MSI Press Blog

  Second grade at St. Alphonsus was no joke. It was a stretch academically—and financially. We chose Catholic school because it offered more challenge than the local public school, and we could just barely afford it. Tuition checks were written with prayer and crossed fingers. At home, we were transparent about money. Lizzie, precocious and perceptive, absorbed more than we realized. One day, her math teacher—a sweet sister with a chalkboard and a mission—wrote the problem: 23 - 35. She asked the class, “What’s wrong with this problem?” expecting a chorus of “We copied it wrong!” Her point: slow down, be careful, copy accurately. But Lizzie had other ideas. She raised her hand and said, “Maybe the problem is forgetting the negative sign, when you write the answer, -12.” The sister blinked. Negative numbers were not on the second-grade syllabus. She replied gently, “There is no such thing as negative numbers.” Lizzie, ever the truth-seeker, tilted her head and asked, “Well...

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #215 ...The More They Stay The Same (Strategies for + -)   If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. ~ Maya Angelou   In the previous idea, you read about the fact that the way teachers teach math concepts to your child might be different from the way you learned how to do them yourself. However, some things never change. Here are a few basic concepts to reinforce with your child that will help her to become stronger in math: ●       It is important to transition from counting on her fingers to using mental math ( visualizing the math in her head). One way to reinforce this is by using a number line for a while. She can actually count on or back by moving her finger across the numbers to "see" the adding or subtracting. ●   ...

Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #202 Cereal Box Math   The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. ~Plutarch   There's a multitude of math waiting on your child's cereal box or favorite snack box. Here are just a few questions to ask older children:   ●       If there are 120 calories in one serving, how many calories in two or three servings? ●       How much more Vitamin C is there than Vitamin A? ●       If you need 100 percent of vitamin B6 in a day and your cereal only gives 10%, how much more to you need? ●       Pour a normal bowl of cereal. Then, pour the cereal into a measuring cup. How many servings do you actually eat in a day?   Try these with younger children: ●       ...