Maria's Math News, February 2021

Hi again!

Another month has passed — time flies oh, so quickly, it's hard to grasp! I hope you will find something interesting – invigorating – inspiring in this month's collection.😀

Math Mammoth news
Problem solving
Never Give Up
Rounding rules for estimating (grades 3-12)
More videos (grades 1-8)
Just for fun!

1. Math Mammoth news

Math Mammoth curriculum has been nominated for the Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards again for 2021! (In 2020, Math Mammoth received the second place award.)

If you'd like to cast your vote for Math Mammoth, and for other homeschooling products, go here:

www.home-school.com/2021-reader-awards/

Also, there's an incentive to fill out the award ballot; one lucky voter will receive a free Timberdoodle curriculum kit valued at up to $1,379!

The ballot is here: www.home-school.com/2021-reader-awards/

I will run a TWO-DAY sale at my TPT store, February 9-10. Everything in my store will be 20% + 5% = 25% off.

A testimonial:

My daughter is a life-long homeschooler, she is dyslexic, dyscalculic, and has inattentive type ADHD. She's incredibly bright, but struggles with independent reading and math skills. So far, Math Mammoth has been a BREAKTHROUGH for us. She begs to do the hidden picture game online! I am so grateful!

2. Problem solving

Bethany talks in this article about a very important topic: we need to help our kids to PERSEVERE in problem solving. That's what we would expect of them in LIFE, right? The same is true of math, also.

School mathematics shouldn't be merely an endless string of calculation questions with the goal of producing the right answer. Instead... the goal should be to help them learn HOW to navigate the PROCESS of solving problems.

It's not something where you straightforwardly arrive at the right answer! It's more like going through a maze (whether a small maze or larger)... there will be wrong turns and backtracking.

But as you PERSEVERE, you will find the way!

And MISTAKES are NOT BAD! They're just part of the process.

=> Persevere in Problem Solving

3. Never Give Up

A wonderful and encouraging story by an 9-year old girl, Savannah Sanders, about her experiences with math... have your kids read it!

Note how she learns when the teacher allows her to correct her mistakes in a test. I definitely advocate that. In fact, I give my kids HALF of the points they COULD have gotten at first, if they get a test question correct when they revise it.

Tests should be LEARNING tools, and help children learn, just like everything else we do in teaching them, and NOT "scary judgment devices".

=> Never Give Up from Black Women Rock Math blog

4. Rounding rules for estimating

Several people have asked over the years about ROUNDING when estimating the result of a math problem. I finally wrote something to put online so I can refer people to that when they ask...

It seems to be a confusing topic! But really, in a nutshell, there are no exact rules. When estimating...

Consider your mental math skills. Round as little as possible, based on what YOU can calculate in your head.
And, consider also how the rounding up or down will affect the final result. Sometimes it is better to round one number up and the other down, even though the technical rounding rules would dictate otherwise.

Read: How to round numbers when estimating

5. More videos

I'm still editing the math videos we filmed several years ago for the curriculum. Lately I've been uploading more videos for 3rd grade.

Find all the available videos at this link. There are HUNDREDS of them!

6. Just for fun!

He visited his daughter's kitchen and left an honest review 😊
Beautiful art with plants
Where is the THING?
Chow time, Roscoe
Eye Test for Musicians

Thanks for reading! 🙂

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Till next time,
Maria Miller