games like that are simple enough that kids can get the hang of them pretty quickly and they boil down to finding clever ways to arrange numbers. backgammon and probability. what's the likelihood of rolling a seven? and now what's the likelihood of rolling a seven with a five and two?
also, do those things that make it clear that math is all about the real world. that math is everywhere. until this year my kids were homeschooled and it became apparent that things like stories on NPR were loaded with instances where math--and plenty of other basic concepts-- was inherent.
in fact, i flunked calculus twice in college before i realized that it wasn't some stupid exercise. then one day, i and a couple housemates used calc to figure out how long the groove on a 12" lp would be if you stretched it out. i flunked calc twice more after that. but i knew how long the groove was.
Slashdot Mirror
games like that are simple enough that kids can get the hang of them pretty quickly and they boil down to finding clever ways to arrange numbers. backgammon and probability. what's the likelihood of rolling a seven? and now what's the likelihood of rolling a seven with a five and two? also, do those things that make it clear that math is all about the real world. that math is everywhere. until this year my kids were homeschooled and it became apparent that things like stories on NPR were loaded with instances where math--and plenty of other basic concepts-- was inherent. in fact, i flunked calculus twice in college before i realized that it wasn't some stupid exercise. then one day, i and a couple housemates used calc to figure out how long the groove on a 12" lp would be if you stretched it out. i flunked calc twice more after that. but i knew how long the groove was.