Math circle
I would like to organize a math circle for my 7 year old, but I am not sure how I can go about it. he loves math and is constantly thinking up ways to do things differently;observes patterns and plays with numbers really. Unfortunately, I have not yet found a bunch of children around us who share his love for math. How does one go about getting kiddos together? I was good at school math, but I am quite daunted by the prospect of playing. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Hi, Neem
Thank you for your post. You have raised two questions: 1. How to find the kids? 2. You are daunted by the prospect of playing. Here I will try to address the first one:
If you homeschool your child, you may want to post to your local homeschool newsgroup or co-op page, reaching to the parents and offering a short math circle session. If your child is in school, you may want to invite some of your child's school friends for a fun after-school activity. Try it a couple of times to see whether you like doing it. If you decide you wish to continue, here are some ways to get more kids:
For homeschooled kids:
- Choose the topics you plan to teach. Set your calendar and location.
- Talk to fellow homeschooling parents to check the interest. Ask for suggestions.
- Contact/email local homeschool groups, co-ops, meetups, etc
- Work with local math/science museums, libraries, etc to advertise a day-time event for homeschoolers.
For schooled kids:
- Choose the topics you plan to teach. Set your calendar and location.
- Set your lesson time as an after-school activity, convenient for students and parents.
- Print out the advertising flyer.
- Distribute the flyers at local elementary schools.
- Contact the school PTAs ( parent-teacher associations) and advertise on local PTA listserve if appropriate
Julia
Thanks Julia,
We homeschool and your suggestions are great! Gives me a direction to plan the gathering.
Thanks
Neem
Start with a friend of your kid. Ask the kids who else they'd like to invite to play with them. Ask their parents to think of friends too. It helps with your fears if you do things with friends.
You could consider making it a "math creativity" circle with a focus on making art and toys while exploring mathematical ideas. That might be appealing to a broader ranger of children and parents who already have preconceived notions about "doing math."
