images-3Sara just finished first grade. As most recently graduated first graders, she was very excited to be out of school.  But Sara, in her usual dramatic fashion, took it to a new level..saying she hated school and never wanted to go back.  As my wife and I looked into why that was we believe that one (of the multiple) reasons that she hated school is because math was especially difficult for her.

We figured that putting a kid who hates school into summer school would probably be counter productive.  My wife, the english major, feels more comfortable with reading, writing and art, so I get the job of summer math teacher.  As a modern-man, I went on Google to figure out how to teach 1st and 2nd grade math.  While the subject is easy for me to do, I’m learning that it’s surprisingly difficult to communicate and teach these principles and concepts.  I went from very excited and gung-ho for the project to completely terrified…what if I confuse her more than help her? There are so many methods, which one do I pick?   Can I see this project through?

I’ve found some amazing resources on the internet and believe that Montessori has probably the best methods for teaching an abstract concept like math with concrete tools…because what is 11, 8 or 7 anyway?  Unfortunately, I’m not going to spend a zillion dollars on their beautifully designed, solid wood math games.  And, being a man, I can not only make them myself but I can make them better!

So, to help solidify my teaching method and to remember to learn from my mistakes, I’m going to share my summer school math program with the world…or at least my 2 followers (hi mom!).   Suggestions and constructive comments are always welcome.

…here we go, summer school 2013