Elevator magic

I was possessed by a fierce passion to mathify my kids recently. I am so appalled by the State of Math in the US. Specifically, the state of math in our culture. Math as something people either “get” or not. What fixed mindset nonsense! I was browsing around the various math camps (Russian School of Math, Art of Problem Solving, etc) and the websites - and parent forums - were full to the gills with baloney toxic language about “my gifted child” this and “for kids who love math” that. EX-SQUEEZE ME. Do we brand libraries as a place “for kids who love reading”? Sometimes. But mostly we're like YO WE ALL GOTTA LEARN TO LOVE READING. WE START TODAY. AT BIRTH. Why not the same with math?!

I don't want my kids to be GOOD at math. This is the key point! I want them to enjoy it. I want them to see it as a useful tool. They DON'T have to have any special talent for it. Just like they don't need to be like super speed readers. I just haaaate that people (girls especially!) are subtly taught that math is a horrible chore that only a chosen few can divine. Oh PUHLEEZE.

Anyway. AMA. So I bought like a gazillion books about how MATH IS NOT SCARY, IT'S TOTALLY FINE, and have aggressively put them into rotation. This one was enjoyable. A kid presses elevator buttons (relatable), stops at fantastical floors, and does some subtraction. THANK YOU. That's all we need.