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In Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000), the (U.S.) National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommended that students communicate their mathematical thinking in a logical manner, and use the language of mathematics to express their thinking accurately and logically. Students should not only learn mathematics content, but should learn how to generate ideas, express them in multiple ways, and justify their thinking (Carpenter, Franke, & Levi, 2003). Journals are an effective way for students to communicate their understanding of mathematics content while using the process standards of problem solving, reasoning and proof, connections, and representation. This article describes the use of mathematics journals by undergraduate Early Childhood Education majors in a mathematics methods course. In this course, pre-service teachers are asked to use journals to examine their own problem solving skills, through written and oral reflection. Samples of student reflections of their problem solving processes are included.

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert