A unique blog by Mommy Blogger Janis Brett Elspas, mom of four -- including triplets. A must-read for every parent. LA, California

        Helping Bright Kids Who Are Failing Math_       _

You've tried everything, spent a lot of time and money on various math enrichment programs. Now, you are feeling as if you are at the end of your rope, right? Here, you have a very bright child who performs exceptionally well in other subjects, possibly with a high IQ, but they still can't understand basic concepts. Does your child still think Math is a four letter word? Well, it does have four letters. What now?

I know I'm still plagued by this frustration. Why, by the end of sixth grade I'm obsessed, couldn't one of my triplets who reads well above grade level and writes even better, grasp and apply basic math skills? For sure, she's going to need much better math abilities to survive the rest  junior high, never mind pass the simple algebra and geometry courses required to graduate from high school.

My husband and I were really at wit's end. After many hours of homework and tutoring by mom, dad, siblings, and teachers she was still failing. Not to mention the fact that both mom and dad had memorized the entire 6th grade textbook's problems, since we'd gone over each chapter again and again with her.

Just when I was about ready to start swinging from the chandelier in our dining room, we stumbled upon a treasure that turned out to be worth far more than its weight in gold, "Unlock The Mystery To Math."

Toftness' novel approach to finding out why you failed in math, intertwines cartoons, illustrative stories and straight forward explanations. Our 12 year-old has been working with this book for about a week and has made more progress than she did during the entire school year. She finally feels something better than her former "I Hate Math" negative attitude.

So, let me encourage you that all has not failed yet. If you have tried everything else already, don't give up completely before you try this book -- it could make the difference between your child being a success or failure in high school mathematics and beyond. I try to inject humor into everything I write, but the outcome might not be so entertaining for your child if you don't at least investigate this great learning tool.

                MATH MYSTERIES SOLVED

RJ Toftness helps you discover why you failed in math by separating mathematics into manageable chunks of learning.

Drawing from his experience as a tutor, he begins by examining what he believes is the first missing link of math in today's schools: arithmetic. Toftness surveyed students in the Los Angeles school system and discovered that over 92% of the students, mostly 4th and 5th graders, did not know what the word Arithmetic meant.

Through cartoon drawings and straightforward simple explanations, he explains the 10 parts of Arithmetic and starts to build the basic knowledge of math for the reader. Moving on to Algebra, Geometry and Calculus, each subject is treated with the same format and practice questions.

What is also great about this book for the math shy is that each page is not crowded with information but presents a concept and then reinforces with examples and illustrations, which can make you smile. Unlock the Mystery to Math is for anyone wanting to make math less of a mystery in their life!

Dorthy Dickerson
Books and More Book store
Albion Michigan
www.booksandmore.com