Yesterday was an appointment for Mom at the Oncologist. It was certainly a very informative appointment, but did not end with good results.
This morning we had to get to school an hour before school started for Muffins, Math and Moms breakfast.
We did some tanagram puzzles and then worked on some complicated math problems.
The problem on the overhead was:
A farmer buys a horse for $50.
Then he sells the horse to his neighbor for $60.
Then he buys the horse back for $70.
Then he sells the horse to another neighbor for $80.
Did the farmer make money or lose money and how much?
Well, on paper, we were able to figure out right away that the farmer had a surplus of $20 after all was said and done. The Vice Principal got her feathers a little ruffled when I asked what kind of help was available to kids who were struggling with multi-step problems. I was not confrontational, however I did ask her to break down the problem the way the teachers want us to reinforce at home. She struggled for a few minutes trying to simplify and explain the problem, which was kindof my point. In the end, I ended up meeting with Megan's teacher today to discuss if she wants me to reinforce this new "creative" math of acting out word problems, or if pencil and paper problem solving is her preference. Fortunately, it seems as though (from what I've gleaned from spending time at the school board) everyone is grasping at straws trying to figure out how to teach math concepts and in this instance, the leadership was trying to make the problem harder than it needed to be. Keith and I both check over the kids homework nightly and if there is a problem, we usually ask how they came up with the answer they came up with and then they find their mistake and fix it. Megan's teacher said that was probably the best way for Megan to continue to grow in her Math skills.
I then spent the remainder of my day working through my on-line orientation for a math class I'm taking this summer. I have to take a more advanced Statistics class then what I took when I earned my Bachelors. This is a prerequisite for a Masters program that I have applied to.
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