Jamie Gass

7 Tools to Keep Your Child Engaged in Math During COVID-19

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by Jamie Gass
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Schools and school districts across Massachusetts are struggling (some more than others) to adjust to online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are some proven resources (in no particular order) that every parent can and should make use of now and well beyond COVID-19.

Kumon

Japan-based Kumon currently serves 4.2 million students at nearly 25,000 learning centers in 50 countries and regions.  The company has 45 Massachusetts locations, 19 of which are within route 128. Kumon students start as early as age three and can continue until they complete the program, which means mastering high school-level math, including differential equations.  Students master a series of sequential worksheets, each one slightly more challenging than its predecessor. Independent learning and building self-confidence are priorities.  After completing a placement test, each student begins at a level at which she or he would have little difficulty.  They proceed through the worksheets at their own pace, going to the Kumon Center twice a week and completing other work at home.

Russian School of Math

Newton, Massachusetts-based Russian School of Math (RSM) serves 25,000 students in 40 locations across 11 states and Canada, including 15 Massachusetts municipalities. RSM believes in starting students young.  RSM students attend weekly classroom sessions that range between 90 minutes and 2.5 hours, depending on the student’s grade level.

See Pioneer’s report and video (below) on these two programs for more information. 

 

Singapore Math, Inc.

The Singapore math method was originally developed for Singapore public schools, and introduced in the U.S. in 1998. The method, adopted around the world over the past twenty years, focuses on mastery through intentional sequencing of concepts. Some of the key features of the approach include the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) progression, number bonds, and bar modeling.

 

Book: Russian math puzzles

A popular puzzle book published in Russia in 1956, this book offers a wide assortment of brainteasers. The Amazon description notes, “Lavishly illustrated with over 400 clear diagrams and amusing sketches, this inexpensive edition of the first English translation will offer weeks or even months of stimulating entertainment.”

 

 

Book: My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles

A selection of 70 top brain teasers for those seeking to challenge their problem-solving skills, by Martin Gardner, author for over two decades of the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American on short math problems or puzzles.

 

 

Dover Recreational Math series

This series uses recreational mathematics — problems, puzzles and games — to teach students how to think critically.

 

 

Khan Academy math

Khan Academy is a rich resource for students to learn at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. Their math exercises offer guidance from kindergarten to calculus using adaptive technology that identifies strengths and learning gaps.

 

 

Do YOU have suggestions for keeping children engaged while they’re at home? Share them in the comments section below. 

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related content:

Drug Rebates: How Pharmacy Benefit Managers Manipulate Price & Limit Choice

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi and his guest Dr. Bill Smith as they discuss the complex incentive structure between drug manufacturers, health plans, and pharmacy benefit managers. In this episode, they focus on how drug rebates work and how a system intended to optimize value may actually deliver higher costs and fewer choices. Joe and Bill also use this framework to speculate on the price of a COVID-19 vaccine, and who will likely pay for it.

Michelle Rhee, Former Chancellor, D.C. Public Schools, on Leading Urban District Reform & the COVID-19 Moment

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and guest co-host Kerry McDonald are joined by Michelle Rhee, founder and former CEO of StudentsFirst and prior to that, former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). 

“Every Child is an Artist…” – 15 Resources for K-12 Art Education

0 Comments
/
In Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this one focuses on: Introducing K-12 schoolchildren to great works of art.

Confronting COVID Constraints: How Certificate of Need laws stifle innovation, increase costs, and reduce quality in healthcare

0 Comments
/
Join Joe Selvaggi and co-host Josh Archambault, Pioneer Institute's Senior Fellow in Healthcare, as they talk with Institute for Justice’s Jaimie Cavanaugh about the effects of Certificate of Need laws on the healthcare system.

Executive branch overreach, blanket orders having harmful effects

0 Comments
/
At the outset of the pandemic, limited knowledge and the need to mitigate risk understandably led to political overreach. At this point in the disaster response, though, we are far better at distinguishing fact from fiction and policies that have worked from those that have not.

“Music is liquid architecture” – 15 Resources for K-12 Education

0 Comments
/
In Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this entry focuses on introducing K-12 schoolchildren to timeless music.

MA’s Remote Learning Regs Should Specify Consistent District Grading Policies, Return of MCAS in 2020-21

The COVID-19 pandemic-related revisions to Massachusetts’ remote learning regulations should restore state and local accountability by specifying that any remote academic work shall, to the same extent as in-person education, prepare students to take MCAS tests, and that grading criteria should be the same across in-person, remote, and hybrid learning environments, according to a new policy brief published by Pioneer Institute.

The ABCs of the Newest Diagnostic Science for COVID-19 Testing

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi as he talks with Hannah Mamuszka, expert in diagnostic science, about the state of COVID-19 testing technology and its implications for a safer return to school and work in the fall.