We’re eclectic over here so even though our curriculum approach is classical we do pull from other resources and philosophies when something strikes our fancy. Living books are one of those things that really strikes my fancy. Who hasn’t learned more from someone truly passionate about a subject versus reading from a textbook? Passion shows and is pretty hard to fake. It leaves its mark by way of better comprehension and deeper understanding.
Since I am working on increasing my own passion for math, I knew I wanted to augment our lessons with as many living math books as I could. I had no idea how many great math books there are for the early elementary level! Luckily you can sort through them by checking out the reader lists over at LivingMath. Just pick a topic and start browsing.
Since we’ve been working on addition and number bonds I borrowed the book 12 Ways to Get to 11 by Eve Merriam from our local library.
Today after our regular math lesson, Mira and Stella headed out back to enjoy the cooler fall weather with this book in hand. On a whim I carried our cuisenaire rods out with us thinking that, at the very least, they would keep Stella entertained while Mira and I read. Turns out they were the perfect manipulative to have on hand.
12 Ways to Get to 11 is a colorful book that demonstrates twelve imaginative ways to add up to eleven. As we started reading I asked the girls to pull out the corresponding c-rods and add them together.
After a couple pages we decided to place our rods in a column so that by the time we finished the book we had a pretty impressive row of rods that add up to 11.
Once again the cuisenaire rods prove their worth me to. I love those bright rods.
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