This blog post is especially for those of you who just finished Geometry, and will take Algebra 2 next year, AND… if that’s not you, keep reading anyway because it probably will be someday!! (Click here to read about getting ready for Algebra 1.) Here’s what happens:...

Math For Keeps MANIFESTO At Math For Keeps, I describe skill fluency using a Math Number—this is a number representation of the skills you have in the bag. It is NOT the number of skills you’ve been shown. Being shown a skill and being given opportunity and guidance...

I alternate between “you” and “your learner/ student” when I’m addressing my reader. While I do have adult students, I know that most of my students are grade-school kids and most of my clients (who pays) are their parents. However, one of my missions is for students...

Happy is most important! My whole practice method was developed on the premise that MOST of us (both “math-minded” and not) will end up frustrated by math trying to learn it with the minimal practice that is offered in the classroom. And not the healthy kind of...

“Many of us think that math is hard, but, as Cheng makes clear, math is actually designed to make difficult things easier.” I read this on the book jacket of one of my Christmas presents, How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics by...

Grades can be a misleading way to know if your learner knows the material. Maybe they got extra points for attending office hours, maybe the test was graded on a curve, maybe they crammed and knew the material in that snapshot of time, but do not have lasting mastery...

Well, I fell in love again... with the annual We Are Girls Conference.  It happens every November, and is the most wonderful event, with the loveliest most empowering messages for young women and girls.  I get weepy thrills just walking through the doors every year. ...

Have you ever felt defeated trying to learn something? Like, I don’t know, maybe MATH?... Have you and your learner felt beaten down by your experience trying to learn a math skill? Get thee to a Math Number Talk by Yours Truly! In this short talk, I will regale you...

So you’ve just gotten your report card, or your latest test, and… you passed!!!!  Hooray!!  By the skin of your teeth, you passed. Now you never have to worry about that stuff again…right?  Wrong!  In math, that’s rarely the case.  Every layer of skills is setting you...