Dana Jaeger

A Guide to Laundry Day Mathematics

As a mother of 4

boys, I have

learned not to

help them with

their math

homework. They

all adamantly say

my math is not

how the teacher

wants it done.

They have to do it

the ‘REAL’ way.

Somehow, my mathematical

experiences don’t seem to

apply in the ‘Real’ world.

I SUBMIT FOR YOUR

APPROVAL THESE

FOLLOWING EQUATIONS TO

SUPPORT MY NUMERICAL

DIFFICULTIES WITH MATH.

Real World:

Boys with Imagination

+ Rain+ Mud

Puddle+ Bikes

If it was a cookie that hit the floor,

they’d eat it.

Supervision Subtraction:

Laundry Room – Mom = Bigger Chore

If I leave the house with no dirty

clothes for four days, I come back

to a broken washer, 5 triple loads

and a single loader of dirty

clothes. That Dirty Clothes Fairy

needs a vacation more than I do!

Itemized Multiplication:

The increase of dirty clothes is multiplied by

the number of times you close your eyes.

6 people 7 days42

outfits

Or more simply:

Or more Complexly:

6 people 7 shirts 42 shirts

6 people 7 jeans 42 jeans

6 people 14 socks 84 socks

6 people7

underwear42

underwear

T

h

e

r

e

i

s

m

o

r

e

(Hopefully)

5 people1 Boy Scout

Shirts5 Uniforms

5 people 7 pj’s 35 pj’s

A WEEK!!!

Divison of Labor:

Really?

With all this math and clean laundry,

why do all I ever hear is:

I DON’T HAVE

ANYTHING TO

WEAR!

Submitted by a mother who is glad

she didn’t have girls after all.

-Dana Jaeger

Fall 2010

Because Granddaughters come with their own washing machines-

er – moms! ;)