Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Bedtime Math!?!

Time has an article about a move to get children jazzed about math: Bonnie Rochman, Beyond Counting Sheep: Why Math Is the Hot New Bedtime Reading, Time, Feb. 25, 2013, at 52. You have to subscribe to see the whole article, but the title alone gives you the key message: having kids think a little about math regularly is as important as reading to them.  (A few months ago, the author had an online story: A Problem a Day Keeps Fear of Arithmetic Away, Time Health & Family, Nov. 21, 2012.)

The article features Bedtime Math. You can follow or subscribe to the blog to get three problems a day, aimed at pre-K, K-2, 2nd grade and up. According to the Time article, the site will add a higher level of difficulty for "tweens, teens and even adults" in late February. That's any day now! Hooray!

The Time  story says:
the strongest evidence that Bedtime Math can change children's skills comes from data collected from Snacktime Math, a program of Bedtime Math problems given to kids attending summer camp at a New Jersey Boys & girls Club: more than 70% of the largely low-income students improved their skills after a six-week session.
The article also mentions Math for Love, "a Seattle outfit that advises teachers on how to use games to spice up math education."  I haven't read through much, but Math for Love's blog looks very good—interesting, witty, and mathy.

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