May 17, 2016
Your child can solve linear equations using beans
By Kathy Kuhl Today we’ll finish looking at bean algebra, a simple way to make algebra concrete. We’ll start using negative numbers with our bean algebra. (This 4-part series began here.) Often we rush our children into abstraction too soon when we teach math. But if our children practice at length with concrete objects, illustrate their discoveries, […]
April 14, 2016
Adding negative numbers using manipulatives
by Kathy Kuhl When we teach math, we must show why things are so, or better yet, help our children to discover them for themselves. But how can we show negative numbers with manipulatives—counters or some other tokens that help our kids discover what’s true? It’s easy to show addition and subtraction with positive numbers. […]