On Teaching Math

Today I demonstrated subtraction for Cutie Pie using the number line to count up from the smallest number of the equation to the largest. E.g. 10 - 7 "Put your finger on 7, now on ten how many "hops" must you make to get to 10?"

"3"!

"Yes, that's right let's practice another one."

Five minutes later...

"Now let's do this color by number worksheet and see what it becomes. We have 5 frogs and 1 jumps away, how many are left?"

"I want an alligator."

"I don't know what the picture will turn out to be, we have to work all the problems and color the area using our color code bank. See if the answer is 1 we color it yellow, if it's 2 we color it blue. Now if we have 6 frogs and 2 jumps away, how many are left? Here use the number line."

"I told you I want alligators."

"I told you that I don't know what it will be. Most likely not an alligator, but lets work the problems, color the spaces and find out what it will be." Can you hear the exasperation in my voice??? Sweetness sure did so she helped me out.

"Mom, he wants you to count alligators instead of frogs."

"Oh, OK! I GET IT!"

DUH!

Ya just gotta love it when the light comes on!

If Eve Could Talk She Would Say

"NO! NO! I don't like the water. Please don't make me follow you into the lake. Please stop! OK I'm gonna have to break free. Ha! Now I'm free. Look at me! Free as a doggie can be. Who's that calling me. Oh dear, it's the mom. I don't want to obey I wanna run free. WEll, she is pleading with me. OK. I'll go back. She's pretty nice. She won't make me get into the water. Ahhh so glad you're happy to see me. OK. I'll go on the boat with you. No I don't want to look at the kids in the water. I'm mad at the girl. She tried to make me get wet. I'll just lay here and completely ignore her and soak up love from you mom. Ahh yes a little behind the ears that feels good don't stop. What who's this. It's the girl. Oh, I can't help it she's my favorite. Oh I love her still. Now come on over here." lick lick lick "Let me lick all that water off ya. You must be terribly miserable being so wet and all now stand still and let me lick you dry. There that's all better now!"

Sharing the Lake

Swim season has joyfully begun at Heartfelt! The family of geese graciously share the water with us.

The cliche "They grow up fast" could not be more true of baby geese. One more month and they'll be as big as mama and papa goose.


Cutie Pie getting warmed up on his floaty device.



Sweetness boogying on her board.



Whoever invented floaty arms is one wealthy person!


Future marine biologist!



We gladly moved out of the way of this poisonous looking microbug!