Just bring a small shoe box (and any extras if you have ‘em) Parkday opens at NOON. Project starts at 1:30pm.

Once we make our Abacus-in-a-Box, I will share with everyone how to use them. Some will catch on quick, some will take a bit longer, but we will all get there.  And for those who enjoy it, they can help inspire others.  Come join the Math Party.

Due to the Fall weather’s return – Parkday opens at HIGH NOON.  And this project will start at 1:30 Sharp.   And as a bonus, I will hopefully get a MATH MAGICIAN to come along and show off a bit!

October dues are $5 per family. This helps cover the costs of the supplies.

Bonus:  Tutorials on how to use the Abacus

Difference between Chinese Abacus & Japanese (Soroban)

Tricks/Formulas on  How to add with Soroban (from a girl)

Tutorial on Multiplying with Soroban (drastic confusion unless you understand how to add with it first).

Bonus Math* Using visual lines to solve Multiplication.  Next way to visualize math to be going on in my home.

EVERYONE is a winner.  May I request that you BRING ONE or TWO RECYCLED TOYS per child, that are easy to part with to put on the prize table, so at the end of the events children get to pick a prize of their choice. And at the end of this month…   True to Win it in a Minute rules, each child will get a ticket disc if they complete the task in under a minute.  Since we will be playing in sets of two, the get another disc if they are the first of the pair to finish.  And to add our M&B twist, a third disc will be given out to the one child who was the most encouraging to both players until everyone finished.

Then the kids determined the order in which they picked their donated prizes at the end of MayDay playday by who had the most ticket discs.

Heck yeah! Come see how we roll at Mudpies & Butterflies.

Hold on,… isn’t it Summer?  Shouldn’t Math be off- limits until Fall?

If it’s Fun, why wait? And would you pleeeeease STOP complaining that Math is Yucky!

MATH TASTES GREAT!

Taking my cues from the fabulous book, Mystery Math by David A. Adler, I shared that Algebra is like a See Saw.  No matter what is on either side, the equals sign is the center of the see saw.  Algebra is a BALANCED See Saw with both sides totaling the same amount. We had tons of  fun trying to figure out the Mystery Number.  It is also called the Variable, which once revealed, makes the See Saw balanced and equal.  We did this with kids on my See Saw as well as with number equations and even WORD Problems.  They were all rushing to be the one to reveal the answer.

This book has made Algebra so FUN to explore with my girls (I’ve just bought the last three $8 copies in stock from Amazon to share).  By combining visual aids and body movement, the kids had a blast getting their base concepts of Algebra.  Some kids totally got Algebra from just that one day!

Included in the back of Mystery Math was the perfect craft.  With a coat hanger and some pennies (provided by families) and masking tape, hole punch, and paper clips (which I provided), the kids created their own manipulative math tool ($40) to best “see” and “feel” Algebra Equations.

By making varying units of pennies to hook onto the coat hanger, they could try to balance 2 pennies and 4 pennies with 6 pennies on the other side.  Or whatever numbers combinations they wished to try.  And they tried many combinations with success and FUN!

*Since this blog’s creation, David A. Adler  posted a link to this page on his Website.  Thanks David; keep up the fabo work!

** Quick Tip to Make Challenging Subjects More Palatable.

Take care to prevent polarizing any subject that YOU think might beyond your child’s reach.  When we label any element of learning as “too difficult,” “beyond your years,” or “something you can only do later,” we are unknowingly planting a mental block in their heads.  Many of us were similarly handicapped as children, when friends or educators derailed our natural inclination to learn more with negative words and labels.  Just by speaking the word “algebra” or “calculus” with a distaste for it, we are doing the subject an injustice and potentially sabotaging the innate fun and intrigue for it.  For when our children do approach that subject later, they will view it as an obstacle, not a fun learning experience.  Children are quick to follow our lead, especially if it’s an emotional reaction.  Taking the time to become a bit more consciously aware of vocabulary.  And don’t worry over this, for you can positively re-frame any learning activity that may have been initially colored in an unfavorable light.

Children took turns picking who should go on either side of the actual See Saw to attempt making a balanced Algebra equation.