Kitchen Table Math

by rrusczyk, Jan 27, 2007, 3:06 PM

We just sent to the printer the first of a series of books we'll be publishing for younger children and their parents. The first is for parents of very young children (ages 2-8), to give them some direction on teaching them math at home. We expect to have a second out by the end of the year, and to start publishing a series of workbooks in conjunction with the second book.

The books are written by one of our SDMC instructors, Dr. Chris Wright. He has a PhD in math from Stanford, yet he still is able to reach younger kids. The first book should be out in a few weeks.

Comment

10 Comments

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

rrusczyk wrote:

He has a PhD in math from Stanford, yet he still is able to reach younger kids.

Hm, perhaps I misinterpreted what you said...my interpretation was basically that he's writing a book for parents of young children yet he's not good at teaching young children himself? Or by 'reach' do you mean literally come in contact with?

Sorry for my confusion

by joml88, Jan 27, 2007, 3:33 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

I don't know many people with a PhD in mathematics that have an easy time teaching or communicating mathematics to young children (or middle school or high school students, for that matter, or even undergraduates). There are many wonderful exceptions, such as the many professors who contribute to the AMC, but by and large, I wouldn't expect a PhD mathematician to be able to communicate and relate mathematics to a 5 year old well. Chris does this fantastically well.

by rrusczyk, Jan 27, 2007, 4:40 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

Whoops, I somehow read that to be "he is unable"...

So I thought you were promoting his book but saying that he isn't good at reaching children

Ok, wow...

by joml88, Jan 27, 2007, 6:29 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

Congratulations Richard! It is definitely increasingly important to start a child's development early on.

Also mad props to Dr. Wright. I have seen many PhDs struggle to explain concepts lucidly to undergraduates, let alone very young kids!

by JackPo, Jan 27, 2007, 6:47 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

Sounds great! I think this would do very well in the Homeschooling community if you can figure out how to market to them. I think all your books would do well. It seems to me you are only known among HSers via word of mouth, and then only among top math students.

It is a pretty big market.

by lfm, Jan 27, 2007, 8:57 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

by lfm, Jan 27, 2007, 9:38 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

lfm wrote:

Any guidance you can give us regarding reaching homeschoolers would be much appreciated. We definitely want to reach them. In fact, we think of our new series of books as being a tool that will enable homeschoolers to continue homeschooling, as math is a topic that often sends good students back to the schools when their parents can no longer serve their math needs.

by rrusczyk, Jan 28, 2007, 3:31 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

ooh cool i've been looking for something to give to a third grader and this might be just what i've been looking for

by daermon, Jan 28, 2007, 10:59 PM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

How much would they help a 5 year old that can do two/three digit addition with carrying over no problem (though they can't do subtraction with borrowing)?

by bpms, Jan 29, 2007, 2:43 AM

Report

The post below has been deleted. Click to close.

This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.

bpms wrote:

How much would they help a 5 year old that can do two/three digit addition with carrying over no problem (though they can't do subtraction with borrowing)?

The next set of books will likely be more appropriate for that child. This book is mainly for parents, to teach them how to teach their child very basic math concepts. There would be a few things in the book that will be helpful to their parents, but the next book (and accompanying workbooks) would probably be much more appropriate for that 5 year old.

by rrusczyk, Jan 29, 2007, 5:07 PM