Math is all around us

I am often asked by my students, "When am I ever going to use this?" I enjoy answering, because so many people don't think about the ways that we use math. When we problem solve, we are using math. Think about how many times a day we are thinking critically to work through problems. Not many use an analog clock anymore, sadly, but we use math skills to tell time, count money, cook and bake.

Playing and watching sports takes math skills and we use statistics to keep up with scoring and ranking. If you're putting up a new fence or building a garden, you figure out perimeter. Area helps when putting down new carpet, wood floors, or tile. Lateral surface area is used when painting your walls or the outside of the house. If you take a trip, you'll figure out cost, mileage, and fuel efficiency (especially with such high gas prices, is it cheaper to fly?)

Math can be fun! We use it when we play games or figure out dates on the calendar. Don't let it scare you...look for numbers in your everyday life and add, subtract, multiply, and divide.