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fredericksburg parent LETTER TO READERS & family PRODUCTION PUBLISHER Leigh Anne Van Doren Tabitha & Jamie Nelle's mom DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Leanne Dalton Justin, Steven & Rebeka's mom OFFICE MANAGER Nancy Massanat Emily & Kyle's Mom OPERATIONS & MARKETING Heidi DiEugenio, President, HD Solutions Duke & Dane's mom EDITOR Elizabeth Jones Jordan, Quincy & Hayden's mom DESIGN & PRODUCTION Cheryl Carter, President, Carter Creations Alex, Kate & Jackie's mom WEBMASTER Karen Charney Joshua & Spencer's mom CALENDAR EDITOR Leigha Pecher Jake & Luke's mom ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Kathy Vaughan; Becca & Sarah's mom Michele Amaya; Hayley, Alayna, Levi & Nathaly's mom CIRCULATION Krista Starosta Nick, Andrew, Kaylin & Kensington's mom SCIENCE SATURDAYS Victoria McCollum Ian & Malcolm's mom COMMUNITY BLOG Mary Becelia Katherine Laura & Robert Joseph's mom FACEBOOK COMMUNITY Elizabeth Jones: Jordan, Quincy & Hayden's mom Pamela Quinones: Corinn, Michael, Isabella & Dalton ADVERTISING 540/374-1495 lcdalton@fredericksburgparent.net adsales@fredericksburgparent.net PHONE E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL CALENDAR & RESOURCE REQUESTS calendar@fredericksburgparent.net resources@fredericksburgparent.net EDITORIAL 540/374-1495 • FAX 540/374-1672 E-MAIL editor@fredericksburgparent.net publisher@fredericksburgparent.net SNAIL MAIL P.O. Box 7884, Fred'bg, VA 22404 www.fredericksburgparent.net PHONE The publishers reserve the right to reject any advertisement, editorial or listing that does not meet the publication's standards. No part of this magazine may be reproduced with out permission. Listing and advertising rates are available upon request. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained herein, however, the publisher cannot guarantee such accuracy. Listings and advertisements are subject to typographical errors, ommissions and/or change without notice. © Copyright 2013 Nurture, Inc. All rights reserved. Entrepreneur of the Year PROUD FOUNDING MEMBER 8 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • October 2013 Instilling a Love of Math & Science into My Girls BY KATHY VAUGHAN T o say I was a geek in high school is an understatement. I have four science and five math credits to prove it. I loved my math and science teachers most because they taught me the facts and figures I craved. It was a no-brainer when I went to college to earn my Elementary Education degree; Math and Science were my specialty areas. I also earned some spending money as a math tutor. While teaching fourth graders in an inner city school setting, I made sure my students knew their math facts by playing silly games and administering daily timed quizzes. At least once a week, we did some crazy sort of science experiment that went along with whatever we were learning about at the time. I had a few students tell me they didn't like science or math until I made it fun for them. That is what we, as parents, need to do to get our own children interested in learning — make it fun. When my girls were born, I hoped one, if not both, of them would be as interested in these subjects as I am. My older daughter turned out to be my reader and writer. She was reading when she was 3 and has been writing stories since she was in first grade. She won an essay contest at 8. My younger one, thank goodness, is my math and science nut. She has always been the more curious one of the two. She would get a certain look in her eye whenever she was around something mechanical. Still does. I have discovered on more than one occasion a toy taken apart with the screws and inner parts thrown on the floor or the table. She wanted to figure out what made the dismantled object do the things it did. How could I get very mad at her? Although I wanted to throw a Mom fit at times, I knew she was just trying to figure out how the toy worked. I got what I wished for, I guess. Kathy Vaughan is a member of the Fredericksburg Parent sales staff. She is a single mom to Becca, a tenth grader, and Sarah, a seventh grader. Fredericksburg has become her home of choice and she loves all the different opportunities for learning available in the area.