Mathematician-In-Residence
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Mathematics is so much more than worksheets,
memorization of basic facts and arithmetic drill. Math is a
fun exploration of pattern and order. Ultimately, my goal is
to excite and inspire children about the fun and fascination
that doing math provides. My program is pure math enrichment
and serves to supplement traditional school mathematics. I
am the founding teacher of Explorations in Math, an
organization that serves Seattle Public Schools with math
enrichment services.
Kindergartners:
Karin, Carlen and I are truly amazed at how
fast our little ones are learning this game! I love seeing
little people do big things; chess is an excellent game to
introduce so many school skills. The children are learning
more than a “game.” Learning about ordered pairs, or
coordinates, logic, strategy and tactics, and basic addition
facts are some of the benefit that chess affords!
Grades 1-3:
Our current strand is number sense and numeration. Kids are
discovering that learning multiples or “skip counting” can
be a fun and meaningful way to learn their multiplication
tables. Featured in this unit is an educational CD called
"Easy Times Tables" which helps to simplify and make
learning the times tables fun. If you would like to
purchase a copy, you can go to
www.positivecentral.com. Students have also been
introduced to a device called Napier’s bones. They were the
invention of the sixteenth century Scottish mathematician
John Napier. They can be seen at
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/NapiersBones.html.
Grades 4 and 5:
Our current strand is algebra. Students learn to classify
real numbers, the order of operations, and use properties of
equality to balance equations and ultimately solve for
unknowns. However, if this all sounds relatively mundane, it
gets real exciting when students learn how to calculate the
height of an apple, plus or minus a few inches, based upon
how long it took to hit the ground. We use a pneumatic
launcher to boost a projectile, an apple, around 300-500
feet skyward. Algebraic reasoning skills, isolating
variables, and applied mathematics are skills that kids will
need to be successful in middle school.
