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I have a three year old son, and it is absolutely fascinating to watch his mathematical understanding develop. I've been a math teacher my entire adult life so
by japhyr 12y ago
I have a three year old son, and it is absolutely fascinating to watch his mathematical understanding develop. I've been a math teacher my entire adult life so I've had plenty of experience watching older students develop their understanding. It's entirely different watching your kid develop their understanding from scratch.
I recently looked for some kids' books that would focus on the more interesting problems in math, rather than just counting. I was happy to find a few books that have helped him see math as more than just counting. My favorite so far is The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos. [0] I knew of Erdos, but I didn't know much about him. I learned from reading this book, and my kid loves it as well. He is fascinated with aging, and he now sees it as normal that someone would spend their whole life focusing on numbers.
We are also starting to enjoy Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late. [1] The idea is to give your kid some interesting math problems to think about at bedtime. We've found that it's a good way to help him think about things other than the dark, and strange noises while he's falling asleep.
It's fascinating to watch this development. A few nights ago: "Did you know that one of the oldest questions people have asked is, How many stars are there in the sky?"
"No, I didn't know that!"
"How many stars do you think there are in the sky?"
"Eight!"
[0] - http://www.amazon.com/The-Boy-Who-Loved-Math/dp/1596433078 http://www.amazon.com/The-Boy-Who-Loved-Math/dp/1596433078
[1] - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250035856 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250035856
- nileshtrivedi 12y agoYou will love this blog: http://talkingmathwithkids.com http://talkingmathwithkids.com
- pbhjpbhj 12y agoThis too, http://jdh.hamkins.org/category/math-for-kids/ http://jdh.hamkins.org/category/math-for-kids/, which featured on HN a couple of months ago.