It is so important for kids to realize that math is not a dreary, dull subject. There are a few mathematicians who stand out as math heroes, truly loving mathematics, and provide engaging explanations that make math understandable and fun for all ages.
- Vi Hart is one such mathematician. A young woman with a wonderful sense of humor and a wickedly smart sense of math, Vi graduated from Harvard and joined the Khan Academy. She also has a tremendous volume of youtube videos and additional information on her web site at http://vihart.com Using Vi Hart’s material is a great activity to enhance math lessons on a Friday afternoon, so give it a try!
- Marcus Du Sautoy has done more for my kids’ understanding and love for math (or maths as he puts it in England) than I thought possible. Throughout my educational career, I spent many, many hours studying math. I thought that I really understood all of it. But then I sat down with my kids to listen to a math podcast with Mr. Du Sautoy. Wow. He is able to explain the reasons behind all of mathematics, even the really advanced stuff in a way that makes the concept “sticky” for even the little ones. Beyond his BBC podcasts, Mr. Du Sautoy has a series called “The Story of Maths”, available on DVD at our local library. He also created another really entertaining documentary called “The Story of One”. Here is the link to his website: http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/dusautoy
- My kids fell in love with the magic of origami after watching a documentary called Between the Folds). More specifically, Erik Demaine captured their imaginations, inspired them to think creatively about math, and became the number one homeschooler hero around our household. His wonderful story of being homeschooled by his father, who learned alongside his son, inspired my children greatly. Not only is there a path to college and creativity beyond for homeschoolers, but even the wonderfully individualistic humor-endowed homeschooler has a place. If your kids are advanced enough in their math studies, Dr. Demaine has posted a course on Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, Origami, Polyhedra on his web site that includes both video lectures and downloadable lecture notes. His web site (http://erikdemaine.org/) also has games and puzzles that my kids found interesting. This is an example of a math hero for homeschoolers. It is a testament to an incredible father-son pair who obviously has a wonderful adventure together homeschooling and have found a path that led them to continuing their adventure and their intellectual friendship while allowing Dr. Demaine (the younger) to spread his wings and soar. We only can wait to see how far he flies and what amazing discoveries and contributions come as a result.
And for an algebra curriculum that helps you to teach your kids successfully, even if you had trouble with the subject back in the day, try my Doodles Do Algebra series. I have published the first 3 books on Amazon as kindle books so far, with more to come soon. This week the newest in the series, “The Basic Math of Algebra” (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M8LGN4I) is available at a discount through the Kindle Countdown program and is currently $0.99 (normally $6.99, so get it while you can at this low price)
And no matter what you do today with your kids, spend some time with them being enchanted by math today!
