MathPrograms, philosophy, and school lifeMathematics at Mustard Seed School creates a context for purposeful arithmetic and meaningful problem solving. Mathematics builds on what children know when they enter school and what they learn from experiences outside the classroom, so that they will ultimately have proficiency and confidence in skills for the information era -- from basic arithmetic facts through statistics, data organization, and complex problem solving skills. Beginning with Kindergarten, the math curriculum uses manipulative materials and games as integral parts of math classes. Throughout the grades, the use of skill-specific games helps make problem solving real for students and allows children to learn from one another as people do in real life. Students spend an average of 45 minutes a day in math classes. The major components of the curriculum are appropriate grade-level work with: • Numbers, place value, and numeration • Operations; applications • Reasoning • Geometry • Measurement; probability and statistics • Estimation • Algebra, relations and functions (Students can complete an Algebra I level course during their eighth grade year.) A major emphasis of the curriculum is on thinking skills, which are developed through drill, word problems, and thinking stories. Daily "quick quizzes" and review work in grades 3-8 and response exercises in all grades provide children with practice that complements paper and pencil exercises. Problem solving is at the heart of the math curriculum. Models and strategies for problem solving along with opportunities to use them abound in math at Mustard Seed School -- in thinking stories, games, demonstrations, word problems, and seminars. Mental arithmetic exercises are part of nearly every lesson at every grade level and provide practice in developing estimation and approximation skills. Calculators are used throughout the Upper School curriculum in many ways -- to explore number patterns, to do calculations (after the four basic operations have been mastered), and to investigate functions. Skill in and understanding of the algorithms for the four basic operations with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals are important and stressed. Computers are used as well, with spreadsheet skills developed at the Junior High level. All of Mustard Seed School's math program is designed especially to show students how mathematics is useful in their daily lives. |
