Manny the Math Wiz!

Manny and Addison were paired up for Math Tutoring this winter season and they hit it off right away! He’s involved in so many programs at our playhouse, but this is the first time he’s ever been matched up for Math Tutoring. Addison made learning fun, and Manny is a cheerful and hard working student. It’s no surprise they’d have such great success.

Making sense of “Number Sense”

The curriculum used in our Math Tutoring Program stresses the importance of having a solid foundation in Number Sense. So many times we hear young kids count from 1-10 or 1-20 and they say the numbers quickly because they have them memorized and they know which one comes next. However, they don’t really understand what they’re saying. If you were to tell them ok stop after you say 5, skip the next number, and tell me what comes after that they wouldn’t be able to tell you. Or if you ask them which number is bigger a 3 or a 7 they probably wouldn’t know. Parents may say “My child can count to 20” but really what they mean is “My child can say the numbers 1 – 20”.

It’s the job of the tutor to teach the students what each of these numbers represent, and how we can use them in our every day lives. Without having a solid understanding of numbers, doing things like addition, subtraction, and other math functions will be much more difficult. At the end of the Winter Season, Addison mentioned how things were going with Manny. She said, “He’s doing a lot better with his Number Sense and really showing progress in addition!” This was clearly evident in the data that was collected on his Progress Tracking form! The first few sessions Manny needed lots of prompting and assistance when it came to some of these concepts. By the end of the session, he was working independently in a lot of those areas. He also starting to get a good grasp on addition!

Thanks To Our Tutors!

Manny and Addison are just an example of the many great student-tutor pairs we have at GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago! We are so grateful of all the hard work and dedication the students and tutors put in this past winter. Spring Season starts next week. We’re looking forward to seeing all of the participants learn and grow over the next 10 weeks!