Of course you read books aloud to your kids often, but have you ever thought about setting aside time to cuddle and solve math problems together?
Leslie Gilbert, a math teacher and creator of MathKit, has created a collection of games to show kids that math can be a fun way to spend family time—and give them the confidence to keep trying and learning, even when they get a problem wrong.
MathKit is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to get the kits in the hands of kids from kindergarten to third grade. My first grader and I recently had the chance to check out the games ourselves.
After a rainy day playing together, my daughter declared, “This does make math fun!”
The simple designs and muted colors make the components of MathKit appealing to the eye with a soothing feel. The full kit, which includes pieces for both kindergarten through third grade, comes with a board game, flash cards, chalk, bean bag, beach ball, linking cubes, and much more, all designed for special math games for you to play with your kids.
All of the pieces are high-quality, sturdy tools chosen to demonstrate to kids that there’s more than one way to solve a math problem.
The included Game Guide also tells you in clear instructions how to play each game—you don’t have to worry about devising rules or math problems on the fly. Each of the 10 games is explained succinctly and none are complicated, so you and your kids will get the hang of them in no time.
My daughter’s favorite is a math-themed scavenger hunt that has her search around the house for a math problem and the matching token with the solution. Like the other games, we play it together, and have a blast talking about math.
You read that right: We had fun talking about MATH.
MathKit has time left in the Kickstarter campaign, and I highly recommend checking it out if you want to make math as much as a family activity as you do reading books at bedtime. While the full kit might go above your budget at $85, there are several levels and rewards to consider. I never imagined my daughter and I giggling and cheering over a math-based game, but MathKit made it happen.
GeekMom received a sample of MathKit for review purposes.
