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Getting serious about math

Comment by Stephen Krashen
The Society for Kindergarten Kalculus

Geometry in kindergarten? This is outrageous. Geometry (and algebra) should have already been thoroughly covered during pre-school. Graduation from kindergarten to grade 1 should require complete mastery of quadratic equations, the basics of analytic geometry and some calculus. I do feel, however, that kindergarten children should only be required to study differential calculus. Integral calculus and differential equations require a bit more maturity.


by Tammy Marashlian
Fun-shaped lessons
The Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Thom Fountain stood before a classroom filled with giggly kindergartners this week and projected a picture of a snail for the kids to study.

"Which geometric shapes do we see in a snail?" Fountain asked the Oak Hills Elementary School youngsters as they squirmed in their seats.

The kids' hands quickly shot up: a circle for the shell and a triangle for the tail, they shouted.

The art-infused math lesson is part of a unique partnership between the Newhall School District and the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center as part of the K-12 Arts Education Outreach Program.

For the next two weeks, every Newhall School District kindergartner -- some 1,000 students at all 10 elementary schools -- will get a hands-on lesson from Fountain and his crew from TJ3 Productions LLC, a Burbank-based company that creates kid-friendly productions like The Crayon Court.

"By blending arts and geometry, it's making learning the state standards fun," kindergarten teacher Cindy Lundy said.
's lesson included a puppet show, a lesson in shapes and the construction of a "Geome-tree," a paper tree made up of shapes that the kids colored and cut out. Next week, the kids will learn about color formation.

"It really reinforces math skills using art," said Nancy Copley, assistant superintendent of instruction. "It's a better way of teaching."

The lessons will end with school-wide assemblies led by the production team for kindergartners, first-, second- and third-graders, which reinforces the skills the kids learned in the classrooms, said Adam Philipson, managing director of the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons.

As the program continues to grow, Philipson and Copley hope Newhall School District's program can be a model for a valleywide art program that reaches out to all five school districts.

"This can be replicated anywhere," Copley said.


— Tammy Marashlian with comment by Stephen Krashen
Santa Clara Valley Signal & The Society for Kindergarten Kalculus
2010-09-17
Posted at http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/33731/

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