Math: A Family Value

Last night my school had a seventh grade family fun night. I was set up in the library/media center running math skills bingo games and a capture the alien contest. The math skills bingo games were from the reproducible book Math-o for grades 5-8+ published by Carson-Dellosa. I have used this resource a number of times with my math groups. For the alien contest, players went to www.mathplayground.com and played the game "Alien Angles" and recorded their highest score on the entry form. Prizes were awarded for the highest score and also by random drawing. Math playground is a terrific website for students of all ages.

But the best thing about the night was seeing families doing math together. Parents and older siblings would help younger ones with math skills. Middle school students without families attending banded together to help each other. It was a great night of not only fun, but also learning and family and community bonding. Sometimes middle students think that everything schools and family have to offer is either lame or boring, but last night was a great turnout for the other point of view--that education and learning is exciting and interesting.

I strongly feel that a child's best assest for learning mathematics is their family. Not just the inherent aptitude they may inherit from their parents, but the environment at home that supports their education and allows them to participate in the mathematical tasks of the family. Everything from money and measurement to geometry and algebra can be found in everyday life and enhance the mathematical ability of children.

So as educators continue to teach mathematical skills, parents continue to provide mathematical experiences at home. Family fun nights are a great snapshot of how it all comes together.