Spirit:

We want to nourish the learning spirit, so that children become aware of themselves as learners. Activities such as counting out plates for dinner help kids feel that they belong to the family and contribute to family life. They develop a sense of themselves as people who can solve problems. Looking at shapes, numbers, and patterns in nature makes them aware of the beauty and order that surrounds them.

Heart:

When adults do these activities with children, the children feel loved. When the children are successful at the activities, they feel confident and happy to take on another challenge. When the activities contribute to family life, children feel responsible, and proud of their ability to take part.

Body:

The activities here all involve doing something. It is not enough to think about things. When you do something in the real world, there is usually a reaction—someone or something does something back. The reaction teaches you something, and you may begin to think in a different way because of it. Sometimes we can’t think of what to do, but something says, “Just try this…” and we do, and it works.

Mind:

When we think of math, we often think of school math, but children begin to notice and think about numbers from the time they are born. The activities in this book all involve math thinking without worksheets or tests. Making a collection, taking a bath, making a box, braiding your hair, making art—if you do any of these things, you are thinking mathematically.

Spirit, heart, body, and mind

are all connected in our lives, and they are connected in the activities in this book. Math is not “all in the head.” When we keep it only in the head, we are out of balance, and cannot do it well. When we balance the spirit, heart, body, and mind, math becomes part of our whole lives, and is not a beast or a barrier (Nonesuch, 2008, page 1–2).

Make Time for Parents

It is essential that there be time for parents to do the activities together, without the kids, for three reasons: First, the parents need time to understand the activity, so they can do it easily, feel secure in their knowledge, and be comfortable showing it to their children. Second, parents need to experience for themselves the value of the activity, whether it be the enjoyment of figuring out a strategy for a game, or having the flash of insight that we usually call the “Aha!” moment. This allows them to be genuine when they invite their children to take part in the activity. It also allows them to watch their children discover the enjoyment, or experience the “Aha!” which is the pleasure teachers look for, and increases the parents’ enjoyment. Third, while the parents are doing or learning the activity for the first time, the facilitator has the opportunity to model a generous and open approach to the activity, to comment that there are many ways to accomplish an end, or to think out loud to make the math concept transparent, a technique that parents can pick up through this modeling

For these three reasons, it is Important to repeat activities such as card or dice games so that parents really know the rules and strategies well, so they enjoy playing them and can invite kids to join the fun, rather than making them do something that’s “good for them.”