Instead of an ambiguous story about some random dudes with cans and kids playing tag, what if the stories had just a teeny bit more depth? What if math time could also be a time to teach kids about kindness? Perhaps we could find out that Jimmy and Joey were collecting cans to give to a food pantry! Why couldn’t we find out that the four kids who were playing tag saw a new student sitting alone, introduced themselves, and invited him to play?! Enter KIND-ergarten Math
I got to thinking that these word problems are a bit of a missed opportunity. Like, I want to know, why do Jimmy and Joey each have five cans? What are they planning to do with these cans?Īnd that kid that joined in the game? So, how did that happen, exactly? I guess it’s the librarian in me, but I find myself wanting a little more from the stories.
These are the types of word problems I’m used to seeing on my daughter’s kindergarten math homework.
