Back on track

For the multitude of mess ups that I’ve had in my life, one would think that I would remember that after a mess up is usually a time of great progress. This last week is no exception.

After possibly pushing too hard on Sara the other night (and getting over the idea of throwing in the towel on this project) I decided to do very small, informal lessons to get back on track. My first lesson was showing Sara an “art project” that I did (until the wee hours of the morning) – it’s the picture on this blog post, not sure the name but I call it a 10 square. We counted the pinks and greens and that was it.

I made the thing because I found it on some Montessori math sites and it looked pretty cool. Afterward I realized that I wasn’t exactly sure what to teach with it. After fiddling a little while I decided that she needs to recite every column – 0+10 =10, 1+9=10, 2+8=10, etc. I suppose a few nights of that will help with memorization of those combinations.

Next lesson I learned a cool technique from my business partner on math memorization. Take 3 or 4 flash cards and put them in a “daily” folder. Do these flash cards every day, multiple times. After a week, put them in the “weekly” folder and put new flash cards in the daily folder. Once a week review the old flash cards – then after a month of that, put the original set in the “monthly” folder.

What an amazing technique so far. I started with a couple basic and a couple problems that she was having to figure every time she saw them..3+4 and 6+4. After 3 days (2-3 times a day), she just remembers them – bam….memorization 101.

So Sara is back on track but she hasn’t earned her build-a-bear back yet. She needs to do some extra help with math for that to happen. That’s were my biggest joy to date has been.

The extra work is helping Sophia (3 years old), with her math. We are learning numbers, shapes, colors and basic addition. I had Sara help me with a lesson on Friday, I showed her what we were going to teach and let her go. I coached her along the way making sure she gave lots of positive reinforcement and wasn’t too much of a perfectionist on some of the lessons.

Sara was so proud of herself and excited about being the teacher. Tonight after her lesson she asked what Sophia’s lesson was going to be tonight so she could prepare for it.

I know that I quoted this scripture in the last entry but, as with many scriptures, it’s meaning changes with perspective, today we rejoice in hope;

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation and be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12)