to market, to market

[underused]

C is sitting in the kitchen doing the last bit of prep for tomorrow. It's the first day of school.

As I walked into the room I heard him chuckling. I asked what was so funny. He said the math problems in his books were "too boring," he was rewriting them to make them more interesting.

This fall, the kids' first math problem will start like this:

Tilly Threefeet has 20 dollars in the bank. She has to buy fish muffins for her octopus.

I asked him why 'Tilly Threefeet' and he replied without pause: "She has three feet. It's why she feels a bond with the octopus." He didn't say "duh," but the duh was implied.

He's a good teacher.

Comments

[merikuru]

As someone who finds maths exceptionally boring, I approve of this.

[underused]

Fish muffins! I don't know why, but that alone made me laugh out loud.

[merikuru]

Because it sounds like a silly swear? :D

[underused]

That's def true! But also the word "muffin" always seems a bit silly to me. And the idea of a fish-flavoured muffin is improbable. I'm reminded of old cookbooks or texts that refer to "beef tea."

[merikuru]

Well, soup is basically just uppity vegetable tea, so~

[amidthestars]

I want this to become some sort of children's story.

[underused]

That's what I keep thinking, too. At the very least, someone needs to illustrate an octopus delighted to receive a fish muffin!

[balganwall]

Clever! I wish math problems were that fun and involving.

I've been thinking about writing fun lessons for kids struggling with basic writing and grammar skills, but it's reaching out to teachers and deciding on which grades to write for that's stumbling me.

[underused]

Very interesting. I'll talk to C about it and see if he has any ideas. Have you thought about how you want to develop the lessons? I good way to decide on grades might be to look at the curriculum and see what moves you. Or read a bit about at what age kids struggle most (or perhaps at what grades kids need to be most engaged to avoid issues later).

[balganwall]

Oh, cool! Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you both. <3

I'd thought about buying one of those supplemental workbooks that bookstores sell to get an idea about what the grades typically learn these days ("Keep them learning throughout the summer, give them a head start next year!"). I live close to a middle school, and I had thought about volunteering for something, but I'm afraid that might seem too "solicit-y."

I think I'd better learn some confidence first.

[underused]

You know, if you have time, you might volunteer to do something non-teachy, just to get an idea of how the kids interact. My MIL does lunch duty at a school near her place every day for an hour and a half. She ends up overhearing a lot of the kids' conversations and seeing what they're interested in. Plus you'd probably get an idea of what materials they use in the classroom.

Workbooks are a v good place to get ideas on how lessons are formatted. A lot of supplemental lessons (and school board curricula) are online, too. And you can take a MOOC. This link has a great list (skip to the bottom) and they're all free, so you can try whatever you like, just to see.

[balganwall]

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to bookmark that link and set aside some time to explore.

Is is weird that part of the reason I want to get one of those school workbooks is to relive a few good memories?

[underused]

It is NOT weird. I used to love those workbooks.