Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons The aptly named website, “Visual Fractions,” shows fraction concepts and operations the way I teach them – from a visual basis. Although it is standard for math curricula to introduce fractions visually, most of them drop the visualization too early. Worse, when many children are just starting to grasp these […]
Sep 17 2015
New Osmo Game
Osmo®, the educational game platform that incorporates actual, hands-on pieces while giving software-based feedback and enhancements, has a new game for teaching basic math concepts and operations, called “Numbers.” As I mentioned in a previous post, Osmo uses the camera on an iPad to “see” which game pieces the player(s) have put in front of […]
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Apr 22 2015
Osmo: Software Meets Hands-On Play
As a Montessori teacher and computer super-user (I even write programs), I worry about young children spending too much time immersed in computers instead of interacting in what used to be normal ways in physical and social realms. Osmo® is different. It actually encourages real-world physical manipulation and in-person social interaction. When I saw their […]
Aug 31 2014
Fold the Flock
September 1st marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Martha, the last of the passenger pigeons, who died in the Cincinnati zoo in 1914. The Lost Bird Project has a site, Fold the Flock, where you will find origami instructions and paper templates for making origami passenger pigeons, along with videos and other information. […]
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May 25 2012
Nature and Children
When I was a child, I roamed the woods and played outdoor games with my friends. Few children today seem to be so lucky. Below are recent articles that point to the lack of outdoor experience among children and why that matters. “Kids These Days: Why Is America’s Youth Staying Indoors?” (Nature Conservancy website) “Only […]
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Apr 09 2012
Family Life Expo & Camp Fair
This is the first in what will be a series of articles about science and math education for children, activities, learning philosophy and psychology, and a few summaries and comments about interesting education-related stories from other sources. My assistant Stan Jackson and I enjoyed the March 2012 Family Life Expo & Camp Fair, our first […]
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