By Sarah Vander Schaaff Lego is synonymous with STEM. That’s what the representative from Lego Education told me and a room full of parents who were eager to hear about our school’s new partnership with his company. I was, I admit, a little concerned. How was the science teacher going to keep track of thousands of Lego pieces? I can’t seem to do that and I only have two kids losing them behind cushions. Rest assured, Lego Education bricks, unlike most retail ones, can be replaced a la carte. With that concern addressed, I was able to focus on how Lego Education is in fact synonymous with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. We watched three videos (and you can too… Read More

By Sarah Vander Schaaff If you hear the word “STEM” and think of a plant, you may be my kindred spirit. But having spent some time writing this blog, I now know that STEM is an acronym for “science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” and it’s a field on many people’s minds. Finding young people with potential to excel in STEM-related careers is a national priority, but where we look for such talent may be expanding. A study published this past February by Barbara Kerr and Robyn McKay in the Creative Research Journal (Searching for Tomorrow’s Innovators: Profiling Creative Adolescents) suggests we may find future STEM innovators not only in high level math and science classes, but also in the arts…. Read More

By Sarah Vander Schaaff The school schedule is back in full swing and I image one of the most annoying things a person can say to you with the best intentions is, “Wow, do I have a book you should read!” I get it. I wasn’t looking for another book to read. I was wandering through the Natural History Museum gift shop in desperate search of a coloring book about dinosaurs for my five-year-old. Instead, I found Old Dogs, New Math: Homework Help for Puzzled Parents. The jacket displays a Bulldog, and although I’d consider myself more of an Irish Setter, the rest of the cover spoke to my situation. The book’s authors, Rob Eastaway and Mike Askew, don’t waste… Read More

By Sarah Vander Schaaff This week, I’m sharing a blog I wrote a few years ago with a math teacher who has “seen it all.” And by that I mean, she’s seen what happens when the students she taught all year show up the following fall. Some have kept their skills sharp or even advanced them, and others, not so much. Many of her students, most of whom have learning differences, benefit from summer school. Others find integrating math into day-to-day activities is enough to maintain math skills. We hope you find her advice useful, and as with all things, frame it in the context of your own child’s needs. Questions for our Teacher on Summer Math: 1. Any thoughts you wish parents and students… Read More

By Sarah Vander Schaaff I fell asleep twenty years ago and awoke to find that numbers are added together in a whole new way. It’s called partial sum addition and if you’re the parent of a seven-year-old you might know what I’m talking about. Some schools send home a study guide or handbook to help parents help their grade school kids. Mine did not or if they did I missed it among the forms. It was only after a parent-teacher conference in November that I realized how different everything was, not only with addition but also with subtraction. “We don’t borrow from the ten’s anymore,” the teacher explained, “because you don’t ever really give it back, do you?” No, you… Read More