Might you consider taking a SHORT and ANONYMOUS survey so that I can better my practice?

Click HERE to access the SHORT survey.

I can tell you for certain that I am seeing a BIG uptick in confidence and perseverance. There are groans when I tell the class that their 20 minutes of STMath is up...so I infer that our students love learning math this way.

This week was a BIG week for our class. Our class, on average, has completed over 50% of the fourth-grade curriculum. (This is kinda a big deal!) Two students finished the fourth-grade curriculum. They'll revisit any objectives they struggled with and will then work their way through the challenge objectives before beginning to tackle the fifth-grade objectives. I am enormously proud of these two and the two to three additional students who will soon do the same, but let me tell you something... I was nothing like those two in elementary school.

TRUTH: I was a SLOW processor. Everything I did was done at a slower pace. My work was always good quality but it just took me a lot longer than some of my peers. I was sometimes discouraged when I saw my classmates reaching milestones that seemed unattainable. Is your child more like me? Here's my advice:

• Ask your student to show you his or her progress by selecting "settings" in the app. You will be able to see his or her average puzzles solved a week. Was last week's total better than average? CELEBRATE THAT!
• Did your child solve 60 puzzles (the minimum per week) last week without being hounded by you? CELEBRATE THAT!
• Did your child receive the GOLDEN BIRD AWARD last week for completing at least 90 puzzles? Check your child's email with him or her to see if a GOLDEN BIRD AWARD was received. If yes, CELEBRATE THAT!
• Has your child reached 30% yet? CELEBRATE THAT! (We're hoping that all kids will get there by the end of the month.)
• Is your kiddo solving hard puzzles without becoming discouraged by occasional setbacks? REALLY CELEBRATE THAT! Perseverance and learning from mistakes are two of the greatest gifts of STMath. It is these habits of mind that will support your child as he or she learns at an increasingly high level.

We celebrate the little accomplishments and the big ones in class. (I'm sure you've heard...and yes, there is a lot of bad dancing going on!). Ask to see your child's passport. No matter where he or she is on the journey, CELEBRATE the hard work it has taken to get your child there and then do what you can to offer support as we move through the year.

I LOVE STMath (can you tell?) but PLEASE let me know if your child should become frustrated. I receive A LOT of data on my end and can almost always nip frustration in the bud but you know your child best. Please let me know if there is something more that I can be doing to support your child and his or her math learning at school.