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17 March 2014

Fluent in Math

I ran across this math article the other day, and it had some really great ideas. I particularly like the counting from different places and in both directions.



Most parents begin by teaching children to count from 1 to 10, then 1 to 20, and so on up to 100. Sometimes we neglect to teach them to count fluently from numbers other than 1.


That's me. We did that. And we didn't really do any other kind of counting; I just never thought of it.


Sometimes we neglect to teach them to count fluently from numbers other than 1. Then when they begin addition, they have problems because they have never counted from a number other than 1. So they start at 1 and count to the first number and then continue to count for the second number. To be fluent counters, we must also teach them to count from a number to a number.


And that describes one of the few things that Hero struggled with in learning addition. He still doesn't like to "count on." I'm wondering if doing a little counting practice from numbers other than number one would help the situation. We all also need to increase our fluency in counting in Japanese as well, so this will be happening in two languages. I need to learn to say, "count forward" and "count backward" in Japanese too. It's always interesting to try to teach a new thing in Japanese, since that usually means that I'm learning it right along-side the kids, or maybe one step in front! There's a bunch of counting projects for both English and Japanese in this article. I think that it'll be keeping us busy for a while, between the two languages. Hero will do other stuff in addition, but Dragon and I will probably focus on counting in a whole bunch of different kinds of ways, and in both languages for the next little while. I think I need to find my big 100s chart and hang it back up.


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2 comments:

Rozy Lass said...

I tried teaching my children to count by twos, threes, fours, etc. which helps when you reach multiplication. Some got it some didn't. I should have spent more time learning about different learning styles in the beginning, but I just didn't know, this was twenty years ago. Keep up the good work. I really admire you!

Ritsumei said...

It really is true how much you learn as you go along! I saw this the other day and thought what a cool idea it is. I really can't take any credit, but thanks!

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