Happy Pi Day

Pi day made me think about the old college days when I would sit in the Talmage building at BYU and just sit and work on math all day long. I miss exercising my brain like that. One B.A. in math education, a year in a master's program, 8 years of teaching math, countless hours tutoring and doing math on my own "just for fun".....and now two babies later I wonder what I even remember and how long it will take to get it back once the occasion arises. What is it like for someone who has put their career on hold for many years while they raise kids and then suddenly try to get back into the game? Maybe I'd get back in the game okay now, but I wonder just how daunting it will feel in like 5 more years.

Also, I've been pondering the fact that even though I've taught math up to calculus, I still don't have a clue about how a little kid learns basic simple math. Right now Michael has a lot of interest in numbers and it makes me really happy to teach him. Today he wanted me to write out all the numbers to 100. But I am wondering if he is actually so interested in the numbers, or more that he is responding to my enthusiasm for it. My dad really loves math and I'm sure that influenced my own interest quite a bit. I always thought it was so much fun when he gave us kids little math riddles to figure out and I always enjoyed that way to connect with him. I really look forward to that sort of thing with my own kids.