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Danica McKellar's math books


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I have not used them, but only browsed through them because my dad recommended them to me. They might be useful as a supplement to a middle school (7th, 8th, 9th grade) math curriculum, but they didn't appear to be reference books to me.

 

I'll admit, however, they I only browsed through them, so my experience is very limited. :)

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They're girly, in that they use stereotypical girl-obsessions with make-up, clothes, etc. to get through various types of problems. If you have a girly girl, the book would be great; the context would get your daughter interested, and the explanations are clear and there are some really useful little catchy phrases/lists to memorize how to work certain types of problems, like greatest common factor, etc.

 

This is not a curriculum in that it does not have extensive problems to solve. But as an explanatory book, if you like the set-up, I think she has done a fine job.

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The tone of it makes me cringe, to the point where I don't want my 6th grader using it. Math is cool 'cuz you can figure out stuff about your boyfriend,, dontcha' know? Ick, ick, ick. It's very, very oriented to girls obsessed with appearance, boyfriends, makeup, and all of the 'typical' middle school drama and concerns.

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The tone of it makes me cringe, to the point where I don't want my 6th grader using it. Math is cool 'cuz you can figure out stuff about your boyfriend,, dontcha' know? Ick, ick, ick. It's very, very oriented to girls obsessed with appearance, boyfriends, makeup, and all of the 'typical' middle school drama and concerns.

 

Gag!!!

 

I definitely won't be picking it up for my math girl!

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The tone of it makes me cringe, to the point where I don't want my 6th grader using it. Math is cool 'cuz you can figure out stuff about your boyfriend,, dontcha' know? Ick, ick, ick. It's very, very oriented to girls obsessed with appearance, boyfriends, makeup, and all of the 'typical' middle school drama and concerns.

 

My 2 cents....

 

My DD is definitely NOT obsessed with these things and she is NOT a girly-girl. She liked Kiss My Math and found it helpful in relating Middle School Math to topics which are typical in the American Girl Magazines. She is standing behind me nodding her head that , yes, there is some boyfriend and make-up type quizzes, but there's more to it than that.

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My 2 cents....

 

My DD is definitely NOT obsessed with these things and she is NOT a girly-girl. She liked Kiss My Math and found it helpful in relating Middle School Math to topics which are typical in the American Girl Magazines. She is standing behind me nodding her head that , yes, there is some boyfriend and make-up type quizzes, but there's more to it than that.

 

How did you go about using the book?

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She picked it up at Sam's Club and asked me to buy it for her. She is a voracious reader and read it on her own very quickly. Then she went back through it and worked out the math problems. I think she worked on it in the evenings for about a month. She is not mathy, so I was happy to see her working on math in her spare time.

 

My impression from my DD was that the book encouraged her to be comfortable with being a girl. It was especially helpful since her math teacher at that time (at a One Day Academy) was using a lot of sports examples which she had trouble relating to. So the content may not be suitable for all families, but if you let your girls read books like "Care and Keeping of You" or the "Girlfriend's Guide to...." by American Girl then you'll probably be ok with it.

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My youngest worked her way through Math Doesn't Suck last summer by herself. She LOVED it and will be starting Kiss My Math as soon as I get it.

 

I read two random chapters before purchasing the first book and did not see a problem with the examples (she reads AG magazine, btw). I think the "testimonials" and "Danica's Diary" entries are nice additions to the book------it's good for the kids to read how others had a love for math in their school years and how they use that math in real life and in their jobs.

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My DD is definitely NOT obsessed with these things and she is NOT a girly-girl. She liked Kiss My Math and found it helpful in relating Middle School Math to topics which are typical in the American Girl Magazines. She is standing behind me nodding her head that , yes, there is some boyfriend and make-up type quizzes, but there's more to it than that.

 

:iagree: We have the first one and dd (then 12) liked it "better than any other math book." She does not read American Girl magazine, wear make-up or have a boyfriend. I equate them to Life of Fred for girls.

 

I know others disagree, but basically they are just different explanations of the math concepts. Lof is written in a boy-friendly story; Math doesn't Suck is written in "chit-chat." Lof has lots more problems, and Home Supplements, so you could actually use it as a stand-alone program. Math doesn't Suck is extra explanations to go along with a regular "plug and chug" math text.

 

I was initially turned off by the title, but the inside isn't as bad.

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My 2 cents....

 

My DD is definitely NOT obsessed with these things and she is NOT a girly-girl. She liked Kiss My Math and found it helpful in relating Middle School Math to topics which are typical in the American Girl Magazines. She is standing behind me nodding her head that , yes, there is some boyfriend and make-up type quizzes, but there's more to it than that.

 

Same experience here. I used them as supplement that my dd did on her own. She found them useful and it was something she didn't mind doing.

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The tone of it makes me cringe, to the point where I don't want my 6th grader using it. Math is cool 'cuz you can figure out stuff about your boyfriend,, dontcha' know? Ick, ick, ick. It's very, very oriented to girls obsessed with appearance, boyfriends, makeup, and all of the 'typical' middle school drama and concerns.

 

Yep, yep, yep. I hated it. My daughter would never be able to get past the ridiculousness of it all.

 

I have a brand new copy of Kiss My Math that I'll sell; PM me if you're interested.

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The tone of it makes me cringe, to the point where I don't want my 6th grader using it. Math is cool 'cuz you can figure out stuff about your boyfriend,, dontcha' know? Ick, ick, ick. It's very, very oriented to girls obsessed with appearance, boyfriends, makeup, and all of the 'typical' middle school drama and concerns.

 

I pre-read it intending to give it to my 7th grader at the time. The math is good but you are dead on about the content. Eww, eww, eww.

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