HAMAMATSU, JAPAN— When Aiko Yamauchi moved to the United States from Japan three years ago, she could not speak or understand English. She was, however, blessed with a love of mathematics—and lucky enough to be given a First In Math User ID by her new math teacher at Hershey Primary Elementary School.
Left: Aiko Yamauchi, 2014 #4 Player in the US, all grades, solving a Monu’s Path puzzle at her family’s home in Japan. Right: Aiko poses with her FIM All Star trophy.
Having already mastered division and multiplication when she was in kindergarten, the energetic first-grader was immediately engaged by the scope of activities and unique content on the site.
“Aiko has loved mathematics since she was young, and even though she was very busy with other activities, she enjoyed playing First In Math every day,” explains her proud father, Katsuya Yamauchi. While at Hershey ES, she also practiced swimming at the Hershey Aquatic Club and played violin in the Harrisburg Junior String Orchestra.
“Aiko earned 20,000 stickers in first grade, 32,000 in second grade and 54,819 in third grade,” says her father. The nearly 55,000-sticker total this year ranked her #4 in the nation among all grades, and earned her a FIM Top Ten National All Star Award.
Unfortunately, Yamauchi had to move back to Japan with her family just before the end of the 2014 school year—before she was able to receive her award. “We knew Aikio worked very hard and she deserved the award. With the help of Karen Westervelt, her teacher, we were able to get the award to her in Japan,” says FIM Project Coordinator Nancy Kane.
“My daughter was very happy to get the award,” says Yamauchi, who was eventually able to touch base with Kane to arrange the delivery. “Thank you everyone at First In Math so much for your efforts.”
Having become accustomed to life and school in the States, Aiko had to initially readjust to Japanese school, but she did have the continuity of access to First In Math. According to her father, she has transitioned quite rapidly and still enjoys the site. “The system and contents of FIM are really excellent, and as a father, it is my hope that students all over the world will be able to participate in the FIM program in the future.“