Our first Elementary Family Math Night was a hit! I thank the incredible team of teachers, staff, and parent volunteers who came together to organize a fun hour of math madness.
The idea came from a few enthusiastic parents and was reinforced by a local secondary school administrator who reminded me that math isn’t only the domain of school, but also the purview of families. To help children build number fluency, how can we connect math to real-life experiences to increase engagement?
How about?
- In a grocery store, show your children the listed pricing per unit to figure out which product is the most cost-effective.
- Help children make sense of sports stats while watching a game.
- When at a restaurant, have your children round off the items listed in the bill to be sure the total is accurate (more or less).
- In the kitchen, familiarize children with measurements, ratios, and proportions. What does it mean to double or halve the ingredients in a recipe? Please experiment with Mrs. Abrams’ famous playdough pizza recipe to find out!
Other ideas? Math puzzlers are conversation starters at mealtime. Math for Love offers a few suggestions. And let us not forget that older students love riddles!
Question: Turn me on my side and I am everything. Cut me in half, and I am nothing
Answer: 8
Question: How do you go from 98 to 720 using just one letter?
Answer: Add “x” between ninety and eight [Ninety x Eight = 720]
Need entertainment that fits in your pocket when your family is on the go? Rather than turning to screens, pack a deck of cards, a pair of miniature pigs (pig game), or a set of dice (such as Farkle in a tube). Here are other games, including ones the students enjoyed at Math Night.
Enjoy how the fun (and math understanding) adds up!
Alison Fleming, Head of School