It's been 12 days !??! I *have* thought of stuff to post, but just as happens with the biking blog, sometimes it evaporates before I log in.

However, potentially big news... maybe... not only do I have internet access at home now, I FOUND the disk for Dreamweaver, et al. However, it was a year ago that I started looking for it. Will I be able to locate the stupid numbers that I'll need to install it? Did I (fat chance) move the files that would have the pertinent information from the dead computer to the living one when I had the chance?

Still, the internet access at home is enough to be huge.

But that isn't the bloggable moment.

We're doin' a perimeter problem. M just has no idea what to do. No idea. Yes, M remembers that Perimeter means the distance around, and points to the numbers. One of the sides doesn't have a number. I say, "oh, but there's a part in the perimeter that you don't know about, isn't there?" Oh, yes, yes, with the dreadful knowing nod that actually means "I have no earthly idea what you're talking about, but if I seem confident you won't ask more and find that out." Oh, and *not* "and I'll figure it out later," but "so I'll survive this moment." And then wonder why I fail the test...
"Which part don't you know? Can you point to it?"
Points at numbers.
"You said perimeter meant the distance around. Can you show me that?"
Points... at little points on the shape.
"And what part is the one we don't know about?"
points vaguely and shades a part in the triangle, as if we were talking about area.

I drew a triangle on the white board and put numbers along the sides. The original shape was an L. I did my darndest to show and explain that the "distance" was as if you were an ant walking down that line. I walked... I must have found five different ways to convey a *line.* I said "the perimeter is the distance around" and traced said distance on the triangle.
Yes, she *was* able to transfer that. I had to prompt her to start at one place and go all the way around, instead of just choosing sides and tracing them one at a time, but she showed me the perimeter.
THe next real eye-opener in the "how can I engage your brain instead of your need to guess the right answer?" category was asking her which lines in the L were going the same direction as the one without a number.
She had no idea. Direction? The words "up and down... like this one is..." with corresponding pencil strokes didn't work.
I drew other lines going up and down. The fourth time, she found both the other up and down lines.
I'm thinking, "well, this certainly explains why this student wasn't getting perimeter problems right!"

However.
when she came in today, she tackled the same problem... and got it with a little coachign. I asked where the line that was 16 cm long began and ended... she went back and forth from side to side (but just pointing, not tracing the line, not sure) and I said "it doesn't matter where you start." She started and traced around the corner to the opposite corner.
Welp, you know, it *is* arbitrary that we assign a distance to "until it changes directions."
And when I said that it ended on the corner, I do believe she got it.

And she got the next four similar problems.

Sometimes the place to work down to and build from is not where you think it is.