Math Game Monday: Bowling (Shut the Box)

Learn a new game with Math Game Monday

This game is fun for all ages, but especially good for elementary children just beginning to think about probability.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children.

And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

Bowling (Shut the Box)

Math Concepts: addition, probability.

Players: solitaire.

Equipment: two six-sided dice, pencil and paper.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Bowling (Shut the Box)

Thinking Thursday: Exponential Folds

Thinking Thursday math journal prompt

Writing to Learn Math: People learn math by playing with ideas. A math journal can be like a science lab book.

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: Exponential Folds

Mental Math: Advanced Division

Father and daughter working mental math

The farther we go in math, the more division disappears. It ceases to exist as a separate concept.

Instead, we learn to see division as:

  • an inverse multiplication
  • a fraction (ratio)
  • a proportional relationship

Each of these perspectives offers us a new way to think about and make sense of our calculations.

Continue reading Mental Math: Advanced Division

Math Game Monday: What’s My Rule?

Learn a new game with Math Game Monday

This game challenges upper-elementary and middle school students to reason about number properties.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children.

And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

What’s My Rule?

Math Concepts: Venn diagrams, factors and multiples, divisibility, prime numbers, and other number properties.

Players: two or more.

Equipment: pencil and paper, or whiteboard and markers. Calculator optional.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: What’s My Rule?

Thinking Thursday: Goose and Grapes

Thinking Thursday math journal prompt

Writing to Learn Math: Problem-solving cares less about whether an answer is right and more about whether a solution makes sense.

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: Goose and Grapes

Mental Math: Advanced Multiplication, Part 2

Father and son celebrate a mental math answer

The methods in last week’s Advanced Multiplication post only work for certain numbers, but we have another, more powerful multiplication tool: We can always use a ratio table to make sense of any multiplication.

Ratios are the beginning of proportional thinking. We can systematically alter the numbers in a ratio to reach any quantity required by our problem.

Students begin working with ratios in story problems that help them visualize and make sense of a proportional relationship.

Continue reading Mental Math: Advanced Multiplication, Part 2

Math Game Monday: Target Ten

Learn a new math game every week, for free

This equation game for elementary students builds creative, flexible thinking about addition and subtraction.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children.

And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

Target Ten

Math Concepts: addition, subtraction, multistep calculation.

Players: any number.

Equipment: one deck of math cards, pencils and paper, timer (optional).

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Target Ten