Food Fights, Puzzles and Hideouts
Mixing in Math
Published by Tumblhome Learning
Disclosure: I received monetary compensation to feature this Mixing in Math book. My opinion is not influenced by compensation and may differ from yours.
When I was a child I loved doing projects at school that involved finding solutions through trial-and-error. I’m more of an artsy/hands-on learner so I was all over any opportunity I got to participate in this sort of activity. I remember experimenting with static electricity in science class, building missions out of sugar cubes, building battery operated race cars, rockets out of soda bottles, building bridges out of Popsicle sticks, etc. These projects stand out to me now because they were so much fun and it’s projects like these that teach us valuable life lessons. As my daughter gets older I find myself struggling to come up with fun trial-and-error-type activities that aren’t super messy. Thankfully, the crew from Mixing in Math has come out with an awesome book called Food Fights, Puzzles and Hideouts to help modern day kids incorporate math into their everyday play.
The book is suggested for grades K-5 but, in my opinion, some of the activities are great for younger kids, too. The book is perfect for library get-togethers, mommy group get-togethers, parties, classrooms or just for at-home use. Food Fights, Puzzles and Hideouts provides games, projects and activities that mix in math and the best part is that the kids hardly know that they’re learning.
My 2-year old’s favorite game – Potato Bridge
The object of the Potato Bridge game is to build a cardboard bridge to hold as many potatoes as possible. This is a mess-free, easy and fun activity for my two year old and I to do together. Because I’m constantly having boxes delivered to the house, we always have plenty of cardboard and I usually have potatoes in the pantry. Kids can use cardboard from cereal boxes and paper towel tubes to make it even trickier. The book provides variations of the game for different skill levels, too.
From Tumblehome Learning
The activities in this book have been thoroughly tested by adults and elementary age children in different learning environments, such as afterschool programs, home schools, libraries, and homes. They have also been aligned with the Common Core Standards for mathematics, so that the adult can target the learning areas they are interested in. We developed the activities as part of about 15 years of research involving children, caregivers, and math. This work was based at the non-profit STEM educational organization TERC and was funded by the National Science Foundation.
This is an excellent price. This book contains hundred of activities that can be photocopied and shared with others. Such a great book for the classroom, too!
