“I want to do more math”
That's how it started.
We had finished a very small math printout and when we told them we were done they said, “I want to do more math.”
So we searched for more worksheets on our favorite search engine and printed out a few more.
A few worksheets turned into a few packets which turned into a few books which turned into online courses and then into in-person courses.
Even now, many years later, the refrain remains the same: “I want to do more math.”
Why this, why now
At the beginning it's easy to find resources.
Kumon, Singapore Math, Life of Fred, Russian Math, Beast Academy, Art of Problem Solving, workbooks on convenience store shelves, free worksheets from the internet, and even paid worksheets from resources like “Teachers Pay Teachers”.
You can add in YouTube, Brilliant, Khan Academy, and more.
As the child grows their relationship with Math it becomes more difficult and more personal to the child and the type of mathematics that they love.
Questions around topics in the following list start to matter:
Correct sequencing?
Math competitions?
Math Research?
Math Camps?
Math Class advancement?
Math Circles?
Math Research?
Math tutoring?
Role models?
Depth vs breadth?
Gifted classes?
Working with the school?
Gender biases?
Cultural biases?
Parent/Guardian ability to help?
Acceleration?
Radical acceleration?
Socialization with like-minded peers?
Socialization with non-like-minded peers?
Asynchronous development?
International opportunities?
Home schooling?
After-schooling?
Adjacent topics to explore?
Twice-exceptionality?
School choices (private, public, magnet, charter, home, boarding)?
Should we move to a better school district (within the city, county, state, country)?
College classes in middle school?
College classes in high school?
Early college enrollment?
Home-school curriculums?
Math-related activities?
Math-related books?
Math-related media (newsletters, magazines, TV, websites, blogs, music, poetry?
Math-related art?
Math history?
Sibling dynamics?
Family dynamics?
Extended family dynamics?
Social circle dynamics?
High school classes?
And more….!
Building a community
My partner and I have done some research (read books, interviewed experts on many of the above topics, tried different learning resources, joined organizations, advocates for our children at school and Math-related organizations, and more).
Yet we still don't feel like we've figured it out.
When we talk to other parents/guardians we very frequently hear of new resources, new approaches, and new things.
And they learn from us.
So the goal of this substack is to broaden our community, help each other, and help kids who love math as well as their families.
What we will do
I will share what we've learned, how we've learned it, and how we are thinking about things.
As this is a journey sometimes opinions will change or become more entrenched.
Specifically I will:
Publish once a week
Hold Q&A’s twice a month
Share notes from the books I've read
Share notes from the videos I've watched
Share notes from the resources I've read
Eventually there will be a paid option to help develop an Even more intimate relationship and to get more indepth personal suggestions and reflections.
Welcome and nice to meet you
In the book “Steal Like An Artist”, Austin Kleon states that all advice is “autobiographical.” He writes that the advice we give “is really just advice we'd be giving our younger selves.”
I was a kid who grew up loving math, so in a round about way this is for me as well.
Thanks for reading
Until next time,
Sebastian