Alysia, Suki, and Susan working on the math books. The writing of this math series started in 1985 when all three of us were teaching at the Farm School.
Alysia Krafel
Alysia Krafel began her teaching career at the Farm School, the University of California at Irvine’s lab school, in 1975. The director of the Farm School, Prof. Michael Butler, required that math be taught in ways that generated understanding, not as memorized procedures which are not understood. This requirement was the genesis of Patterns in Arithmetic. After moving to Northern California Alysia homeschooler her two daughters. The Patterns in Arithmetic series was field tested with homeschoolers, since 1996, and at Chrysalis Charter School, a school she helped found to develop this work further. Chrysalis has used the Patterns in Arithmetic series now for 18 years with excellent results. Patterns in Arithmetic is the culmination of her many years of work in mathematics for children. Alysia instructs teachers and parents about teaching and learning mathematics at conferences, inservice training for teachers, and her popular Math for Moms classes staged especially for women.
Susan D. Carpenter
Antioch College BS, University of Chicago, MST. After teaching in Chicago public schools, alternative schools, and Teacher Curriculum Work Centers, Susan taught math to children in kindergarten thruough sixth grades at The Farm School for fourteen years. For many years she helped write and edit the Patterns in Arithmetic series and has been instrumental in bringing this immense project to completion. She now lives on her hand-built ship in Iowa and works with autodidacts of all ages.
Suki Glenn
Suki Lueck Glenn–BA, MA, and elementary teaching credential, CSU, Fullerton–she has taught children ages five through seven, at the UCI Farm Elementary School for seven years. For many years she was a consultant and mentor for teachers at the school. She has taught many homeschool students over the years. For two years she taught at the Village Elementary School in Fallbrook, California, which specialized in constructivism. The experience of teaching many children over twenty-five years led her to the belief in individualized teaching and child-centered learning. She has given workshops at the Greater San Diego Mathematics Council Conference, the Christian Home Education Conference in Anaheim, and the Home Education Conference in Sacramento, California. She continues to learn through teaching children. Children are our best teachers.
