The word problem for my son’s math lesson today was:

Stacey drinks 6 glasses of water each day.  How many glasses of water will she drink in one week?

Even though we’ve been working on this type of word problem for several weeks, my boy still struggles with grasping the concept.  Once again, I explained the word problem in ways that he could understand.  Although he was able to come up with the equation and the answer in the end,  I felt he didn’t grasp the concept entirely.

So, I turned to the principal, a.k.a. my husband, for help.  I wanted his input for finding another way to explain the problem.  Turned out that his explanation was same as mine.  However, my husband gave me a valuable insight concerning teaching math concepts: I have to make it fun and relevant to my son.  He explained that a word problem has to express a worldview our son understands.  What are some of the things that interest him?  What does he value?  What does he like?  What kind of situations does he regularly experience?  Use his life experiences and come up with a word problem.  With that in mind, my plan is to come up with an interesting, funny, or relevant word problem on our white board each day, and my son is to solve it any time during the day.  Such an approach is fun with no pressure involved.  Here’s today’s VERY relevant word problem:

If Bobo [our newest baby's nickname] poops 7 times a day,  how many poopie diapers will she have in one week?

When I asked my son to check out the word problem on the board, he laughed out loud and solved the problem in lightning speed.  Afterwards, he made sure that I would give him another funny word problem tomorrow and of course I’ll happily oblige.

(Bowel movements are very relevant in this household and we have plenty of soiled diapers to prove it.  Remember the homemade “Do Not Disturb” sign my child made? Don’t forget the customized furniture as well.)