No children were injured in the making of this photo. The child was injured before the photo was taken. And don't worry, Kalina didn't mind a bit that I took her picture when she was hurt. She loves the spotlight. These injuries were acquired when some sibling rough-housing got a little of of hand and led to an accident. The photo was taken to show Daddy exactly what Kalina looked like at the time of the injuries. An apology was issued and accepted. Forgiveness was sought and given. All is well.
But the reason I needed to post a photo of Kalina (and this is the only recent one I have that I haven't posted) was this:
Earlier this week I blogged about our love for Fred. I wrote about how I wasn't concerned that my children didn't work through the math problems when reading the books for pleasure. I wrote about how I was confident that they were picking up on the uses for the math presented, which some might argue are even important than the actual arithmetic.
While working through Life of Fred Decimals and Percents with Tilly, I came upon this question which I asked aloud:
"If the diameter of the circle is 8 centimeters, what is the radius?"
Without skipping a beat, Kalina who was reading on the floor nearby, peeked around the corner of the couch and yelled: "the radius is 4!"
Now, it was an simple enough problem, but how is it that nine year old Kalina, who has never studied geometry, could answer?
Ah, yes, the books! Are you familiar with the Sir Cumference series? If not, check them out now. {I have put my "Great Math Books" link on my sidebar} If you haven't looked into these, I beg you, homeschool family or not, to start collecting these books. They have given my children an incredible, math sense. A math sense that gives them the ability to actually use the math they learn! Imagine that.
Even though Kalina has never studied "Geometry" she was easily able to think, "hm…the radius is half the length of the diameter and 4 is half of eight (never mind that she hasn't hit division in her math yet either) therefore, the radius of the circle is 4!"
And if that doesn't convince you of the usefulness of these books, nothing will.
Oh my goodness, the Sir Cumference books are a MUST HAVE in my classroom! My copies are completely worn out, but so, so worth the money. I just love them. You’ve got me itching to try the Fred books, too. Thanks for the suggestion.
I just want to hold her…I am a grandma and nothing hurts more then tears…God Love her!!!
We have one Sir Cumference book and it is about Pi. I am sorry to hear what happened to Kalina today. However, that is amazing that she knew the radius without ever even studying it. This shows me the true power of books and creating a love for reading and learning in the home. I do believe that I will be getting more of the books you have recommended. Thank you for telling us about these books. Very inspirational.
Thank you for this post! I have been bemoaning my fate over fred not coming in lower levels. My son is in 3rd grade math and not yet to decimals and not far into fractions other than play. My daughter, um she is same level as him tho younger. She takes to math but not my son, and math makes sense to me so I dont always know how to help him. Maybe these will help! He will read anything not glued shut.
Thanks for ttip – I’ll have to check these books out!