images-2How do we get a 7 year old, self proclaimed math-hater to do summer school math?  The mere mention of math sends a shriek of terror through the house.

“Hey Sara, let’s play a game.”  When she sees numbers, she knows what I’m up to – no dice!  Force certainly doesn’t work either – math is supposed to be fun, not pain.

One day it hit me, she loves art and she doesn’t want to feel like she’s the one who is under the gun to learn.  What if Sara and I teach Sophia (now 3) how to do basic numbers and math?   Sara can be the “teacher” and at the same time we can go back to kindergarten-level math and re-establish some of the fundamentals for Sara for part of the time, the rest of the time we can work on “really advanced” first/second grade math while Sophia does her work.  Brilliant (if I do say so myself)!

From being a professional sales person, I’ve learned that you always ask a prospect for “help” – “would you mind helping me with this issue…?”  It’s a way to motivate people because I believe that deep down, we all want to help our fellow man.  So I asked Sara if she would mind helping me teach Sophia her math this summer – and we’ll do it using art projects.  She got so excited about teaching and art that I could hardly contain her.

Step 1:  Motivation – check!