Since winter break I've been working on a video about how to talk math with your kids. I hope you enjoy it.
Some background: I began reading Christopher Danielson's website Talking Math With Your Kids right around the time my son was turning 1. J wasn't yet old enough to talk math with me, but I was excited to witness someone learn the very basic ideas of math, firsthand.
In short, Christopher's website absolutely transformed my parenting. I learned how to probe and prompt my son, how to push him into new territory and how to let up when he got bored or frustrated. And I am happy to say that I am the proud parent of a 4 year old who loves talking about math.
I've shared my experiences on Twitter through the hashtag #tmwyk, where I have also gotten great ideas from other parents.
I've loved sharing these moments on Twitter and among friends, but I've been straining for ways to share these ideas with the broader world. There are so many parents of young kids who ask me for advice about math apps and workbooks, so I know there is a yearning in parenting culture for guidance about math readiness.
This video is my attempt to distill the big ideas of #tmwyk into an accessible video. Less charitably, it's eight minutes of my big dumb face. But I hope that this video helps parents find new ways of interacting with their kids on math topics. And if it's well-received, I'd love to make more.
So please watch the video and share it with people who might find it interesting!