simple math still facinates me

tonight i went to my dad's third cousin(?)'s house for dinner (my paternal grandfather and her mom are first cousins..) or simply (what i call her) my aunt's house for dinner. on wednesdays, her two daughters go to an after-school math program that strengthens kids math skills. it's not like sylvain or other after school programs that help you improve your weak marks, this program specifically teaches kids, who are strong in math, shortcuts, mental math, and even advanced math.

my cousin who's in grade five knows what 5! means.. (5x4x3x2x1 - for those who don't remember :P) she doesn't necessarily understand the concept or the usefulness of it, but she knows what it means and how to solve a problem that contains it. my cousin in grade three can do problem solving with complex venn diagrams! VENN DIAGRAMS!

the last time i went to my aunt's house for dinner, she was showing me their workbooks and i was SO amazed! so she invited me to sit in on their class today since the school is on my way home from work. the grade 5 class was learning how to turn a repeating decimal into a fraction - something i don't even remember learning :S

i would LOVE to learn what they're learning even though i may not necessarily have use for it all, but it would still be interesting. my aunt suggested i take their training course to become an instructor. it's certainly tempting to apply..