Musings on Math in the Kitchen

My son wont eat his fruits and veggies. I didnt think Id have to worry about this at only 20 months oldI thought that would come later. But no. o today is !"uree day#. I take a bunch of fresh fruit and veggies like blueberries$ bananas$ and sweet "otatoes$ cook them if I need to$ and then "uree them in my food "rocessor to sneak the healthy stuff into other foods he eats. Blueberry yogurt% &um' (arrot "uree in tomato sauce% &um &um' I en)oy cooking and bakingbut my dyscalculia can throw in some e*tra challenges. +s we all know$ cooking involves measurement$ fractions$ addition$ subtraction$ etc. ,irst of all$ I have to follow a reci"e closely. -nlike my mother who cooks everything off the to" of her head$ I lack the ability to .eyeball an amount and be able to tell if its roughly a cu" or a tables"oon or whatnot. /hen Im "ureeing my sons fruits and veggies$ I dont really have a reci"e that I follow because "roduce comes in different si0es and will give different amounts after cooked and "ureed. o basically$ I buy several of an item 1e*.$ two "lastic baskets of blueberries2 because I always assume that if Im taking the time to make it$ then its better to have e*traand I know if I want to have to get !e*tra# "uree then I need to buy more "roduce than I normally would. o today those two "lastic baskets of blueberries gave me about seven free0er bags of "uree 1I honestly thought Id be lucky to get three bags of "uree after looking at the baskets closely$ so I was "leasantly sur"rised2. In each bag$ I "our 345 cu" of "uree using a measuring cu" and then I make sure to label the bag so I wont forget. I have measuring cu"s and s"oons in )ust about every cooking fraction "ossible. If I had to rely on my 6ne (u" measuring cu" for 247 a cu" of sugar$ there is a good chance I might not measure the amount out right. 8his makes doubling a reci"e very amusing to My 9usband the Math :enius. If I were doubling the reci"e for his favorite (hocolate ;eanut Butter <o Bake (ookies$ Id look at the reci"e and think$ okayit says on the reci"e card that it calls for 2 cu"s of sugar. =uckily$ I know that .doubling a reci"e means I am making enough of the reci"e for 2 batches. o instead of 2 cu"s of sugar$ I

would need 5 cu"s of sugar. 8hat "art is "retty normal. But then I look at the reci"e and see it originally calls for 342 cu" of milk. My dyscalculia automatically kicks in and I think so instead of 342 cu" of milk$ I would need two 342 cu"s of milk. <ot two +<> a half cu"s of milk. 8wo half cu"s of milk. &ou seeI dont even think to add the 342 and 342 to make a whole like most "eo"le would. I use my 342 (u" measuring cu" 8/I(? instead of breaking out the whole measuring cu". +nd for some other reci"es$ I may have to use my 342 (u" or my 347 (u" measuring cu" several times. If I tried adding the fractions$ Id likely add them wrong or even lose count and get confused on how much Ive added to the reci"e. Its best for me to do things my own way in the kitcheneven if My 9usband the Math :enius likes to try to e*"lain that there is an easier way. <ow there is the rare occasion when I get so confused by a reci"e in the kitchen where I have to ste" back and let my husband take over for a moment. 9e tries to be hel"ful and attem"ts to e*"lain what hes doing$ but most of the time$ it doesnt sink in. 8he best e*am"le of this was a cou"le weeks ago. I was making some sweet and sour chicken from a bo* mi* and it included white rice to cook along with it. I usually make .boil@in@a@bag brown rice where it comes in a vented bag that I dum" into a "ot of water and it magically cooks "erfectly. 8his isnt the case with white rice. 8he bo* clearly stated !;our rice from "ouch into 2@Auart sauce"anB add 3 342 cu"s water. 9eat )ust to boiling. Ceduce heat to lowB cover and simmer about 20 minutes$ without stirring$ until rice is tender and liAuid is absorbed.# o I followed the directionseasy enoughbut after 20 minutes$ my rice was still crunchy and watery. +fter taking my frustration out on the oven with my

foot$ the Math :enius intervened. 9e confirmed that I used 3 342 cu"s of water. I told him that yes$ I had counted the amount out loud. 9e confirmed if I let it simmer on low for 20 minutes. I told him that yes$ I had used the timer. +t that "oint$ he "icked u" the bo* to look at the directions and e*"lained that I hadnt used a 2@Auart "ot. eriously. 2@Auarts sounds 9-:? to me. ?s"ecially when I think of one Auart$ I think of one Auart of milk and that looks like a lot. o naturally$ Id grabbed my large sou" "ot to make the rice in. But my husband "ulled out what a 2@Auart "ot was and I was shocked. Ceally% 8he rice will all fit in there% I made the rice again recently he was rightD@it does fit. Better yet$ the rice actually cooks. But this is common for dyscalculics who cook. +nd that doesnt even cover when a reci"e calls for a "ound of boneless chicken and most of the times you cant buy E- 8 a "ound of boneless chicken. Its like 3.FG "ounds or 2.7H "ounds. 8o me$ I have difficulty knowing how much more or less it weighs com"ared to the one "ound Im su""osed to buy and it all looks the same. o often$ Ill look for the number before the decimal and if it is the same number of the "ounds Im su""osed to buy$ Ill get that "ackage as o""osed to the other "ackage. 8hen when I get my 3.FG "ounds of chicken home for my one "ound reci"e$ I know that the decimal means that there is "robably more meat there than what I need so Ill double the rest of the reci"e. +nd somehow the reci"es usually come out "retty goodsometimes a little less meat than what I was ho"ing for. But I do what I can and ho"e for the best. +nd if my son likes his banana "udding$ then I know Ive succeeded' =abelsI dyscalculia$ education$ learning disability$ math
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;hone <umber >ilemma

8oday Im "icking u" my new cell "hone. <othing fancy. I actually couldnt even tell you what kind of cell "hone it ise*ce"t I know its an =: something@or@ other. I dont use the .bells and whistles kindI dont even te*t. In that res"ects$ Im still living in the dark ages of cell "hone technology. +nd I think that may be the reason my cell "hone is usually dead. I could kee" it charged in the wall outlet at home$ but between trying to remember to take it off the charger and "ut it into my "urse and then take it from my "urse and "ut it back onto the chargerall while toting a toddler who usually needs a dia"er change or a snack is not on my mental list of "riorities. Because my cell "hone is usually dead is the reason that I never u"date the numbers in it. I get emails and messages from friends and family all the time with their new "hone numbers and I get e*cited that they think of mebut then my "hone is dead. I archive their email so I can later add their new number$ but I sim"ly forget. 8hus$ I have outdated information and a bunch of archived emails that have been forgotten. o tonight I get the fun task of adding new "hone numbers into my new "hone. /hich most "eo"le would find tedious. But when you have dyscalculia this can be es"ecially daunting. I cannot )ust look at a "hone number$ memori0e it$ and then ty"e it in. If I tried that$ half the numbers would be reversed$ several numbers would be made u"$ and many numbers would be forgotten. Instead$ I have to look at the first three numbers$ say them out loud$ ty"e them in on the new "hone$ then doublecheck a cou"le times. 8hen I have to look at the last four numbers and do the same "rocess over again. 8hen I have to look at the entire "hone number and make sure its right. &ou may be wondering if I can even commit a "hone number to memory% ome dyscalculics may not be able to$ but luckily$ I do know several numbers off the to" of my head. I know my own number$ I know my husbands number and the number at our a"artment. I know my "arents home "hone and both of their cell "hones and I know my sisters number. o thats seven "hone numbers Ive memori0ed% I think thats doing "retty well. Butmy "arents and my sister have had the same numbers now for &?+C . o that hel"s.

<ow$ if Im "ut on the s"otsomeone asks for my "hone number 1a cashier or another "arent I )ust met or someone else2. 8hankfully this doesnt ha""en often$ but when it doesIm totally thrown off and feel like Im suddenly gras"ing at straws to remember my "hone number. =ots of times I give it incorrectly. 6nce I even accidently gave my sisters number 1sorry$ Kristin2. +ctually$ if Im making a "hone call regarding some ty"e of business and think theyll ask for my "hone number$ I will write it down on a "iece of "a"er ahead of time so I can read it off to them over the "hone without stumbling. I also do that for my birthday since a lot of times$ Ill forget that e"tember is the same as !0J#. I reali0e that since Im getting this new cell "hone that Im going to have to come u" with a way to kee" it charged so that when someone gives me a new number$ I can enter it in right then. Ill "robably get a car charger as well as my wall charger so that if I cant remember to charge it in the a"artment for whatever reason$ Ill remember to charge it in the car. Ceason being% In the a"artment$ I have a million other things I have to think about. In the car$ all I concentrate on is driving to where Im going. im"lifying. Im ready' =abelsI dyscalculia$ education$ learning disability$ math
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!I dream Im tra""ed in a room with no doors and no windows. 8he room is covered with a lifetime of "roblems. I have only one "iece of chalk. 9ow do I get out% Im about to give u" and die$ when the answer to my "roblem comes to me. ,ractions. I break the chalk in half. 8hen I "ut the two halves together. 6ne half "lus one half eAuals one whole. I "ut the hole on the wall and )um" out. Im free.# @KMath (urseK by Eon cies0ka and =ane mith