At our Math Nights, we referred to the NCTM Principles and Standards. Here are the links that will allow you to read more about them:

 NCTM Standards: Pre-K-2

 NCTM Standards: Grades 3-5

We are often asked about math games that can be played at home. Here is a list generated by Raina Fishbane and the parents who attended the November 11, 2004 math night:

III.             BOOKS

•         Sideways Arithmetic at Wayside School by Louis Sachar (logic and arithmetic problems incorporated into story)

•         The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Enzensberger (novel that explores lots of fascinating topics in math)

•         Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (novel with good discussion of pentaminoes and a secret code to decipher)

•         The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat by Theoni Pappas

•         Fractals, Googols and Other Mathematical Tales by Theoni Pappas

•         The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures by Malba Tahan

•         Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland: A Math Adventure (Sir Cumference) by Cindy Neuschwander

•         Math Trek : Adventures in the Math Zone by Ivars Peterson

•        Sir Cumference and the First Round Table: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander

•         Math Curse Math Curse by Jon Sciezca

IV.              ART/PRETEND PLAY/OTHER

•         Tangrams

•        Geometric shapes

•         Mosaics

•        Pretend restaurant or store (make up menu/price list, pay for items, get change)

•         Baking

•     Sports Statistics

•     Stock Market pages

Here are three computer games we recommend:

Logical Journey of the Zoombinis – Fun problem solving that is recommended as part of the TERC Investigations in Number, Data, and Space program. This game is consistently rated highly for the wonderful logical problem solving skills it promotes.

There are three levels of the program. You can find them from Broderbund.

http://www.broderbund.com

Math Blaster- Students have thoroughly enjoyed the math challenges presented by the Math Blaster programs. There are several versions geared to different age groups. As students complete a level the math soon gets harder, so be warned that it can be frustrating for young children to start at too high a level.

            Math Blaster

            http://www.knowledgeadventure.com

Ice Cream Truck Math – this program supports NCTM standards while providing a stimulating activity kids  love- running an ice cream stand! This program stretches from 2^nd through 6^th  grade.

Ice Cream Truck Math

http://www.sunburst.com

Logo Programming Resources - Students at Lower School begin programming in LOGO in first grade. At school, they use a version designed by TERC that is part of the math curriculum. There are many programs designed to give students access to programming LOGO at different levels of challenge. Here are a few resources to explore for home use:

           http://www.logo.com/cat/browse/logo.html - The Simple Logo,  Imagine Logo and Super Logo programs offer challenges for a range of ages and abilities. Take a look at the examples on this website.

            http://www.microworlds.com/solutions/mw.html - Microworlds is a logo-based program with a wide range of interesting tools and features.

            http://mindstorms.lego.com/eng/default.asp - Lego Mindstorms is a robotics system that includes a building set, a programmable device to run a robot, motors, and sensors. It is a wonderful, high-powered system for those who are excited about building with LEGO and programming, too.