Author

About the Founder:  Kellie Merrill

I developed my Fire Away method while working with struggling students. I saw them make incredible progress when they fully understood finger patterns, so I introduced finger patterns to my one-year-old son.  It was not long before friends and family commented on my son’s ability to count and flash finger patterns at age two.  As I continued to work with students and my children, I developed more games and tools in addition to my baseline Finger Pattern games.

I taught first through third grade students using Math Recovery techniques for ten years.  I was a Math Specialist and worked specifically on one-on-one intervention and with small groups of students above first grade identified as struggling in math. I trained classroom teachers, instructional coaches and new Math Recovery teachers as a Math Recovery Leader and AddVantageMR trainer.

I consulted for several mathematics companies with a focus on kindergarten through second grade.  This work includes curriculum development for The Math Learning Center’s Bridges Number Corner K-1, which also includes finger patterns as part of their curriculum as seen here.  I developed a math specialist game book for Math Recovery.

I started ArithmaKids to share many of the games and tools I developed while working with my own children and students.  My games and strategies are aligned with the Common Core Standards.  ArithmaKids games are appropriate for use by parents and teachers.  They build foundational understanding and a strong basis in mathematics, which leads to confidence in young children and life-long learning.  I hope that you enjoy using them.