Confessions of a Math Shirker

Yesterday was Pi Day. 

Did you know?

We don't know our Pi days, our prime numbers,  

or the square root of umpty-three. 

Is that such a bad thing?

PIE Day, now, that would be memorable.

Not a hard day to celebrate. Yum!

Or Color Day. 

Or Dictionary Day! 

But this post is really about confessions of a math shirker... 

and resolutions.

It's one of my New Year's Resolutions, see:

A resolution to add math as one adds vitamins, 

but to add it creatively, 

as one adds air and water and beauty. 

(How does one bring in math beautifully? )

Ideas, anyone?

Measuring snow

The kids loved sticking rulers in the snow
and recording their data in a soggy notebook.

Birdy - a little brown bear at the start of our adventures, 

and polar bear by the end.

Did they absorb a love of math?

I don't know. I got distracted making lunch. 

Popcorn math

We added handfuls of popcorn together, and ate our sums.


Jellybean Trees

This one was a big deal,
as we don't see much sugar around here.
I wrote out rows of addition (fact families)
that equalled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The girls had to write out the answer,
then put that number of jellybeans in the square.
Reward: eating jellies!

Math Pillow


For our pal Kenna's birthday, we made
a Wee Wonderfuls flannel dolly pillow.

It works like an old-fashioned flannel board, only cooler,
because clothes get stashed in the back pocket and well,
because it's just so dang cute.

(Her spa outfit. With cucumbers.)

The girls loved it.

So I thought to myself, "Hey! Why not numbers?"

Perhaps not as fashion-friendly,
but when they get tired of all that arithmetic,
(or, dare I say...bored?)
they can take a nap on it.

And Now.... 
for the Winner of the A-Z Mystery Contest!

For this Worthy entry :

ONE, ELEGANT, AZALIA, FLOWING, AZIMUTHALLY 

(Azimuthally!)

I choose Jan Morrison, intuitive writer pal - 

for her clever gusto. 

Jan, I can only imagine how enjoyable and mind-blowing Scrabble games with you must be! 

I shall contact you for mailing details soon!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

And Happy Pi Day! 

Writing, Part III: Adventures in Sun and Sin

The sun is out!

Birdy is crawling!

 

Our adventures begin.

Or do they?


Why do fictional characters need flaws?

Author Roseanne Parry expounded on this at my SCBWI writing conference last month.
She said that children's book writers are generally nice, decent people
who write about nice, decent kids.

But stories are about ADVENTURES,
and nice, decent kids don't have ADVENTURES.



ADVENTURES happen to characters who are familiar with the
SEVEN DEADLY SINS.

Pride 

Envy 

Anger 

Sloth 

Greed 

Gluttony 

Lust 

To get a better idea of how this works in fiction, we looked at well-known literary characters and tried to pin down their outstanding sins: Harry Potter, Ian Falconer's Olivia, Hamlet, The Three Little Pigs, The Little Red Hen.  

Think about a favorite book. Which sins most tempt its main characters?

How nice, decent kids say "KEEP OUT!":

 

Before hearing Roseanne Parry speak, I didn't allow my main characters to deal with real, flesh and blood sins. I wanted them to be good role models. 

Now I get it. 

We don't love Harry Potter because he obeys the rules 

and keeps his temper and makes everybody happy.

We love him because he's flawed. Like us. 

Tempted by anger and vanity, envy and sloth. Like us. 

  

 What sins do your main characters struggle with?

Books by Roseanne Parry:

Enjoy your adventures, my friends! 

Lost Marbles and Other Foolish Fun

Last year for April Fool's Day I tried this "magic trick"
on my husband's lunch fruit.
Using toothpicks, I attempted to slice up a banana without opening the peel.
He called from work to ask if I was trying to poison him. The banana had turned brown and oozy where I'd poked holes.

Ah, so many botched attempts at humor in my life.
Jokes that didn't fly. Comments I wish I'd swallowed. "Oops" conversations.
Days I wonder why I left the house.
Maybe that's why I like to write. The Delete button.


I know "they" say to write your characters with flaws. People like them better that way.
What about real people?
Are we allowed to show our flaws?
Are we really more likable with flaws?
My mom says we're blind to them anyway so there's no use hiding.
Would you still read my work if you knew I was missing a few marbles?

Today of all days, let's celebrate our flaws. Show your foolish side to the world.



Fun Games for Fools:

"Drool". (Swallow well, then lean over a table or floor and wait to see who drools first.)
Maybe not one to try on your writing conference acquaintances, but very successful with teenagers.

"Word Associations". (Say a random word, your friend responds with the next word that pops into his/her head, you respond in kind, and so on.)

"Slide Show" a.k.a. "Annoy the heck out of your sleeping partner" (just as your brain is relaxing before sleep and your bedfellow is nodding off, speak the words or images that come to mind, i.e. "old castle" "rainstorm" "kippers" "mile marker" "man with a broom". It's very fun.)


Great silly books :
"The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship" - Uri Shulevitz
"The Napping House" and "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub" - Don and Audrey Wood
"Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" - Betty MacDonald
"Pippi Longstocking" - Astrid Lindgrin