Post by Duong(Rita) Than

During my sabbatical, I set a goal to help young children build confidence and genuine curiosity in math. I started with my best friend’s kids. We explored the area of squares and rectangles, then used those ideas to derive the area of right triangles. But the highlight wasn’t the formulas—it was watching the sisters team up on a game of Tetris they’d never played before. The collaboration, the excitement, the problem‑solving in real time… it was everything we hope learning can be. It made me wonder: how can we bring that same sense of joy and engagement into math education? My winning of the day was they said YES to see me again next week :)