What's a number line?

I didn't like math in school. I was actually pretty good at math, but I didn't like it. It seemed too finite. I loved writing because there was a lot of room for interpretation, but in math there was only one answer. And I had to show my work.

The math teachers I had all taught us to find our answers using only one method. But that is definitely not the way my son is taught math today. He is given several different strategies to work out the answer. In other words: I don't always understand his homework.

But that's OK. He does. And sometimes he even explains it to me. When he does take the time to explain it to me, I can tell that he likes teaching me something I don't already know. (Also: I am happy that I can understand it.)

The truth is that children relish the opportunity to teach their parents. And the even bigger truth is that this learning style really works - for both parties. When children teach a new skill, it means that they have to have a deeper level understanding of the skill first.

In our home, I can see this with math homework and I can see it in other areas, too. Since we play a lot of family games together, my son absorbs a lot of setup information and rules...so much information that he is quite comfortable teaching games to others.

So, I like to ask my son questions - not just because I want to learn something from his answers, but in the hope that he will take the time to teach me something new.

What skills do your children like to teach to others? Tell me in the comments.