Community Question is a category inspired by you. Here and there readers write in with questions that are better served by the varied, experiential knowledge of those who read and contribute in the comments. Please respond to this post in the comments, but if you have a question for the community email it to Heather.
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The following question is from Lindsey C.
“My sons have been doing Singapore Math for a few years and we love it. However, I’ve recently heard that kids are being taught math in public school somewhat differently than we were. I have zero plans of abandoning Singapore Math or any of the “old-fashioned” ways of teaching things (long division and multiplication, memorization of math facts, etc.); however, there are pros and cons to everything, and I’d love to hear about some of the newer methods that are worth snagging.
I LOVE the number bonds Singapore Math uses right off, and I recently saw the grids now used for long multiplication, which look like a good additional way to teach multiplication. And I don’t know if this is in the same vein, but we’ve also done the first Balance Benders book with my older son and found that fantastic.
What other “new math” ideas should I learn about? I love the idea of teaching my kids how to solve a problem from more than one angle! I always earned good grades in math, but as I moved into high school math, I usually didn’t understand what I was DOING (even though I could replicate it well), and I’d like to avoid that with my kids.”