Games & Puzzles, Patterns, Problem Solving, Resources

Can you spot a SET?

Last week my class participated in Global School Play Day. I was a bit nervous about an entire day of “unstructured” play with my high energy crowd, but I stepped through my fears and let it happened. It wasn’t completely unstructured, I guess. Our day is kind of broken up into manageable chucks with the placement of specials, lunch, and recess…

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Games & Puzzles, Resources

YouCubed

For a while now I have wanted to write about this fantastic resource. Well, I am finally getting around to it! YouCubed.org is a site that was founded by Stanford professor of education, Jo Boaler, “to give teachers, parents and students the resources and ideas they need to inspire and excite students about mathematics.” The information and resources here are backed…

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Games & Puzzles, Mindset, Number Sense

Number Puzzles

There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about making math relevant for students. Making math relevant really just means showing a student the practical purpose for math in a way that feels useful. The thinking is that kids will be more likely to take an interest in learning a particular math concept or skill if they have a…

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Games & Puzzles

Fun Game! Math Dice, Jr.

Maybe you have already seen my post on the versatility of number cubes…aka dice…in the post titled “Dice Magic.” In it, I describe how to use dice to practice all sorts of math skills as your child grows in mathematical thinking. This post goes into detail about a great, commercially available game called Math Dice, Jr. In this fun and simple…

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Games & Puzzles, Mindset, Resources

Dice Magic

Dice (or number cubes) are one of my favorite things to use in math class. They are super versatile and can be used to teach and practice a ton of concepts. They also come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, which expands the possibilities, and playing games is a great way to teach children that math is fun! For…

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