Skills:
K-2: counting, number recognition, comparing, addition/subtraction, logic/reasoning skills, geometric shapes
3-5: logic/reasoning skills, addition/subtraction, beginning algebra
This scale weight problem is a fun way to introduce algebraic thinking. Although for the young students, simply recognizing numbers and counting the animals is good enough. They can even describe the geometric shapes used to make the scales.
Skills:
K-2: counting, skip counting, patterns, even/odd numbers
3-5: even/odd numbers, patterns, multiples, factors, multiplication, common multiples, prime/composite numbers
When students learn to skip count* they are reciting the multiples of the number they started with. It’s a great early introduction to multiplication. This poster is a horizontal representation of some of the multiples for numbers 1 – 23 which are represented by different colors. For example, multiples of 1 are magenta; multiples of 2 are yellow; 3 are green, etc.
Factors are the numbers multiplied together to arrive at another number. For example, 2 and 3 are the factors that, when multiplied, result in the product 6. This poster shows the factors of each number vertically. The factors of 6 are: 1 (magenta), 2 (yellow), 3, (green), and 6 (blue).
1 x 6 = 6 and 2 x 3 = 6
So this was a super fun What Do You Notice? poster I created for my last Family Math Night event. Not only is it colorful, but who doesn’t like gumball machines?!
Skills:
K-2: counting, even numbers, skip counting by twos, comparison
3-5: probability, fractions, money
This is a fun one simply because of the fun gumballs and gumball machine. That said, there is still a lot of math going on. Young students can count the number of different colored gumballs. They can compare colored gumballs to see which color has the least and which color has the most. They can even count all the gumballs to arrive at a total.
I’m very excited to share with you our newest Family Math Night product line designed around hands-on projects in math. We’re calling it our Project Series and the first one, just released, is Project: Bug Box.
Hands-on and super fun, this Family Math Night Bug Box station will get the creative juices flowing! Participants choose one of their favorite (plastic!) bugs and use 2- and 3-dimensional geometry along with number skills to create a rectangular prism. Participants will walk away with a custom designed box for their bug which they get to bring home and share with others.
Everyone loves to play games. They’re engaging, motivating, and fun. And from an educational perspective, they can be a powerful learning tool. Here’s what games can do:
But one of the best things about games is that they offer meaningful practice in a way where kids actually want to do math. That’s because games, by their very nature, are fun. It’s not too hard to entice a child to play a game. And because of that, games offer important practice in a way that worksheets can’t.