Episode Details

Our guest is Middleton author, former teacher and "math interventionist" Suzy Scudder, showcasing her new math-focused children's book "Count Upon Your Friends." "Count upon your Friends" is a picture book about a young boy named Harry. He is afraid to climb the steep basement steps to go up to his bedroom. He and his mom make a game of it by placing one of his stuffed animals on each step and counting them along the way. Once Harry is safely off to bed, an enchanted escapade ensues, and in the morning, Harry and his mom are in for a big surprise! The book also includes a QR code for a counting song that goes from 1-21 forward and backward, and a page of math games for parents to play with their young kids. In addition to reading from and discussing the book, we had a wide-ranging discussion around how achieving better understandings about how children view the world helps parents and instructors to be better teachers. Children are not simply miniature adults; their way of viewing our world is significantly different from our own. Suzy hopes to eventually create a book targeted at adults that addresses these themes. Suzy reached out to audience members who might have suggestions for independent publishers who could help her get these wider messages out into the world. To comment on any of this, you can reach Suzy at susanscudder65@gmail.com.