make it clear that flash cards are not a primary teaching tool. If anything I use them as a diagnostic tool to see where students are, how easily they can recall facts and where we can play games and do other activities that will cover the ones they need work on, these two have pretty much mastered this deck. The point is when you are doing math try to have fun with it. It doesn't have to be "work."  Before I turned the camera on it was much sillier and we were having lots more laughs...which is why I got the camera. Of course when I turned the camera on things changed but you can still see we were having fun not just "drilling..."

This is more of a home video. It is poor quality and too dark but that's not the point. The point is not to use flash cards as your primary tool for memorizing math facts...and that if you are relaxed and having fun MORE learning takes place not less. There are now plenty of studies that bear this out, and corporations are well aware that it is easier to program people when they are relaxed and happy than when they are stressed and upset.



This was back in December. I probably have pulled flash cards out ONCE since then. We have been playing math for so long by now this kind of single digit division is easy for them to do...no stress, no tears, but it does make them think a little differently than when we do multiplication.

People who use base ten blocks understand the diagram. With multiplication you get the sides of the rectangle, you have to tell me the whole rectangle. With factoring you get the whole rectangle, you have to tell me both sides, with division you get the whole rectangle AND you get one side all you do is tell me the other side. You get MORE information. We are fooling around with the basic concept of the rectangle and using it to facilitate counting. This is concept #3 of the 5 basic concepts. They also get a better feel for the idea of inverse functions and what that means.

It amazes me that some students don't get the connection between multiplication and division.  With division you actually get the most information and yet we usually teach it last and kids end up hating it.  At Crewton Ramone's house of math we teach it right along with addition and subtraction, and even the little kids under 5 are exposed to the idea that it's just more fun counting...because really that's all it is. Take a look at the smiley face division books. These are for kids who can't even write yet!



I have seen kids who are two and a half who can't hardly speak yet sit on their mommy's lap and point to the right answer...the parent was so enthusiastic about Mortensen Math. "Why not? I read her story books this is just another book but she can participate..." Certainly I have no problem with this. My book is designed for little kids too, just another book to read at bedtime. Some people will try and tell you you should wait, and that somehow you're taking away their childhood and other such rubbish. We know the best time to teach a language is when they are YOUNGER, kids in Europe learn several languages and switch back and fourth easily. Math is just another language. Early Exposure to Math concepts helps ensure success. It should also be obvious that drill work is not the most effective method for learning math although repetition is the mother of skill, you can get them to repeat math facts by building and playing until they KNOW them rather than dry, stale, lame worksheets and flash cards, that turn the kids off and make them hate math by the time they reach 6th grade.

Also I'd like to address this line of thinking. If they learn math "this way" instead of "the other way" won't they get confused? Again, just like kids being able to switch easily between languages kids can easily switch between symbols and blocks and I have tons of video where my boys do algebra in their heads without blocks or even symbols on a white board or even paper and pencil...all verbally. Once you can see it in your mind, you can use symbols to describe it if you need to, or you can just say the answer.

Further, "this way" they actually see where the rules come from instead of just memorizing rules or facts or algorithms. If they play enough they will see a pattern or a way to figure out the answer and then they can make their own rule, it doesn't matter that the rule or formula already exists THEY discovered it for themselves given direction and play time. They see and understand why and THEY will tell you the formulas...if you do it right; they really will tell you the rule or formula (like Pythagorean Theorem for example) instead of just memorizing a lot of disjointed rules and formulas that become compartmentalized with no idea how it all fits together. Jerry Mortensen used to call this "the meaningless dance." This should sound familiar to you because more likely than not this is the way YOU were taught math and by high school or college none of it made much sense even if you could memorize long enough to get an "A" on a test...you still can't/couldn't apply it. Math also enhances critical thinking...but that's a whole other topic.

"To state a theorem and then to show examples of it is literally to teach backwards." ~E. Kim Nebeuts

If we taught little kids English the way we teach math, precious few of us would speak English. Math: patterns, rules, predictability, consistency...English is kind of a mess.

Here is another blog post on division showing some division worksheets I had made. Search Crewton Ramone division and you will find a host of posts vids and pages I've made over the years.

The original post got eaten by blogger, I think I managed to get everything back...

Anyhow find us on FaceBook

More First Grade Math Fun with Manipulatives.

Use a block you know to count to a number you don't know. It's fun to use your new skills right away.

If you read this blog regularly you are quite familiar with the concept MAKE MATH FUN. Especially when they are only in first grade, five or six years old....why would you make it "work"? Manipulatives when used properly can make math fun. And can be quite powerful at getting concepts across to students who don't grasp them when they are presented using symbols only. I remember a parent asking me why put a whole bag over there head why not just have them close their eyes? Because the bag is MORE FUN. What's under the cup is FUN. Playing with brightly colored blocks is FUN. What the hell happened to you are your way to adulthood? Do you forget to have fun...? I remember being with some adult friends on Halloween and they were stressing out about hotel rooms and their costumes and whatever else...and I said "You might be forgetting to have fun."

First graders still know how to play and have fun. They could help you if you let them. Relax. You have time. Let them goof around...of course there needs to be some discipline but don't get so caught up in the lesson or the idea that this is math time I have to teach them xyz. Good for you for being conscientious and relax: playing is learning. All you have to do is provide a little structure and direction.

"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance." ~Franklin P. Jones

Pretending you have x-ray vision is fun.



Be playful, have fun with your math instruction all the way through high school. People are always amazed when I say I make math fun...amazed might not be the right word incredulous might be a better word. They can't imagine math being fun...or even using math and fun in the same sentence. "Here have a worksheet instead." That's because they had a bad experience...I, myself, have shed a few tears over the mathematics. Then I found out it doesn't have to be that way. Break the cycle of math violence in your household! Have fun with your kids playing math, dammit! Use your weapons of math instruction for instruction not destruction (although at older ages you might want to do some analysis and deconstruction).

"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play." ~Heraclitus

The patterns of multiplication are easy to discover and hear. I can't stress enough multiplication is the major milestone in the beginning of a child's math career. Needs to be made as painless as possible. And as the case with all languages it is better if it is taught EARLY rather than later. Sing songs, watch vids play games learn multiplication...you may find that it allows students to practice their addends and addition...because that's all multiplication is, it's counting quickly.

They're just playing with blocks they said. Manipulatives aren't particularly productive they said. Sure, I said.

Find me on FB.

And here is the House Of Math if you stumbled onto this post by accident and you are new around here. Soon this kid will have his own page and it will be password protected; you may eventually want to get a password.

Update: He now has his own page, you'll find this post and more vids you won't find anywhere else at CRHOM. This snippet was made from a much higher quality vid using screencasting the vid at my website has better audio and video.

"Almost all creativity involves purposeful play." ~Abraham Maslow American psychologist 1908-1970

"Whoever wants to understand much must play much." ~Gottfried Benn German physician 1886-1956

"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." ~Fred Rogers American television personality 1928-2003
"People tend to forget that play is serious." ~David Hockney Contemporary British painter

"Do not…keep children to their studies by compulsion but by play." ~Plato Greek philosopher 427-347 BCE

"Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father." ~Roger von Oech Contemporary American creativity guru

"We didn't do anything dad, we just played with blocks." ~My favorite quote from a little girl who went from "F" to "A".