I've recently been reviewing and exploring shapes with my daughter. At 7 years old, she knows the names and attributes of basic shapes, so we've been working on understanding them more deeply, and especially seeing how we can break apart and put together shapes to form new ones. As part of this exploration, we've looked at several different 3D shapes and talked about the shapes of the faces. There are lots of fun ways to teach and explore 3D Keep Reading...
Pass the Pi: A Hands On Pi Day Investigation
No matter the age of your kids, Pi Day (aka March 14th) is a fantastic opportunity to explore math concepts! There are so many things to teach and explore related to the number pi, the circumference or diameter of a circle, or some math history related to this fascinating number. I'm always on the lookout for fun Pi Day learning activities, and have already shared this simple Pi Day Sing Along to get kids of all ages in on the fun. Today I'm Keep Reading...
Valentine’s Day STEM: Build a Tower with Conversation Hearts
Looking for a super easy and low-prep Valentine's Day STEM challenge? Look no further. This is easy to set up and weaves in lots of fun math practice for grades K-2 with conversation hearts. I love getting my kids excited about using and learning math, and so we recently used a bag of conversation hearts to explore patterns, estimation and measurement, as well as introduce some engineering ideas! I was amazed at the conversations and ideas we Keep Reading...
Hot Chocolate Math Investigation: Estimation and Measurement!
My kids love hot chocolate. It's such a special treat! When the weather is nice, they love to curl up in the yard at night and star gaze with a large cup of hot chocolate. When the weather is cold and snowy, they love to warm up with a cup! The problem is, they tend to fight over silly things, like who gets which cup. Whether they want a particular mug, or a certain color, it drives me insane to have them argue over which cup they get! However, Keep Reading...
Easy Christmas Tree Symmetry Craft!
It's the most wonderful time of the year! But it's also that time of year when young minds are consumed with anything and everything but schoolwork. Whether you are a classroom teacher or a homeschool parent, you likely sympathize with my struggle to enjoy the holidays and make sure we're doing lots of fun activities, while also sneaking in lots of good learning. Thankfully, December is the perfect time to take a break from the norm and to weave Keep Reading...
Math Art: Learning about Circles with Bubble Prints
There are lots of different ways to explore shapes with your kids. So why not get creative? (And gloriously messy?!) Because I love using art as a way to teach and discover math concepts (and because it helps me to be intentional about letting my kids get messy and creative, something that I do not naturally want to do), I decided to make a batch of bubbles and let the kids "paint" with bubbles. We then used our creations to talk about circles Keep Reading...
Weekly Math Freebie Round Up!
Welcome to the weekly round up of FREE math teaching resources here at Math Geek Mama! I love finding fun, high quality teaching materials for you so that you can teach with confidence without breaking the bank! Check back each week for more freebies, or subscribe to my email newsletter and never miss out on anything! :) Kindergarten-2nd: This acorn math game is a great, hands-on way to let kids practice counting and number recognition! Keep Reading...
{FREE} Gumball Estimation Activity!
We've been having some fun exploring measurement and estimation around here lately. Estimation is an important math concept that I think is often overlooked or glazed over, but it's an invaluable real life skill. Not only is it helpful in all sorts of real life situations to be able to estimate sizes, costs, and amounts, but it is also helpful as students get into higher level math. After spending a significant amount of time working out an Keep Reading...
Mummy Math: Halloween Estimation and Measurement!
Believe it or not, Halloween is just around the corner! To get my kids excited and seize the opportunity to get outside and enjoy some beautiful Fall weather, we decided to try a little experiment. It all started with a simple enough question: "How many squares of toilet paper do you think it would take to wrap you up like a mummy?" Challenge accepted. Learn how we turned this fun and silly activity into an afternoon full of Mummy Math with a Keep Reading...
Mango Math Product Review {First Grade}
I was recently introduced to a company called Mango Math. I was intrigued by the company, because they sell age appropriate math games that are aligned to the Common Core, as well as NCTM Standards. So when they asked if I would review their products, I gladly accepted! I received two games for this Mango Math product review, and so I will be sharing my thoughts on these games, as well as the company in general. *Please Note: I received these Keep Reading...
