This is all about making mathematics fun for kids. You know how dragging and perceptibly difficult math can be for kids, they tend to be intimidated by it. But now, you can spark your kids’ interest in math by making use of the free resources in this site.
Sand Dollars: Math on the Beach
November 7, 2009 -- From Evelynsaenz, a teacher, from Florida, who is affiliated with the site.
One day at the beach in Costa Rica my daughter and I were digging in the sand making sandcastles when we ran across a live sand dollar. Finding a dead exoskeleton would have been exciting but finding a live sand dollar was unbelievable!
We held it in our hands and felt the tiny hairs on the underside of it’s body tickle our skin ans the animal tried to get away from us and wiggle it’s way back down into the sand. We turned it over and watched it’s mouth moving in the center of it’s flat body.We set it down in the sand and watched it filter sand and water through it’s body and out the five holes that radiate out from the center.
Then we started to feel just under the surface of the sand as the tide washes the waves back and forth and began to find more sand dollars. At first we found one or two. Then we found them by the tens. We soon realized that there were hundreds, thousands and possibly millions of sand dollars right there on that beach.
Talk about a teaching moment!
We spent the rest of the day observing, drawing, measuring and counting sand dollars. This lens is about the math that can be learned at the beach while observing sand dollarsl
Pumpkins and Place Value
November 5, 2009 -- From evelynsaenz, a teacher, from Florida, who is affiliated with the site.
Pick the biggest pumpkin you can find. Cut off the top and smell the fresh pumpkin smell. Carving a Jack O’Lantern leads into a mathematical unit study of place value that incorporates all five senses.
Counting pumpkin seeds into groups of 10’s, 100’s etc. helps children understand our decimal system and prepares them in a concrete way to understand higher level math.
Scoop out those seeds, roast them if you like and count your way into a concrete understanding of place value.
Mr. R.’s World of Math
October 19, 2009 -- From Eric, a reader, from La Honda, California, who is affiliated with the site.
This site features a variety of kid-friendly math resources, including math poems, math videos, math songs, and a 3-5th grade math adventure which is full of word problems. There is also a lesson page, where Mr. R., a math education specialist in New York City, will post lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the math poems. Mr. R. also has a link to his library that contains some of his funny non-math poems for kids.
Mr. Schlytter’s Mathematics Site
December 15, 2008 -- From Eric, a teacher, from Tacoma, Washington, who is affiliated with the site.
This educational site provides students with over 200 exciting interactive math activities for success. These engaging applications may be used by educators to teach important math concepts.
MathVids
December 8, 2008 -- From Ryan, a teacher from Toledo, Ohio, who is affiliated with the site.
MathVids.com provides 24/7 access to only the best math videos from middle school through college math. Learn the same lesson from several different certified math teachers. All videos are previewed, rated, and reviewed before being posted, so it is safe and accurate.
Help With Fractions
October 4, 2008 -- From Skip, a parent, from Mustang, Oklahoma (USA), who is affiliated with the site.
Step-by-step help for working with fractions.
