Solving problems logically is an important skill that goes far beyond math and other academics. It is a life skill that children will need as they grow toward and into adulthood when managing numerous challenges such as resolving conflicts with roommates; navigating the myriad of university major, general education, and graduation requirements; and other tasks like learning to change a tire, balance a checkbook or compare credit card offers.
Organizing information, guessing, estimating and predicting are all aspects of learning to think logically. One of the best ways for students to acquire problem-solving skills is through active involvement in a variety of problem-solving situations. Since children develop these skills through experience, it is helpful to expose them to a variety of problem-solving opportunities.
In WLR’s Math Games & Puzzles and Math Games & Logic classes, students practice finding solutions through pictorial representations or by constructing three-dimensional models. They may examine visual representations of the problems or use manipulatives such as wooden or cardboard tangrams, colored circles, dice, game pieces or game boards. They deepen and expand their understanding through opportunities to explain their problem-solving strategies to the teacher and their classmates.
The goal of these classes is twofold:
- To ensure that students increase positive feelings and decrease fearful attitudes about mathematics.
- To increase problem solving skills.
Math Games & Puzzles is for students Grades 2-4 and emphasizes the joy and wonder of math, helping to lay the foundation for a lasting interest in mathematics. For grades 4-8 in Math Games & Logic, students will learn to approach problems systematically, sharpening their powers of logical deduction. They will learn to recognize patterns to solve problems and learn to try new ideas or generate new methods of tackling a problem. Both classes emphasize a cooperative learning environment and a non-threatening, supportive approach to encourage intellectual exploration and risk-taking.
Both classes begin January 23, 2017, American River Grange in Rancho Cordova. Our teacher, Ms. Audra Sterrett, is warm, caring, cheerful and enthusiastic. As both an experienced public classroom teacher as well as a home educator of her own three children, she is sensitive to the needs and experiences of homeschooled students.
