75 Bonfield families make a game out of math.

75 Bonfield families make a game out of math.

“If you’re working with kids,” says a noted psychologist who does, “it’s got to be fun. Make it feel like a game.”

In that spirit, Emily Trees, the learning facilitator at Bonfield Elementary, happily went about signing up 75 Bonfield families for “the first-ever Virtual Family Math Night” on February 8.

For one exciting hour, 172 Bonfield participants discovered what a great time they could have learning math concepts and sharpening their skills. How much more fun it is playing games around the family table instead of venturing out on a cold winter night.

Funded by a grant from the Warwick Education Foundation, Virtual Family Math Night combined online learning with at-home games and activities. Each family received an Activity Kit designed for each child’s grade level, and each participated with the group by using a laptop with a camera.

The event was organized around exploring 5 fun math stations. Since this is all about math, let’s number them.

1. The estimation jar invited students to guess how many little colored balls it held, and how to compare a partially filled jar with a full jar as a way of figuring out an answer – or seeing how close they could come.
2. Students—and parents—created their own origami, based on different geometric shapes, and took photos of their project to share with the group.
3. What’s a party without a scavenger hunt? It gave the kids a chance to discover the mathematics hiding in plain sight around the house.
4. Games galore.  Set up the boards, break out the tokens, and roll the dice. Odds are, this was part of Math Night was a big hit.
5. What did you notice? Checking in at the electronic station with all the ????????? marks invited students to uncover more hidden math.

Bonfield staff members joined in with their families. The hour flew by as the enthusiasm built. As one parent told Emily, “Thank you for an amazing night. We had some good laughs and spent time together, and look forward to more like this in the future.”

Thanks to your giving, there’s definitely a future to Family Math Night, Next school year, the event will be in-person and expanded to all four Warwick elementary schools.

This is one event in the life of the Warwick Math Warrior. In the days ahead, they’ll discover the mathematics in just about everything, all the way to the ends of the universe. Maybe they will be universes yet unknown.

What an adventure. For some of these kids, the greatest game of all.