New Brazilian method for teaching math to pre-schoolers: take them to the horsetrack and let them bet.

The Little Mermie, who is 3 and a half, also made a point to collect her bets immediately at the restaurant cashier, all by herself, to the astonishment of all around. She came home with her pockets clinking with a grand total of R$12, to be squandared in lollipops and candy.

I doubt this radical yet apparently effective schooling method will be adopted in the U.S. anytime soon. Although when I was going to school in Australia, every Melbourne Cup the whole school would stop classes while the race was being run; it would be broadcast on the school PA system, and just about every teacher in my school would run a little $1 or $2 per student pool for their classroom. No illusion about it being a math lesson, though; it was just straight-up action. Link (via Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada)