Couponing for a Cause: Improving math skill with real world experiences

Before we begin this post, I have to make a confession: prior to writing couponing blogs and becoming a stay-at-home mom (now a homeschooling mom as well), I was a math teacher. A middle school math teacher. Yes. I know... quite terrifying. And you know what? I loved it.

Teaching math is my passion. It's so much a part of me, that when I began taking advantage of couponing deals, all I could think about was how valuable the experience would've been for my middle school students during my teaching days. You see, couponing hacks are all rooted in math. 

If you want to learn more about how to coupon, check out my FREE ebook that offers couponing basics for beginners. This couponing guide teaches readers how to invest 20 minutes a week and save hundreds of dollars a year on groceries. 

Below are six reasons it's worth the effort for math teachers to join the couponing community.

Fractions
Ratios, proportions, and unit price may all be written as fractions. In order to solve these kinds of problems (during a test and in the real world), we need to have a basic understanding of the properties of fractions. This can be challenging for many students, because understanding fractions requires us to generate a mental model of fractions operations. If fractions is a pain point for the students in your life, make fractions operations  more tangible through couponing.

Adding and Subtracting Decimals
When working with money, two places after the decimal represent cents (a fraction of a dollar). If an item costs $1.99, and the coupon takes off $1, it doesn’t make sense that the item would now cost $1.98. Lining up the decimal places when you add and subtract makes a lot more sense when you do it with money!


Unit Conversions
Couponing requires understanding of unit price. When you are trying to find unit price, items price labels may show different measurements. For instance, one bottle of soda gives volume in ounces but another shows volume in liters. In this case, couponers (and students) need to tap into their math skills to convert between the two units. A different example of unit conversions involves tripling the serving size of a recipe. Instead of purchasing 21 Tbsp of a grocery item, it may be necessary to convert this amount into cups.

Percentages
A coupon or sale may provide for a certain percentage off the price of a certain item. Couponing teaching learners to calculate discounts in this way: students learn how to determine the resulting price after taking 25% off a certain amount. Why use percentages worksheets, when couponing gives real world experiences? Would you learn more from percentages word problems or saving cold hard cash in real life? Calculating discounts and sales tax are opportunities to solve multi-step mixed operations with whole numbers and decimal numbers.

Ratios, Proportions, and Unit Price
As couponers, we're always after the best deal. If six rolls of toilet paper cost $3, and eight rolls of toilet paper cost $3.50, which is the better deal? You have to brake it down into how much one roll costs with each deal. This involves using proportions to find the rate in price per roll, which is the unit price.


Greater than, less than, or equal to
An app called Flipp scans grocery stores near you. Searching the app shows the cost of grapes at different stores, for example. This feature of the app provides an opportunity to defend decisions about which store has the best deal. This approach is especially useful for comparing decimals.

There are many ways that coupons can help children master math standards; these are six important approaches to improving math skill with real world experiences. If you have other ideas, or you just want to share how you were able to use these tips, I would love to hear about them. 

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Tiffany Thomas is a former math teacher and SAHM who loves finding good deals! She and her husband launched The Crazy Shopping Cart. They enjoy spending time with family, geeking out over sci-fi, and saving money.

The Top 3 Reasons I Teach

The reasons I teach are numerous. I could write at length on this topic, because the skill set required to effectively support learners is a lifetime work in progress. We adopt student characteristics to promote independence. Then, evaluate and re-evaluate the effectiveness of instructional strategies toward this end.

Supporting clients is a mutually beneficial endeavor. Implementing lessons that meet a variety of learning needs requires educators to abandon comfort zones; through growth we learn to effectively support this in others.

Personal and professional growth are mere strokes of serendipity. My top three reasons to teach involve helping learners leverage challenges, effecting generational change, and supporting creative freedom.

Leverage learning challenges
Whether education professionals, government officials, or parents, someone is expected to accept blame when students fail to meet learning objectives. When test scores are low, are teachers to blame? When homework is missing or incomplete, are parents to blame? When environments are unsafe, are administrators to blame? When students lack resources, is government to blame? We all bear some responsibility in each of these instances. Collective effort prepares students for success.

I teach because learners are not to blame. The learning process is influenced by environment. We assimilate behaviors and beliefs - good or bad, right or wrong - from peers and role models. Students often have little control of this process. Even adults have limited physical control. Many lack knowledge of pedagogy and androgogy, which help us understand education and learning (there is a difference). Through educational support services, clients gain deeper insight into effective learning strategies and master ways to leverage challenges.

Level the playing field
Adult education impacts youth education. Young people are often limited in the types of learning opportunities to which they're exposed. Proliteracy reports, "Children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72% chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves." We know that literacy skill impacts math and science performance as well. As a consequence, children of illiterate and moderately literate adults are at risk of experiencing greater academic challenges. With each generation, legislation and societal advancements require the bar be raised in education. Ill-prepared, students are expected to meet more challenging learning standards at younger ages.

I teach because obtaining an education levels the playing field across socio-economic sectors. Systemic inequities experienced by those having low socio-economic status result in low grades and behavior issues. Students repeat grades levels as a result; some lose hope and drop out of school altogether. This downward spiral continues generation after generation. Helping learners leverage strengths to resist low expectations permanently transforms families.

Liberate minds
Practically from birth, children are trained to abandon their instincts. We know that the best experiences happen outside the box; yet, children are expected to hoe a designated row (and do nothing else). If they talk, they're punished. If they laugh too loud, they're ridiculed. If they question the status quo, they're marginalized.

I teach because confident students feel liberated to follow their passions. Supporting this process of self-discovery is our best chance for improving life as we know it. An insightful article in Harvard Business Review makes this point simply. Teresa Amabile acknowledges creativity is viewed as "unmanageable" and shunned by short-sighted leaders (and parents). Her notion of "managing for creativity" brilliantly communicates my approach to teaching. The objective is that learners feel encouraged in this way.

Essentially, teaching to the whole child is ideal. I want students to be college- and career-ready. The most successful individuals and organizations embrace creativity, so I aim to liberate minds. I want students to feel empowered to change their circumstances regardless of perceived limitations. Many need to view the playing field as level to pursue success (a conviction that's different for each person); they must feel their efforts are valued and valuable. Sustaining the wherewithal to overcome obstacles is made easier when students learn to leverage challenges independently.

Learn more about my education firm, Jackson Education Support, and schedule a consult to improve academic performance and increase confidence. Specialty areas include literacy, math, and science. Currently, popular services are private tutoring and writing assistance. Jackson Education Support options help learners of all ages move into more challenging environments.

Parents, are you on the Fence About Tutoring?

Are you  considering tutoring for your child?  Did your child struggle to end last year on a high note?  Has the classroom teacher expressed concern about academic performance? Well, you're not alone...

Jillian Smart, M. Ed., launched Jackson Education Support.

I launched Jackson Education Support (JE) to support the educational goals of learners in literacy, math, and science subjects. If you haven't heard, JE is a Mississippi-based education firm that offers personalized in-person and online services which allows parents like you to enjoy family time.

While classroom teachers are often expected to provide children with individualized attention during class, the likelihood of this happening decreases as class size increases - not to mention the growing number of assessments that take precedence during lesson planning.  

Jackson Education Support support learners by providing homework help and study skills support.  Each service is personalized to meet individual need. Clients schedule in-person and virtual tutoring sessions to address gaps in achievement that hinder progress in literacy, math, and science classes.

Tutoring is the new normal, reports scholastic.com.  "When specific, basic skills are not developing as you would expect, or when a child has a diagnosed learning disability, having a tutor can help her build those special skills or compensate for the ones she lacks," says learning specialist Susan J. Schwartz, M.A. Ed., clinical coordinator at the Institute for Learning and Academic Achievement at the New York University Child Study Center. Parents of early elementary students are feeling the pressure to ensure that children meet and exceed rising educational  standards.

If you think your child struggles in school, I encourage you not to wait for the problem to resolve itself. I say this, because many parents regret hiring a professional at the end of the school year. Children who receive support early on become more independent over time, so working with an educator outside of school times may not have to be a long-term arrangement for your child.

But, adding an experienced educator to your team is the best way to start the new school year. Let's discuss your child's academic needs in greater detail.  Schedule a free consultation today!

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