Today, my 2nd grader and I worked on one of the best projects we've tackled all year.  He's always asking me why he needs to learn math.  Like most parents, I have tried to explain all the usual reasons - everyone uses math on some level every day and most of the careers he is interested in use higher math on a daily basis.  It never really sunk in.  Until today.  The last time we were at the library, I checked out a short book called "Using Math to Solve a Crime" by Clemson, et al.  The book is only about 30 pages long and the idea is that the child is a detective at the scene of a burglary and has to use math to solve the crime.  It seems appropriate for 2nd-5th graders.  We worked on it all afternoon (about 2.5 hours) and got about half-way through.  This is more math than my son normally does in an entire week (he was even learning new concepts) and HE DIDN'T WANT TO STOP!!  It was amazing. 

The math problems we worked on today include: identifying geometric shapes, adding (4 digit numbers), multiplication (3 digit numbers), 12's times tables, multiple-step problems, map reading, division (3 digit round numbers), measurement, conversion (feet to inches and vice versa), reading data tables, following directions, and logic.  This book really makes you THINK!

This is such a great resource, and I'm so thankful I had the courage to set aside the usual curriculum today to let him work on it.  He's excited about getting up and starting work on the rest of the book tomorrow morning!

Sounds like an ideal day, right?  Well it might have been except that toward the end of the afternoon, my ds's brain departed his body and he couldn't seem to recall how to set up even basic math problems.  My 3 dh's were pushing my buttons and I was overwhelmed with frustration.  Lots of excuses, but none of them good ones.  I hate it when I yell at my kids.  Luckily, my ds has a very forgiving nature and once I had apologized for yelling, things are back to being good this evening.  I'm letting him stay up to watch American Idol (I know, I know, bad mom, he should be in bed - but, hey, it's not like he has to get up for school in the morning!).