Great idea, though I’m not sure why one would want to memorize the colors. If I were to use the song, I’d make two changes. First, I’d start with zero. It is the Math-U-See way. Second, I’d add the red hundred’s block to the end to get the full twelve items of the original song.

I like Bentley’s additions to the song. It could go like this… Before I started Math U See my teacher gave to meeee, Absolutely nothing, zero, zip, zilch, nothing. I can’t seem to think of anything for 100 it just doesn’t fit the song.

Your child needs to memorize the colors to make it easier to use the blocks if they know 8=brown and 4=yellow then they don’t have to count they blocks each time they use them. They can just look at them and know “Oh, that is 8 and 4.”

Perhaps it is a learning style thing–memorizing the colors. To me it seems counter productive to associate a specific color with a number. Perhaps it is good for some or most, but we are avoiding it. Of course, by using the blocks on an almost daily basis some habituated color association is inevitable.

We see the length of the bar, or the number of bumps on top, or its placement within the storage box (without counting) to know the value. The colors are merely helpful for faster sorting. Numbers aren’t color coded in life, and I’m not sure I’d want the color blue popping up in my mind every time I think about the number ten. On the other hand being able to see six bumps on a bar and instantly recognize that as six without counting seems a far more useful skill. How many pennies did the clerk just drop in your hand? Or judging the length by sight is right up there with estimating length without a ruler, or looking at a bolt and knowing what size wrench to grab without having to measure first or find it by trial and error. Or grabbing the right value bar from the box because seven is third from the end without need for counting. These seem far more useful skills to me than knowing that one is green with this particular style of block. At least that’s what works for us.

As for the song, I didn’t make suggestions because, it wasn’t my song and the originator let their child decide on the verses. But I was thinking something more like: “On the first day of Christmas Math-U-See gave to me a zero to start my counting.” and “On the twelfth day of Christmas Math-U-See gave to me a square red hundred.” There is no reason that the ordinals most match the values. Zero comes first, one comes second, … After we’ve learned the ten values zero through nine, the eleventh thing we learn is tens, the twelfth is hundreds. Could be something else, but that sticks with the memorizing the colors goal.

TTFN

Hmmm…seems some people don’t have a sense of humor. I think the song is FUN whether or not the colors help in math computation. If it helps this lady’s daughter, great. Don’t pick it apart people. It wasn’t promoted as a way to help with math. Just a way to make math fun. Geesh!

LOL… David, I never said the song wasn’t fun. I said “Great idea,” and I meant it. No one has picked apart the song, said it wasn’t fun, or said it wouldn’t help Leah’s daughter. You have misinterpreted a resulting side discussion. Perhaps a discussion of the benefits of memorizing the colors belongs somewhere else, but it happened here because that was the stated purpose of the song. The changes that I suggested reflect my own personal creative differences and thoughts on teaching Math-U-See.