childrens books

Even and Odd Numbers in Atherton

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In addition to Even Steven and Odd Todd, Missing Mittens by Stuart J. Murphy will assist your child in learning to distinguish between even and odd numbers. On a chilly winter day in Atherton, Farmer Billy needs his gloves but he realizes that one of the gloves is missing! When he goes to put gloves on all of his animals, he notices the same thing- one of the gloves is missing, leaving an odd number of gloves. He finally finds the culprit who stole the mittens and an even number of mittens is restored. Throughout the story, your child will learn to identify which numbers are odd and which are even and they can guess whether the numbers are odd or even . There are questions at the back of the book which I advise you answer with your child. For best retention of the knowledge learnt in the story, follow the review instructions provided at the end of the book and practice quizzing your child on even and odd numbers on a regular basis. I recommend this book to all children in the Atherton and Menlo Park who are learning even and odd numbers. Atherton schools really emphasize even and odd numbers so this book is a good review to get your child ahead of the game.

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Probability Math Problems in San Carlos

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Practicing Probability in Palo Alto

Probably Pistachio by Stuart J. Murphy is a humorous story of Jack’s rather unlucky day. As Jack takes you through his series of unfortunate occurrences on an atypical  Monday in a city like San Carlos, you will begin to wonder what are the chances of that occurring? This is where probability will come in to play and answer that question. What is even better than the laughs this story will give you is the fact that the story will teach your child probability right here in San Carlos!

While the primary focus of Probably Pistachio is probability, it also incorporates other mathematical concepts that will be useful to children in San Carlos schools. At the end of the story, there are follow up questions related to probability based on the reading. There are several tips and activities in the back of the book on ways in which parents can incorporate concepts of probability into a child’s daily life in San Carlos. Additionally, there are suggestions for other books that review some of the same concepts as Probably Pistachio. If your child is ready to learn probability, head over to Books Inc. in Palo Alto or Barnes and Noble in Redwood City and purchase a copy of Probably Pistachio. For more math help near San Carlos, visit Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park.

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Money Math in Palo Alto

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Less Than Zero by Stuart J. Murphy is a wonderful math story of Perry the penguin who wants to buy an ice scooter but does not have enough clams to do so. In this story, clams are used as a form of currency that is equivalent to our dollar bills. While saving up for his scooter, Perry keeps track of how many clams he has on a graph. The story Less Than Zero will teach your child how to graph and use money. When Perry first learns to use clams, he spends all of them and has to borrow clams from friends. He soon realizes that borrowing money from other people only increases his debt, hence the title less than zero clams, and he will need to earn more clams to get to his goal of buying an ice scooter. Eventually, Perry finds a job and saves up enough clams to get his ice scooter. Perry’s persistence will teach your child that they are able to save up money to purchase items that they really want. If they want something badly enough, they will find ways to control their impulse to spend money on items they want simply because they are available. As your child follows Perry’s graph, they might even be inspired to make their own.

A great way for you and your child to spend time together while doing math is by taking your child to Palo Alto’s ice skating rink! Use the same techniques Perry used with your child. Give your Palo Alto child a currency that he or she would need to convert to dollars. Your child will not only have fun reenacting Perry’s dilemma, but he or she will also get to practice their math skills. Less Than Zero will teach your child valuable skills and I definitely recommend this book to all young children in the Palo Alto-Menlo Park area.

 

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Wizard Word Problems in Palo Alto

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In Anno’s Magic Seeds, Mitsumasa Anno cleverly weaves mathematics into a story of Jack, a wizard, and a plant. At the beginning of the story, the wizard gives Jack two seeds and tells him to eat one seed and plant the other seed. In the fall, the planted seed is supposed to grow and give Jack two more seeds. As the child follows the story of Jack and his magic plant, Anno asks the child to draw upon their knowledge of addition, subtraction,and multiplication. The author asks questions that you can solve with your child to keep them engaged in the story and learning math. The math problems get progressively more difficult as the story goes on and the seeds continue to reproduce. Anno’s Magic Seeds teaches children that math can be fun, practical, and profitable. Anno encourages you to plant the seeds of knowledge in your child and allow them to multiply. Anno’s Magic Seeds is a fun and exciting way to introduce word problems and basic operations to your child. For parents with children in the Palo Alto/ Menlo Park area, I recommend heading to the Books Inc. at Town and Country or Kepler’s and picking up this wonderful read.

For more fun ways to learn math, visit the Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park.

Word problem math book for Palo Alto

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