In my house, the phrase “Let’s do your Math homework” is always accompanied by a heavy sigh and eye roll from my second grader (and possibly a dramatic flinging of herself across the floor and some light sobbing). Having been an English major in school, I can relate to her reluctance to deal with the tyranny of numbers. The downside of having a flaky relationship with Math myself is that I have no clue how to help her over the hump.
Leslie Gilbert’s Kickstarter, MathKit, is here to help parents like me with a box of fun, accessible games and manipulatives all designed to engage grade school math learners, from K to 3rd grade. The Complete MathKit that Leslie sent me contains a Game Guide and materials for 10 different math games, plus a Tool Kit with items like linking cubes, a rekenrek (it’s like an abacus), a number line, ten squares, and a hundreds chart. Why such a variety? Not every child finds the same manipulatives effective when it comes to solving problems, so it’s important to have lots to choose from. The strategies and tips that are included in the Game and Tool Kit Guides are invaluable, giving parents all the information they need to help keep math learning fun and accessible.
MathKit starts at $30 for an Essential kit that contains two games (and can be delivered by Christmas!). At the $50 tier, you can select between a kit specialized for learning Small Numbers or Large Numbers. A Complete MathKit runs $85 and includes, you guessed it, everything. The materials in the kit are high quality and work really well together. The games may seem simple; but the difficulty is easily tweaked based on the comfort level of your learner. The simplicity lends itself to customization.
The campaign ends Friday and still has a ways to go; but hopefully there’s a last minute funding surge. Leslie has a noble goal of keeping kids, especially girls, interested in math learning. What she’s done with MathKit is put an awesome math tutor in a box for you. So go check out the MathKit Kickstarter and start making math fun again!
