Family Math Night at Bower Elementary

In an effort to help parents discover ways to help their children at home, WWEA (Wheaton Warrenville Education Association) members and first grade Bower Elementary School teachers Mrs. Amy Goeb, Mrs. Melissa Lamkin, and Mrs. Michele Foster have collaborated together to develop something new for their students and their families. The first Family Math Night was held in the evening of March 18th. Mrs. Goeb, Mrs. Lamkin, and Mrs. Foster created math stations for their students to participate in with their parents. The evening was also a way for first graders to show their parents what they are learning about math. Leading up to the event, students practiced the games in class in preparation for Family Math Night so that they could teach the games to their parents. The hands-on games and activities were geared toward the math standards taught in first grade. With their families, students practiced addition and subtraction skills with a deck of cards. Place value and comparing numbers were also reinforced with card games. Dice were used for addition and subtraction as well as the skills of probability and making equal equations. Families could participate using their graphing skills with a Skittles graph and build 3D shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks. To wrap up the evening, students recited a “Math About Me” poem for their parents. Finally, families had to find a “math fish” art project that their student created with various 2D shapes. Once the fish was found on a bulletin board, students could fill out a note about the size of their fish and the shapes they used for a chance to win a math game for their family. All first grade students left with a math packet of activities and strategies to use at home with their families. Family Math Night was a fun new event for the first graders at Bower!