Meet Valerie
Author Speaker Educator
“ALL CHILDREN ARE NATURAL MATHEMATICIANS!”
All children constantly count, sort, name shapes, find patterns, and problem-solve in their daily lives. They notice, wonder, and ask questions as they try to understand the world. Yet every year I meet a new group of students who say, “I don't like math.”
During my tenure as a classroom teacher, I noticed that students often exhibited math anxiety or expressed how much they disliked math. Some children did not like math because they had not mastered the foundational concepts, or they did not connect math to the real world. Other children learned math anxiety from math-anxious moms and dads. My time in the classroom created a desire to eradicate math anxiety and ignite a love of math in all children, one book at a time.
Truth be told, I never thought of myself as a “math person.” Math was not my favorite subject as a student. We memorized everything—algorithms, tricks, and rules. Most concepts just didn’t make sense because I couldn’t visualize them. Now that I'm an instructional leader, I love math because now I understand the how and why. So, I'm on a mission to ignite a love of math in all children.
How do I ignite a love of math in all children?
Connect math to the real world with math-themed stories
Let them play math games and engage in hands-on activities
Make math visual with objects, pictures, and graphic organizers
Promote numeracy discussions to reinforce language and understanding
Now I hear from math-confident students: Math is fun, and I love it. I've been waiting all day to learn more math. I used the new strategy I learned to help me play the math game. I saw different kinds of numbers, shapes , and patterns in my neighborhood. I understand math.
As an instructional leader for over thirty years, I’ve learned that all children can enjoy and learn math at high levels if it’s connected to the real world, visual, hands-on, promotes discussion—and is, most importantly, FUN! I want children to see the beauty and power of math—patterns, data, numbers, and shapes—as a way to understand the world. I want my stories to inspire a generation of children and ensure all children understand math, love learning it, and thrive in the real world.
To learn more about my books, click here.
If you’re interested in working with me to help ignite a love of math in all children, click here.
All other inquiries, feel free to reach out via the contact page.
Happy counting and reading!
Valerie D. Johnson