Number Sense Blog
Weekly Math Fact: Prime Numbers
Feb 20, 2013
The longest prime number has been discovered and it's 17,425,170 digits long, surpassing the prior number discovered in 2008 which was a measly 12,978,189 digits long. Discovered by University of Central Missouri mathematician Curtis Cooper, the n...
Daily Math Laugh
Feb 15, 2013
Rule of Thumb: Math may seem strict, but we have a sense of humor. Check out our Pinterest for a little laugh!
Making Math Crystal Clear
Feb 6, 2013
Cari Waggoner at our Mathnasium in Granger, MN made the most of the icy conditions.
Larry on the subject of Math Anxiety
Feb 4, 2013
The bell rings and everyone takes their seats. The teacher passes out the test and, with sharpened pencils, everyone prepares to turn the page and begin. The student next to you flips open the first page and seems to begin answering questions with...
Me + X = Love Facebook Contest
Jan 28, 2013
We're asking our fans to find 'x' in the equation ME + x = Love. What completes your equation, is it your friends, pet, teacher? Tell us by uploading a photo or instagram to our Facebook contest application. The entry with the most votes will rec...
Friday Afternoon Cartoon
Jan 26, 2013
Want to make change? This cartoon illustrates how making change for a dollar can be an exercise in computation. Try it with your kids, but aim for 5 different ways to make change, not 293!
Teach and Move On Method (Part Two)
Jan 23, 2013
The Teach and Move On Method lets educators assist students with individual problems, then move to another student, and check back in later. Mathnasium's Larry Martinek goes into detail on the method, offering tips and suggestions for helping you...
Step inside Mathnasium!
Jan 14, 2013
Mathnasium's open environment encourages learning with a clear and accessible layout! Teachers can easily navigate to assist several students at time, allowing privacy and space.
Larry's Math Mediums
Jan 9, 2013
"Once you learn math and continually use it, you forget how you learned it to start with." -Larry Martinek What do your kids want to be when they grow up? A ballerina? Or an astronaut? Or "just like Mike"? Growing up, kids idolize their favorite s...
Your Child, Their Education, & Technology
Jan 7, 2013
Here are a few statistics for you when it comes to children and technology.- 20% of children ages 3 to 8 own their own iPod Touch- 24% of children ages 3 to 8 own an iPad- 8% of children ages 3 to 8 own their own iPhone- 80% of teenagers own an iP...
Teach and Move On Method
Jan 4, 2013
The Teach and Move On Method lets educators help multiple students by moving from student to student and working on individual problems. This allows students to work out the problem individually with assistance from the instructor. This also kee...
Back to School Checklist
Oct 18, 2012
Imagine this scenario.One day a student arrives at the college or university of his choice for the first time as a freshman. He is so excited to start his new adventure as a college student, inevitably facing new challenges and meeting new people....
Finger Count Beware!
Oct 18, 2012
I want to introduce the importance of "numerical fluency" and learning basic "number facts." Picture this scenario.A teacher asks a classroom, "If you spend 70 cents, 80 cents, and 90 cents, how much did you spend altogether?" The teacher is think...
A Flea's Flea - Proportional Thinking
Oct 18, 2012
When my son Nick was seven years old, he told me, "Hey Dad, if the world was the size of a basketball, our house would be as big as a flea's flea!"I was stunned at this incredible display of Proportional Thinking. While I thought to myself that ...
Wholes and Parts
Oct 18, 2012
Add 17 + 18 + 19. Do it quick! If you reached for a scratch sheet to get to the solution of 54, you didn't do it wrong, but here's a different way to think about this question:First, round each number to the nearest 10 (20 in this case), and add t...
Counting, The Basis of Number Sense
Oct 18, 2012
I have often heard students coming out of a class saying, "That stuff doesn't make sense!" This is because many students have not developed a good general sense of the mathematical subject matter that is presented at school. Students are not provi...