Math game

Summer Number Game: Math in Atherton

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In Atherton, number games are more fun!

Over summer, practicing math doesn’t have to come hand-in-hand with boring worksheets and times tables. Try this fun number game with your Atherton kids to get them pumped for math over summer and excited for school in fall! And if your kids aren’t the “math-is-so-fun” types, they’ll at least get in some good problem-solving time over the break.

Pico, Fermi, Bagel: The ultimate number game puzzle

Pico, Fermi, Bagel is a super fun game for in the car, at the dinner table, or any old time.

Either two people can play (thinker and guesser), or there can be one thinker and multiple guessers, taking turns to guess the number first.

Here’s how it works:

  1. The thinker begins by thinking of a number with however many digits are decided. The number should have no repeating digits (we’ve never tried with repeating digits, anyway).
  2. The guessers take turns guessing the number; or if there is one guesser, she or he can just continue guessing.
  3. To each guess the guessers make, the thinker will respond with one of the following hints:
  • If the guess has no correct digits, the thinker will call: “Bagel”
  • For each correct digit in the wrong place, the thinker will call: “Pico”
  • For each correct digit in the correct place, the thinker will call: “Fermi”

For example: As the guesser, if you guess the number 562 and you receive the clue “Bagel, Fermi, Fermi,” you know your number contains two digits that are in the number but not in the correct place. The trick is that you won’t know to which numbers the clues apply. (Or the thinker can just say “Fermi, Fermi”– the meaning stays the same, sans “Bagels.”)

For more fun math number games, check out Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park: http://www.mathnasium.com/paloalto-menlopark

Atherton number game

Find Groups of 10 in this Dice Game for Kindergarteners to 2nd Graders!

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Hey Menlo Park and Palo Alto parents! Keeping your kids on top in math can be a struggle, and making math fun can be even harder! Here’s a dice game we at Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park use all the time to help strengthen basic addition skills–all it requires is 15 dice and a piece of paper! Adding to find groups of 10 is a skill that comes in handy for kids of all ages, and is needed to build more difficult math skills later on. Here’s directions below to our very own dice game for your kindergartner through 2nd grader: Dice Dilemma!

dice game mathnasium menlo park

www.freedigitalphotos.net

Dice Dilemma Directions:

  1. Roll 15 dice, and sort into groups that add up to 10. (Some groups may have more than two dice!) There may be some dice left over that cannot add up to 10.
  2. Add all the dice together, including the leftover dice, and write the number on a sheet of paper divided into 8 sections.
  3. Continue until all sections are full, then use scissors to cut each number section out.
  4. Sort the numbers from least to greatest!

What was the largest and smallest number you found? What do you think is the smallest number you could get? Biggest? Try finding groups of 15 or 20 for an extra challenge, or use extra dice! This dice game is a great tool for learning addition in a fun setting, so try it out with your Menlo Park child today!

> Learn more about Math Tutoring in Palo Alto / Menlo Park

~ Mathin’ Catherine, 5/2013