Math Lab NewsletterS.C. Red Elementary4520 Tonawanda Drive, Houston, TX 77035Maxie Hollingsworth, Math Lab Specialist

Dear Math Parent:

The holidays are here! Holidays can be a great time to relax, eat delicious food and spend quality time with family and friends. Use this time to build your child’s confidence and curiosity with fun math games in the kitchen, around the dinner table, window shopping, or at bedtime. Games help build a positive attitude toward math and help your child see the importance of math in everyday life.

Dice are one of my favorite math toys. Dice are thought to be the world’s oldest gaming toys. Archaeologists have found evidence that dice were used in Egypt as early as 2000 B.C.! Early cultures across the globe used dice, including Aztecs, Mayans, Africans, South Sea Islanders and Native Americans. Today, dice are made from plastic, but early cultures made dice from pebbles, pottery, walnut shells, beaver teeth, peach stones, seeds and buffalo bones. This month’s newsletter looks at dice games for all ages. Game night is back on!

If you any questions or want to provide feedback about your family’s experiences using the ideas from this newsletter, please email me at mhollin1@houstonisd.org.

Maxie Hollingsworth, S.C. Red Elementary Math Lab

“A lot of music is mathematics. It’s balance.” – Mel Brooks

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Interesting Dates & FactsNovember 22Go for a Ride DayNovember 23Fibonacci DayNovember 28Red Planet (Mars) DayMath-Themed Books!Cool books with math themes to enjoy with your children:Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan Ages 4 – 8Marisa helps make dumplings to celebrate the New Year. Plenty of math concepts in this sweet family story.7 x 9 = Trouble! by Claudia Mills Ages 5 – 8Wilson loves drawing & taking care of the class pet. He has a hard time with math, but solves his problems in a surprising way.The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat by Theoni PappasAges 8 - 12A collection of short stories about the adventures of a cat that introduces abstract math concepts.

It’s always time for math!

Out of School Time

Dice Math Games

Materials: 6-sided dice (1 or 2), pencil or pen, paper to keep score

PIG

Goal: Be the first player to reach 100 points.

Directions: A player rolls the die repeatedly until either.

Example 1: Sherri rolls a 3 and decides to continue. She then chooses to roll seven more times (6, 6, 6, 4, 5, 6, 1). Because she rolled a 1, Sherri's turn ends and she earns 0 points.

Example 2: Craig rolls a 6 and decides to continue. He then chooses to roll four more times (3, 4, 2, 6) and decides to hold. Craig earns 21 points for this turn (6+3+4+2+6=21).

Modifications: Use 2 six-sided dice. If a player rolls a single 1, the turn ends and no points are scored. However, if a player rolls double 1s, that counts as 25 points.

Other doubles are worth double points, so that a 2-2 is worth 8 points, 3-3 is worth 12, 4-4 is worth 16, 5-5 is worth 20, and 6-6 is worth 24.

Pre-K: Pre-K students can say the numbers and count the dots on the dice.

K – 2: Use the dice to model counting, adding and subtracting. Make a 2-digit number and tell the place value of each digit. Example: 4 and 9 can create 49 (4 tens + 9 ones) or 94 (9 tens + 4 ones). Make equal groups of a number. Example: 12 = 2 groups of 6 dots.

“A lot of music is mathematics. It’s balance.” – Mel Brooks

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Students using pattern blocks cups in the Math Lab to find patterns in

number pairs.

Helpful TipsMath isn’t just at school – it’s life! Ask your children to make sense of what they see as you go through your daily activities. Create a “math-supportive” environment at home by reading books with math themes, playing with math-related toys and games. Create a homemade craft box: fill an empty shoebox or cereal box with egg cartons, paper towel & toilet paper rolls, buttons, fabric remnants, yarn & string, rubber bands, old yogurt containers, and plastic bottle tops. Instead of handing your child a tablet or smartphone, open up the craft box and create some imaginative projects where she can measure, count and get creative with numbers!

Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics

Math Joke of the MonthMatt had 60 cookies. He ate 30 of them. What does he have now?A tummy ache.

Words to Know:sum (the answer to an addition problem. Example 7 + 8 = 15)difference (the answer to a subtraction problem. Example 19 - 2 = 17product (the answer to a multiplication problem. Example 4 x 2 = 8)number sentence (uses numerals & symbols to show how two or more numbers are

2 – 5: Use two or more dice to create a multiplication problem. Use three or four dice & add or multiply each number. Example: 1 x 3 x 7 x 9. Create 2-digit numbers and multiply them to find the product. Example: 23 x 79.

Online Resourceshttps://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/mathhome.html

“A lot of music is mathematics. It’s balance.” – Mel Brooks

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