Math whiz danica mckellar trying to teach son the quadratic formula

feature-image

Play all audios:

Danica McKellar really loves math. While she’s best known for playing Winnie on _The Wonder Years_, off-screen, McKellar’s reputation as a _New York Times_ best selling author advocating for


the importance of math has earned the actress just as many fans. “Math is a challenge!” she says, “[But] you want to embrace challenges. That’s how you get strong and smart. That is how you


prove, that is how you feel good about yourself. That is how you build confidence.” McKellar, 37, who most recently penned _Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape_, credits the subject with


boosting her self-esteem. “Math for me [gave me the most confidence]. After _The Wonder Years_ ended, here I was, this ex-child actress. You have to find your identity somewhere. For me, I


found it in feeling smart and good about myself,” she says. Even McKellar’s son, Draco, 23 months, is working on developing his math skills. “We’re working on some things. He knows his


colors and his shapes. He still gets seven when he counts the toes on one foot – he really likes seven right now!” she says. “He likes it when I recite Pi. And I’m trying to teach him the


quadratic formula, he hasn’t quite gotten it yet. It’s sung to the tune of ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’.”