Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Agent Smelly in the Kitchen

Agent Smelly hasn't spent as much time in the kitchen as her older sister and it's because of this that I think her fractions are not so great. She doesn't always recognise what 1/4, etc is. She can match the correct cup to measure out the flour, etc but she doesn't pronounce or read them correctly. I just assumed she knew them but we hadn't actually gotten to the fraction book of her maths program til recently. Her sister basically flew through her fractions book quite confidently and often didn't even need to be explained how to work things out in the first place and I am quite sure that is from spending so much time baking whenever she could.


Don't you love our cookbook, i.e. the lap top!

Agent Smelly is more of an outdoors girl but recently has become more confident in getting in the kitchen and making things. She spent a couple of days over the school break following some recipes and reading out the measurements to me (just so I knew she knew how to say them), then one morning I wrote up all kinds of fractions on the whiteboard and we went through them all and by the end of our two week break she seems to have a very good understanding of what is what now.

I am sure using math books it would have taken her a lot longer to get the hang of it, mostly because it wasn't interesting, not because she struggles in math - quite the opposite. The other bonus is that she makes the most beautiful crepes now!


 
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5 comments :

  1. Sue ElvisOctober 23, 2013 at 12:15 PM

    Oh yes! Nothing better than practical experience to learn fractions. A tasty way to learn maths. I hope you enjoyed the crepes! I wonder what Agent Smelly will cook next.

    In our house cooking is good for multiplication too as we usually have to increase the recipe amounts by two or three times! If you get Agent Smelly to make two or three batches of everything she cooks you'll be overflowing with wonderful treats that will last you all week!

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  2. IngiOctober 25, 2013 at 10:16 AM

    Sometimes it's hard with two kids - they compare themselves to each other too readily! Fractions are tricky for a lot of kids, so bring on the muffins! Oh and I use an iPad or even my phone quite frequently for recipes!!

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    1. Multi-tasking MamaOctober 25, 2013 at 11:05 AM

      Ingi that is the truth! Agent Smelly is always comparing herself to her older sister. I try and always make a point of making a fuss over anything that she excels at and point out that we aren't all the same, etc. but she did say to me once "but mum it would just be nice if I was the best at something for a change". It's hard to know what to do, but I am trying to put them in less activities together, so that she simply can't compare if they aren't doing the same thing. I find she loses enthusiasm in things she has been so keen on when she sees her sister doing the same thing and with far more ease. I have younger twin brothers and I remember my parents making it a point to ensure they were treated as very independent individuals, which they are of course ... although even in adulthood they are still very close to each other.

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