Math is fun to learn

Math has always been fun to learn. Remember the apples and the oranges? If you had the same education as I did, you had items you counted and learned how to add with those items. You have 8 apples over here, and there are 6 oranges over there. How many apples and oranges do you have together. You'd count out 8 apples and put them in a pile. Then you'd count out 6 oranges. You'd bring those over to your apple pile, and counted them altogether. Wow, there are 14 pieces of fruit. You learned how to add, you played with fruit, and got to eat apples and oranges at snack time. Wow, math sure is a lot of fun.

Where did the fun go? As soon as you begin learning multiplication, there's no more fun. You have a pencil and a piece of paper. You copy problems after problems, and find answer after answer. But what does it all mean? You knew what addition and subtraction were, you saw it happen right in front of you. We're no longer allowing them to play and live math.

Grab a bunch of shoes. Put them in pairs, as shoes are usually ordered. How many pairs do you have? Seven. How many are in each pair? Two. You have the makings of a multiplication problems. Suddenly, multiplication becomes real. Suddenly division becomes real, and we all get to laugh at the different pairs of shoes. why don't we all try the shoes on and see how many feet are in the line, or how many groups of toes there are? Yes, why don't we make math fun again?