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Before You Start
Before you get started teaching your children arithmetic, let's take a moment and define some important terms. You will be better able to explain ideas and help your child develop understanding if you understand our system's philosophy.
Arithmetic - Is the process of computing answers to equations using the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Notice we said compute rather than "learn", "memorize", or "know". Teaching arithmetic should include, even focus on, teaching the student how to figure out answers to arithmetic equations in their heads quickly, accurately and efficiently.
The actual work can and should be done in the head. Any work involving writing is for the purpose of assisting in permanent memory retention or learning how to write proper mathematical equations.
Mathematics - Is the theory behind the computation. It is the philosophy behind numbers, and how they work together to define and describe the workings of our world as we perceive it.
Quantity - Is the idea behind the development of our number system. The symbols 0 through 9 and the various combinations of these represent the ideaof quantity for us. The operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) are systems for caculating the manipulation of quantities.
Abstract Symbolism - Man made, invented set of symbols to represent an idea that does not exist in a tangible sense. The letters of the alphabet and the Arabic numbers are sets of symbols. Understanding that a number is not a tangible "thing" is an important concept for upper level math. The actual number does not really exist, except as an idea. If you have "two cookies", it is not the two that you have, but the cookies. The two represents the quantity of cookies.
As always, if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way, please feel free to email us.
