Math = workbook time. Regardless of what we do the rest of the day, we always have math/piano time when one kid pounds on the piano while the other plugs away through the Everyday Math materials. Somebody asked me if we were doing "actual math" because I haven't really mentioned that here on the blog. The thing is, the blog is our family journal to help us remember this year. I don't really want to remember the math workbook moments that either seem pointless or painful.
Today they were doing worksheets for piano and unexpectedly the worksheet felt satisfying (at least to me). The moppets had to figure out how much each note or rest was worth and then add up the fractions to whatever amount the time signature called for before drawing where the bar line should go. It was challenging, but felt attainable. It was practice that clearly correlated to achieving the goal (playing the piano). Instead of being the not-math part of the hour it was MORE math, but because it had authentic context it had a spark of life that our limp, perforated, newsprint-colored math worksheets never seem to be able to muster.
On a different note, we are reading a book together and a reference to Mr. T came up. This led to some youtube surfing that led to us watching the opening song/explanation of the A-Team. "That's nice," my daughter said in response to learning that Murdock, Face, BA, and Hannibal were helping others (if you can find them) -- while trying to clear their own names. My son's glazed happy stare came from watching the exploding vehicles. How can there be so much testosterone in such a skinny little body?
