Our bhakti literatures teach that service without God in the center is like many zeroes without a one. As soon as Krishna (God) is at the forefront of all endeavors, relationships and qualities, life becomes powerful and ‘exponential’. This past month, our kids really got to see how big numbers with tons of zeroes and a one at the front could be. 3rd grader Parth learned up to ‘nonillions’.
The pictures show:
- 3rd grader Parth discovering up to nonillion (a 1 with 30 zeros!)
- 1st grader Trey practicing his hundreds board
- 2nd graders adding and subtracting three-digit numbers with cards
- Students building Lincoln Logs and counting the total
- Students building geometric shapes and counting the sides, angles, vertices
- Students helping each other with the workbook
- and more
Full article with a deeper understanding of the TKG Academy Math approach below.
Math is one of those subjects that if a child hates it when they’re young, they’ll struggle with it throughout their academic years.
We have important systems to ensure they LOVE math. This love is developed by teaching children relevance and meaning to all the mathematics they’re doing. Math is so much more than just numerical calculation! Math is everywhere. In the shapes all around us, in calculating how long it is till snack time, in sharing cookies, in going to the store and buying toys, even in which kid is tall enough to get the taller chairs in the classroom. In standardized tests across the country, students are not only expected to do calculations (multiplication) but to truly understand, demonstrate and explain the processes behind Math in many strands. Geometry, temperature, weight, fractions, word problems, ratio, algebraic equations, — all of these processes need to be understood enough that they can be explained.
When students are required to complete pages and pages of workbooks, not only is the joy is sucked right out of their Math experience, they are unable to communicate the process behind their Math. In order to address this, the Elementary Math program at TKG Academy has a variety of collaborative practices, bolstered by games, Montessori works, Waldorf manipulatives, Fact sheets, and learning centers. In addition, multi level classrooms naturally require students who understand concepts to assist those that are just stepping into it.
We want that when our students think of Math, they get a warm fuzzy feeling in their hearts. This love for Math will open up a magical pathway all the way to Algebra and Calculus. They will see naturally see patterns, systems, and math structures, and they will automatically deconstruct and construct all these concepts around them for years to come.
