Stephanie Bynum: Kohl Childrens museum of Chicago
Natalie Bortoli: Childrens Museum of Chicago
Alix Tonsgard:Dugard Childrens Museum
Meeredith Doby: DoSeum in San Antonio, Texas
They shared a wide variety of tips and programming ideas to make math FUN!
Math, as you may know, can be scary. It is our responsibility to make math authentic, relatable and fun to work on. The following are some highlights from this workshop:
KOHL CHILDREN MUSEUM
they have implemented an early math initiative in order to create a positive change in the way both caregivers, children, and staff view math.
Use those teachable moments and make them memorable.
Coaching strategies and mentor support for STAFF development in implementation of early math
It is important to provide the proper Professional development with reflective pieces that will provoke thought. this will help ease the anxieties associated with teaching math, and allow us to feel more at ease when providing such programs.
DOSEUM
Focus on summer math programming: they have noticed a strong literacy focus in the summer, however not so much in STEAM concepts.
Math is engaging! It is loud, activities alone are not enough. Staff and volunteers, however, do need proper guidance and training to capitalize on these moments.
This was definitely my favorite part of the session: The DoSeum provides a booklet in which
visitors are able to incorporate mathematical concepts into what they do. It gets them up and moving, being silly, and doing something memorable with their caregiver.
Megan, Yolanda, and I tried one of the math concepts related to "Balance". The task was simple: strike a Tree Yoga pose and see how many books you could balance in each hand.
The concept was simple and we found ourselves laughing, dropping materials we were trying t balance, and of course having FUN.
DuPage Childrens Museum: Math in Motion
Also addressed math anxiety and how adults themselves have a stigma towards these concepts.
It is important to make math a natural, gross motor, and full body experience.
It does not have to entail sitting and adding/subtracting etc. It is about getting up and moving and experiencing math in different ways.
From making shapes with your body, to finding the math in music through rhythm.
Pattern play using stamps, or using everyday objects to estimate amounts (we played with measuring cups, beans and random containers to estimate how many beans could fit into which containers: it was surprisingly tricky!)
Ultimately, math should not feel scary. There are so many fun ways to incorporate it into our programs and once we as staff feel more comfortable with these concepts, it will translate as a better learning experience for our young visitors and their families.
I would definitely like math more if there was gross motor and fun added in! One of my favorite math memories was first grade and learning about the "greater than / less than" alligator mouth and getting to eat m&ms. Here I am - quite a few years later and I still remember. Let's make math fun!
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