Yeah for Math!

Today I spent the day being trained in Everyday Math, which is the math curriculum used district wide. It is not often that I am impressed by any "program" or curriculum and would say it "has it all," but WOW, I do believe I am sold on this one! It stresses everything from balanced assessment (not too common these days), to building on student knowledge/interest, differentiation, and involves practice through games (that are actually fun and the teacher does not have to spend hours making!). It was created through research of how children naturally learn and internalize math concepts. NO MORE rote memorization of procedures given by the teacher or textbook. Kids actually learn the "why" and "how" behind mathematical concepts. Amazing! I certainly wish I would have learned the algorithms we discussed today when I was in school! So all this raving and I haven't even told you my favorite part... EXPOSURE! The EDM philosophy is that students are exposed to, and "play" with math concepts and ideas for 2 years before they are officially taught and expected to be mastered. No more "one-taught" wonders! As a kindergarten teacher this definitely excites me and certainly aligns with the way I teach. We already know this about reading ( the importance/exposure to read-alouds is vital to later reading success) so of course the same is true for mathematics.