Leawood

Math can be fun in any environment!

I grew up swimming competitively in southwest Missouri so when one of my parents asked if we wanted to come and play some games with the LionsGate swim team, I jumped at the chance.  We had such a wonderful time I had to share what we did.  We went to the swim practice on July 3rd and played a relay race game.  We created cards with math problems for the kids to solve.  We then tied the answers to metal washers and tossed them in the pool.  The kids solved the problems and then had to go find the answers at the bottom of the pool.  It was really fun watching the kids work together in teams.  Some teams had one person stay on the side of the pool and solve the problem while the other kids searched.  Other teams all solved the problem together and went to search for the answer. 

Each one of these teams reinforced what I believe about math.  There are many different ways to solve a math problem and I want my students to understand that and use the techniques that make the most sense to them.  Each of the teams played the game a little differently but took the approached the worked best for them.

I definitely want to thank the LionsGate swim team for allowing me to get my day off to wonderful start.  I really enjoyed watching the kids have fun while solving math problems.  We should have some pictures posted on our Leawood website soon, so check them out.  Take care.

LOT'S OF FUN AT MATH MONKEY OF LEAWOOD!!

What an amazing couple of weeks we have having around here at Math Monkey of Leawood.  It all started about two weeks ago when FOX 4 In The Morning came by our center and did two live feeds during the morning program.  It was very exciting around here and our students and parents had a great time.  If you haven't had a chance to see the segments I have linked to in on the main page of our Leawood website.

Last Saturday, May 3rd from 12-4 PM, we hosted our 1st Annual Pizza Pi contest along with A Wine Flight Bar and Bistro.  I can't tell you how much fun we had at this event.  We ended up with approximately 15 teams and a total of about 33 kids.  Each team picked their pizza and had to work through a series of math problems to figure out how much of each ingredient they needed.  Once they were done with their sheet, they went to the next station where they gathered their ingredients and built their pizza.  After they finished building their pizza they brought it to the chefs to bake and then it was on to the judges.  I can't tell you how much fun it is to see all the kids working together to solve the math problems.  Not only are they working together but they are having a great time as well.  It was also a great time for parents to hang out, visit and grab a bite to eat.  I have already talked to RJ and Sherri, owners of A Wine Flights Bar and Bistro, and we are preparing for another event in the Fall.  Stay tuned and keep checking our Math Monkey of Leawood website for more details.  If you want to see some really great pictures of the event, you can visit the Math Monkey of Leawood scrapbook.  It is definitely worth your time to see all the smiling faces.

This is definitely what we like to see, kids having fun and learning math!