Money Confident Kids - Great Resource for Parents

Check out this great free resource from scholastic to help your kids understand important financial topics such as money, savings, even retirement.  Activities are kid friendly, there are even a couple of great on line games that teach these concepts. http://www.scholastic.com/mck/parents/

Providing Enriching Math Opportunities for Your Child - Resources provided

Math enrichment gives your child opportunities to think like a true mathematician and extend what they learn in a standard classroom to the real world.  This develops the critical thinking section of their brains which we all know is like a muscle so the more it is used the more proficient it becomes.

Giving your child a chance to struggle through a problem that is at their level this which means  instead giving your 2nd grader multiplication and division problems, rather dive deep into what they have learned already.  Question their thinking, have your child justify their answer to you.  If they are working on a number puzzle, ask them if the rule they identify applies to all situations.

Good questions to ask:
"is this always true?"
"can you find an example to make this not true?"
"how can you prove that your answer is correct?"
"is there another way you could solve this?"

Below are some resources that are great to use for these type of activities.  Include some of the questions mentioned above when your child works the problems out.  And remember to give them that very important opportunity to struggle through a problem.  Real mathematicians get problems wrong repeatedly but they keep on trying until they persevere though them.

Fun fact: the longest math problems took 365 years to solve.  Google Fermat's Last Theorem.

Resources:
Books -  a sample of authors who have other great books about math
The Grapes Of Math Paperback – June 1, 2004. ... Greg Tang, a lifelong lover of math, shares the techniques that have helped him solve problems in the most creative ways! ...Math For All Seasons: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles  - http://www.amazon.com/The-Grapes-Math-Greg-Tang/dp/0439598400

G Is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book - B is for Binary, F is for Fibonacci, P is for Probability... even a small sample begins to give you the idea that this is a math book unlike any other.  http://www.amazon.com/G-Googol-Math-Alphabet-Book/dp/1883672589/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460402226&sr=1-1&keywords=g+is+for+google

Math Appeal: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles - Greg Tang underscores the importance of four basic rules in problem-solving. Keeping an open mind, looking for unusual number combinations, using multiple skills (like subtracting to add) and looking for patterns will guarantee any child success in math. In MATH APPEAL, Tang continues to challenge kids with his innovative approach to math. http://www.amazon.com/Math-Appeal-Mind-Stretching-Riddles/dp/0439210461/ref=pd_sim_14_8?ie=UTF8&dpID=514bh0fY6CL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR139%2C160_&refRID=1A8GMYAXD8P8QHVMP26G 

Math Curse - http://www.amazon.com/Math-Curse-Jon-Scieszka/dp/0670861944/ref=pd_sim_14_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=51uj2yLxRzL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR159%2C160_&refRID=1A8GMYAXD8P8QHVMP26G 

Web - Resources

1.   New Zealand Math - provides information and resources to support the extension of students whose abilities and performance in mathematics are strong.  http://nzmaths.co.nz/

      NRICH - enriching mathematics through various activities and resources for parents and teachers. http://nrich.maths.org/frontpage

      Brain Teasers and Math problems - a wide range of problems http://www.syvum.com/teasers/

       Places to Visit -

      The Discovery Museums and MathWorks Partner Again on Traveling Science Workshops for 2011-2012 School Year   http://www.discoverymuseums.org/

         

        MIT Museum - Children of all ages are welcome to attend the MIT Museum family events, but most activities are targeted for middle-schoolers and up. Sign up for their newsletter for updates on workshops and events.  http://web.mit.edu/museum/index.html

Story Time? How about Bed Time Math

One of the biggest topics in mathematical education is the integration of math concepts into “real world” scenarios.  When children see how we as adults use mathematics in our daily life it makes learning the subject relevant for them.

  

Recently, I came across a very interesting article in Time magazine entitled “Beyond Counting Sheep.  Why math is the hot new bedtime reading”, by Bonnie Rochman.  This article is about an astrophysicist turned stay at home mom whose mission is to “change the way parents put their kids to bed”.  The mom, Laura Bilodeau Overdeck, is the founder of a great web-site called Bedtime Math  (Bedtimemath.org).  This web-site offers interesting “real world” problems that are fun for every age group and center on current events, holidays, and home life.  Her vision is to have parents problem solve with their children as part of their nightly routine; as you would read your child a story, you would also solve a problem together.  Solutions to each problem can also be found on this web-site.

I hope you have an opportunity to try this web-site and approach out. 

In the meantime here are some sample problems from Bedtimemath.org:

Crowd-Diving Posted on February 16, 2013 by laura

Skydiving has been a favorite topic here, because there are few things in life as dramatic as hurling yourself out of a plane from thousands of feet above the ground. Well, this group of 100 skydivers took it to a new level: they all jumped out of planes at the same time, then used their wingsuits to steer themselves into a nice neat square formation of people in the sky. It set the record for the number of people in one skydive formation – well, okay, that’s because it’s the first formation anyone has turned in for the record. But given that it took 100 people from 21 countries jumping out of 5 planes, they obviously earned the honor.

Wee ones: If you were one of the divers and you were on the 1st of the 5 airplanes to take off, how many planes took off after you?

Little kids: The skydivers jumped from 13,000 feet. If they didn’t pull their parachutes until they were 6,000 feet above the ground, for how many thousands of feet did they fall first? Bonus: If the 100 skydivers were divided evenly among the 5 planes, how many people jumped out of each one?

Big kids: The 100 divers spread out in an almost perfect square in the sky. If it had been a perfect square, how many people wide would that square have to be? Bonus: To skydive wearing a wingsuit, you need to do at least 200 dives before that. At least how many dives must the group of 100 have done in total before this? (Hint: to multiply a number by 100, tack 2 zeroes on to the end of it.)

The Collaborative for Student Success has recently published a brief article called "Falling Back in Love with Math."  They paraphrase an interview the Washington Post conducted of parents and their view of the Common Core.  During the interview the parents stated that they saw a significant impact on their children understanding of math concept that the revised curriculum under the Common Core has had on their children.
The article is below:

Falling back in love with math

Parents around the country have expressed trepidation about new math instruction they don’t recognize and rightful concern that they are unable to help their children with their homework. But, some parents have come to the realization that they want their children to be better and more confident at math than they were as students. And the more they learn, the more parents are starting to appreciate the math concepts promoted in the Common Core State Standards.

Here’s what some parents recently told Washington Post’s Jay Mathews when asked their thoughts on Common Core math:

“Like many parents in the early years, we were confused by the math in particular and not very supportive…[But now my twin daughters] understand math concepts so completely after learning ‘that crazy way’ in elementary school that I am a huge believer. They reason and understand. They do not memorize and move on.” – Maryland parent, Marianne Sullivan

“My first reaction to a Common Core worksheet was repulsion. It’s ugly math. It doesn’t look pretty or easy… [But] I set that aside and learned how to do what he was doing. And something magical happened: I started doing math better in my head.” – Washington State parent and tutor, Hadley Danielson

Certainly, not all material should be new to parents. Common Core State Standards still require students to know basic procedures and traditional problem-solving methods.Zimba explains in a piece this month, but the standards also encourage having kids learn multiple approaches to solving math problems so that they can choose the approach that works best for them, and so that they develop a full understanding of the concepts before they move on to more challenging levels.

This Facebook post from an Idaho teacher demonstrates exactly how that complete understanding translates to making more complex math concepts easier for students to grasp:

“We whipped through this in a day because they were able to conceptually understand the idea of splitting the area of a rectangle into easier to compute pieces, and then finding the sum of the pieces. Is this method the most efficient for multiplying simple two digit numbers? Probably not. But is there a PURPOSE for exposing students to this kind of thinking early on? Totally! … I just love seeing Common Core working!”

Making Math "Count" in the New Year!

“Math is a language of logic.  It is a disciplined, organized way of thinking.  There is a right answer; there are rules that must be followed.  More than any other subject, math is rigor distilled.  Mastering the language of logic help to embed higher-order habits in kids’ minds: the ability to reason, for example, to detect patterns and to make informed guesses.  Those kinds of skills had rising value in a world in which information was cheap and messy.”  Esther Cepeda, Daliy News, 2/23/14.

This excerpt is from an article “Why math? Why not?” from the Daily News and it makes a very important point: math teaches your child much more than just how to add and subtract, math teaches your child how to be a logical adult with strong reasoning skills.  Math is an intricate part of our everyday life.  Think about your daily routine and how many times you have had to problem solve a difficult situation or make reasonable deductions.

As parents/guardians we can make a big impact in our children’s mathematical development by incorporating small habits into our routines. Below are three “must do’s” for our elementary aged children:

1. Count with your child – this simple activity develops strong number sense and gives your child a significant advantage over peers who come to school not being able to count.

Ø  Pre K and K aged students – count to 100 by 1’s forward and backwards.  Count to 100 by tens   (10, 20, 30 …). 

Ø  Grades 1 and 2 – count to 1,000 and above.  Count by 5’s (0, 5, 10, 15…); 10’s; 100’s (100, 200, 300 …).  Count within 100’s by 10’s forward and backwards (210, 200, 190, 180…)

Ø  Grades 3 and 4 – count with high numbers (1million, 2 million, 3 million… 100,000, 200,000, 300,000).  Count fractions (1 ½; 2; 2 ½; 3; 3 ½; 4…. OR ¼; 2/3; ¾; 1; 1 ¼; 1 ^2/4; 1 ¾; 2…)

2.  Play “I am thinking of a number” game - this type of activity develops your child’s understanding how our number system is ordered.

For example:

Ø  Pre K and K aged students – “I am thinking of a number that comes before 5”; “I am thinking of a number that comes after 10”; “I am thinking of a number that comes in between 14 and 16”. 

Ø  Grades 1 and 2 – “I am thinking of a number that comes before 105 but after 102”; “I am thinking of a number that is ten less than 50”; “I am thinking of a number that is greater than 150 but less than 154”.

                  Ø  Grades 3 and 4 – Break the numbers down by place value (see diagram below) “I am                            thinking of a number that has 2 thousands, 3 hundreds, 2 tens and 4 ones – what is my                          number?” (2,324).  “I am thinking of a number that has 3 ones and 4 tenths” (decimal                          place value – 3.4)

3. Practicing math facts - Parents play a vital role in supporting this at home. Practicing 10 minutes a day will really improve math fact fluency. Try practicing math facts in the car, when shopping, while practicing sports (basketball/soccer - around the world with math facts) or while cooking. There are also many fun math websites, math apps, and math games that can help your child.

Wishing you a Happy Math Year!

Fun Math Themed Picture Books by Skill

Check out these fun titles that reinforce the different math skills (and reading skills):

Addition

Title	Author
365 Penguins	Jean-Luc Fromental
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins	Dr. Seuss
Addition Annie	David Gisler
Blueberries for Sal	Robert McCloskey
Imogene's Antlers	David Small
Math Potatoes: Mind-stretching Brain Food	Greg Tang
The Mission of Addition	Brian Cleary
The Rainbow Fish	Marcus Pfister
The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric Carle

Counting

Title	Author
100 Monsters in My School	Bonnie Bader
Animal 1 2 3!	J. Douglas Lee
Bears on Wheels	Stan & Jan Berenstain
Chicken Little, Count to Ten	Margaret Friskey
Click, Clack, Splish, Splash: a Counting Adventure	Doreen Cronin
Count and See	Tana Hoban
Counting on Frank	Rod Clement
A Dozen Dogs	Harriet Ziefert
Each Orange had 8 Slices	Paul Giganti, Jr.
The Handmade Counting Book	Laura Rankin
The Halloween House	Erica Silverman
How Much is a Million?	David Schwartz

Division

Title	Author
Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream	Cindy Neuschwander
Cheetah Math: Learning About Division from Baby Cheetahs	Ann W. Nagda
The Doorbell Rang	Pat Hutchins
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear	Audrey Wood
More M&M's Brand Chocolate Candies Math	Barbara McGrath
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!	Mo Willems
A Remainder of One	Elinor J. Pinczes

Fractions

Title	Author
The Doorbell Rang	Pat Hutchins
Fraction Fun	David Adler
Full House: an Invitation to Fractions	Dayle A. Dodds

Multiplication

Title	Author
365 Penguins	Jean-Luc Fromental
Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream	Cindy Neuschwander
Anno' Math Games	Mitsumasa Anno
The Best of Times: Math Strategies That Multiply	Greg Tang
Can You Count to a Googol?	Robert E. Wells
The Doorbell Rang	Pat Hutchins

Subtraction

Title	Author
The Action of Subtraction	Brian Cleary
Blueberries for Sal	Robert McCloskey
Hershey Kisses Subtraction Book	Jerry Pallotta
The Rainbow Fish	Marcus Pfister

Problem of the Month - December Grades 1-5

Strategy of the Month:

Someone said, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Turning the words of a problem into a picture or a diagram can help you "see" the problem. By using the part of your brain that visualizes a situation or object, you may see relationships or information that helps you solve the problem. When someone tells you a story, try turning the words into a motion picture or a cartoon. When reading a description, try "seeing it in your mind's eye." If you can do these things, this strategy may be for you!  Try using a picture or make a diagram to solve these problem:

Gr 1 and 2: On the playground there are three bicycles and four tricycles.  How many wheels are there?

Gr 3 and 4:   Every bike slot in a bicycle rack was filled.    Donna's bike was in the middle.  There    were six bikes to the right of Donna's.  How    many bicycles were in the bicycle rack?

Gr 5: In the restaurant there are 12 square tables. Only one person can sit on each side. What is the greatest number of people that can be seated if the tables are pushed end to end into one large rectangle?