37 - The Math Puzzle › Math over the summer
Math over the summer
Nobody wants to spend the summer arguing about worksheets. The good news is that keeping math sharp needs far less time than people assume, as long as it happens often and does not feel like school.
Short beats long
A few minutes most days does more than a long session once a week. It is also a much easier sell to a nine-year-old in July.
Make it a puzzle, not a test
The reason kids push back on summer math is usually that it feels like being assessed on something they already found hard. A puzzle with more than one right answer changes the dynamic entirely, because there is no single response to get marked down on.
Use the math already lying around
- Cooking is fractions and scaling.
- A shopping trip is estimation and percentages.
- Any road trip is time, distance and speed.
- Board games with dice or scoring are arithmetic in disguise.
Give it a social edge
Kids will do for a competition what they will not do for practice. Because the Daily Challenge in 37 - The Math Puzzle deals every player the same seven dice, a family, a class or a group of friends can all attempt the identical puzzle and compare routes to 37. A grandparent three states away sees the same dice.
For teachers
A voluntary class streak over the summer costs you nothing to run. 37 - The Math Puzzle is free with no subscription, and the browser version works on a Chromebook or a home laptop with no download and no app store approval. Easy in Practice mode drops the clock and the Power Dice rules for students who need a gentler version.
Go easy on it
The goal is not progress over the summer. It is arriving in September without having gone rusty. That bar is much lower and much more achievable.