Ho Math Chess releases Mom! I Can Add workbook

Jan. 11, 2013 - PRLog -- What’s wrong with the traditional drill computation? From tutoring point of view, there is nothing wrong to give them to children for practice on fluency and grasp of basics. However, there is something wrong form children’s point of view that is they are boring, dull and not fun. Why children feel that way? Well, time has changed but the format of traditional computation worksheets has not caught up with the pace of the society. The future belongs to a generation who understands how to process information and the information might include digits, bytes, numbers, graphics, images, languages, symbols, equations etc. Children today might chat with others on the internet, while downloading or uploading files and viewing movie clips at the same time. Multi-tasking and the multi-way of processing information seem to have come as a second nature to children, but is our computation format reflecting the way that children are living today? Certainly not, this is one reason why children feel so bored and lost interest to continue to work on the same ”old” style of computation worksheets.

These simple monotonic basics computation worksheets are no longer reflecting the real world which the young generation is facing today or will be living in the future. The computing world children are facing today is much like a rich tapestry, where a diversified fabrics and colours are integrated. Children today are absorbing not just numbers but an array of information like image, sound, music, symbols, spatial information, or even abstract ideas all bundled together and delivered through many types of media. Children today are not happy just working on pure number drill without any other stimulus or motivator. After realizing the importance of having fun while learning, Ho Math Chess has been embarked on an important teaching philosophy that is to integrate chess and puzzles into math worksheets so that children can learn math while having fun.

Ho Math Chess has created a series of special printable workbooks to have a synergetic effect by integrating or converging arithmetic basics computing, chess, mazes, and information processing all in one worksheet.

This is accomplished through Ho Math Chess own trademarked proprietary technologies such as Geometry Chess Symbol (GCS), Frankho Puzzle, Frankho Maze, and the Ho Math Chess training set.

With this new invention of math, chess, and puzzles integrated worksheets, a child is acting as a data warehouse manager and sorts, matches, or classifies data in an information environment which simulates a cell phone screen using an incredible variety of learning concepts namely chess, symbols, spatial relation, logic, comparison, tables, patterns, mazes, computing etc. by networking all kinds of information together. The learning process is much like to search information using internet. Only when children have successfully followed through instructions using GCS and, as a result, created a question themselves, can a solution be found at last.

The procedure of working with Ho Math Chess worksheets can briefly be explained as follows:

In Ho Math Chess worksheets, the questions are not written out for children but must be mined through data warehouse, and answers must be computed by following a series of spatial relations and then analyzed using logic pattern to reach a conclusion. The data warehouse is shaped much like a chess board and the chess board is simulating a cell phone screen. Only after children observed how data is moving through miniature chess board, using Ho Math Chess invented Geometry Chess Symbols and the values of chess pieces, can both of the problems and answers be found.

Benefits of using Ho Math Chess workbook

We have found that the traditional worksheets seem to present difficulty for young children to learn math especially 4 year olds, many of them end up using fingers to count as a mechanism to add. This workbook is created very differently from the traditional workbook. It will eliminate the tendency for children to use fingers and learn the skills of addition with a shorter learning curve. The other most important difference is this workbook is much more fun than working on the traditional worksheets and Ho Math Chess requires students to "think" more than traditional worksheets. The other major differences are as follows:

For the traditional math workbooks, children only need to write the answers. For example, for additions, children only need to write the answer of additions but no need to write what numbers have been added together such as addends unless the problems are problems solving type. In this workbook, most of problems require chidden to write addends so that children have opportunities to have the effect of “reciting” the problems and thus reinforcing their memory.

Children will feel more fun if working on this workbook since most of our problems having "puzzles" built in.

Many additions techniques such adding up to ten, doubling etc. are gradually introduced to children so that they learn addition in an easy and intuitive way and naturally increase the ability of number sense.

One reason that many children have math problems is because they cannot do reverse thinking, connecting and organizing information, or analyzing problems. This workbook is created to train students to work on computation worksheets, yet students will also get the benefits on how to do word problem. This is because these worksheets are created such that students will have to

Analyze to find out how to solve the problem by following abstract symbols.
Visually connect pieces of information together by following symbols.
Organize information by table look-up.
Put them together by following logic.
Follow direction (in chess moves).
Find ways around to look for information (convergent and divergent).

The process of operating above instructions provides fun and challenging for children.

This workbook improves children’s math computing and problem solving abilities and at the same time, increases their brain power.