Monday, April 5, 2010

Plan a Family Math Night
During Math Awareness Month

Last month, more than 200 parents and students participated in the third annual Math Night at Licking Heights South Elementary School in Pataskala, Ohio. Students exercised their math skills by playing card games and computer games. Some kept score as they bowled on a makeshift bowling alley in the gym while others practiced their money-counting skills. “Math Night is to encourage kids to find fun ways to learn math,” teacher Tammy Atchison told the Newark Advocate [read more].

Teacher Christi Gober echoed that sentiment. “Our goal for the evening is to give students extra math practice while showing that math is fun,” she told a reporter on Mad Math Night at Eastside Elementary School in Rockmart, Georgia. Mad Math Night provides an opportunity for kids to show off their math skills at a wide variety of activities set up in different classrooms [read more].

At Beckemeyer Elementary School in Hillsboro, Illinois, a special “Beckemeyer CSI” event brought together families, businesses, and others to participate in math-oriented activities such as analyzing fingerprints, deciphering codes, and solving for mystery numbers. The evening was a nice opportunity for the local police department to get involved, too. Officers demonstrated how fingerprints are identified at crime scenes, and the department’s drug dog demonstration was a popular sidelight [read more].

APRIL IS MATH AWARENESS MONTH

Those are just a few of the Math Night events that I've read about in recent weeks. Math Nights have become popular school-wide events that showcase a school’s efforts in this important area and emphasize how essential -- and fun -- math can be.

If your school has never planned a Family Math Night, Math Awareness Month is a great time to set the wheels in motion. It’s the perfect time to get your PTO and teachers involved in planning a special night of fun and learning for next school year. The probablilty is that the event will become an annual one like it has at many schools across the nation.

As the staffs and families at Eastside Elementary, Licking Heights South, and Beckemeyer Elementary can tell you, it all adds up:
(Teachers + Parents + Students) + Math = A Fun Evening

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM EDUCATION WORLD

Math Night By the Numbers
Is it time for a "Math Night" at your school? Math Night gets students excited about math, familiarizes parents with the math curriculum, and encourages families to continue the fun of math at home. Included: Advice from organizers of Math Nights at schools across the country.

A Student-Led Math Family Fun Night
A Math Family Fun Night planned and led by students presents wonderful learning opportunities for students (and teachers, too). Take a peek as fourth-graders prepare for their school's first Math Family Fun Night.

Find many more resources in our Math Subject Archive.

MORE RESOURCES


  • Resources for Family Math Night
  • Family Math Night Ideas
  • Family Math Night: Math Standards in Action (Elementary School)
  • Family Math Night: Math Standards in Action (Middle School)
  • Family Math
  • Motivating Middle School Math: Family Nights, Fairs, and Competitions
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