Preface to parents and students.
MATHEMATICS – the boring subject that does not have anything in common with real life and is developed to torture every student during 11 years of school.
This is a definition that the majority of students have in their minds about Mathematics.
Logic Land, or into Math with imagination breaks this cliché and proves that Math can be fun, fascinating and requires a great amount of imagination. The book presents Mathematical problems to children through fantasies and tales rather than boring numbers, rules and formulas. It entertains and at the same time explains different solving methods.
I have a Masters' degree in Mathematics, teach at private college and run Math classes for children of all ages from public and private schools. My practice shows that advanced students, who can solve regular questions from the text book, often fail when they encounter an unusual or unexpected one. Moreover, many students who are successful in most subjects, find that they are having major or minor problems in Mathematics. Why?
My answer is that they did not develop and train their mind in logical thinking from early childhood. They did not have a chance to experience a feeling of great joy in finding a hidden clue to a problem that, at first sight, appears complicated.
People ask me how to develop analytic abilities that are necessary in studying Mathematics.
As a math teacher, I suggest to start to challenge the brain from early childhood with non-standard questions that have creative solutions. This book is designed to do just that!
It came from my studying and teaching experience. It teaches how to think differently. I wrote this book because I needed new and unusual teaching materials to make the educational process non-routine and different from what my students have at school. I use the book in my classes and get a good response from children.
Logic Land, or into Math with imagination is a collection of non-standard mathematical problems that are embedded in stories and illustrated. This book is about a fantastic town of magicians that do not use magic in everyday life. Instead they choose to use logic to find solutions to their everyday problems. Through solving the problems that are embedded in a story a student will learn how to distinguish the important information from unimportant one. Although the questions require only multiplication, division, subtraction, addition every problem is different and needs a new approach.
At the end there is a section that contains the hints that guide the reader to a correct way of looking at the problem and it is very likely that a child will be able to find the solution after a hint. It will make a child to feel proud, confident and ignites a desire to try more. Another section has solutions and answers to all 35 problems. You can solve one or two problems per day with your child or explain the solution.
If you want to share your opinion about the book and the questions, please e-mail me.
