Doing math with your children’s friends or a small math circle? Chances are your students are of mixed ages and levels. How can you have good dynamics? Don’t focus on activities that are likely to invite competition, such as problem-solving. Use open, collaborative activities: hands-on maker activities, scavenger hunts for math, games, or puzzles. Invite […]
I recently had the chance to play around with the newest book here at Natural Math called Avoid Hard Work…and other Encouraging Mathematical Problem-Solving Tips for the Young, the Very Young, and the Young at Heart, by Maria Droujkova, James Tanton, and Yelena McMannan. I’ve been around Natural Math for coming up on two […]
My family and I have been enjoying natural math games and classes with Maria for a while now. We love doing math in an unstructured way and prefer to focus on concepts. But sometimes, you just need to practice the math facts. So I was excited when we were asked to review the game Math-a-Round […]
Why are there so few math circles, particularly for younger children? One of the reasons is the belief that very young kids are simply not ready for complex math. Another reason is that finding deep and engaging math activities, adapted for this younger audience, is itself a challenge. Natasha Rozhkovskaya’s new book, Math Circles for […]
