Puzzles of the Week: Mobiles and Ken Ken

Flex your algebraic thinking muscles by working on these fun balancing puzzles called Solve Me Mobiles. Each puzzle is a mobile with multiple shapes hanging from it. Your challenge is to figure out the value of each kind of shape so that the entire mobile is balanced and stays level. You can play as a …

Math Activity of the Week: Window Pixel Art

This week's activity, Window Pixel Art, comes form YouCubed again. (If you've been following this blog for a while you'll have noticed that I re-post a lot of activities from YouCubed. I love pretty much everything they put out!) This activity will cheer up your neighborhood, get you doing lots of different kinds of math, …

Problem Solvers of the Week

This week's problem solvers all ask you to thinking flexibly and creatively with numbers. I hope you have some fun with them! Each of these challenges comes from NRICH, a fabulous resource full of great games, activities, and challenges. For 5-7 year olds: Two Digit Targets For 5-11 year olds: Strike it Out (a game …

Puzzles of the Week: Jugs and Ken Kens

As always, there's a new set of Ken Ken puzzles this week. In case you're eager to change things up and try something different, here's a new kin of puzzle for you– Jug Puzzles. Here's the puzzle: You have one jug of water that holds 5 liters.You have another jug that holds 3 liters.How can …

Math Activity of the Week: Mixing Paint

Let's make some art! There are many ways that artists use math (and that mathematicians use art) in their work. During this week's activity you will use measurement and ratios to create one of an artist's most powerful tools: color! Thank you to Alex Mathis, TES art teacher, for her consultation on this activity. We …

Problem Solvers of the Week: Growing Staircases

So many things in the world grow and shrink! People, populations, economies... We can use mathematics to find and describe patterns in that growth. We can also use math to control growth, as in when we double of halve a recipe we're cooking. This week's problem solvers are all about growth patterns. Parents, if you're …

Ken Ken Puzzles of the Week

Here are this week's puzzles 5/1 Ken Ken

Math Activity of the Week: Count on Me

This week's math activity comes from YouCubed again. In the activity Count On Me, a clever twist turns simple counting into a puzzler for anyone of any age. Watch the video and read the questions to get started. You may find it helpful to create some way of organizing and keeping track of your thinking. …

Problems Solvers of the Week: Fractured Numbers

This week's problem solvers come from Inside Mathematics' bank of Problems of the Month. These problem sets are each centered around a common mathematical theme and offer five levels, targeted towards children from kindergarten through high school. This week's set of problems is entitled "Fractured Numbers" and is all about fractions. The specifics of the …

KenKen Puzzles of the Week

Each Friday I will post a new set of of KenKen puzzles. Many students and teachers have enjoyed doing these puzzles at school. If anyone needs a refresher on the rules of KenKen, they are written on the last page of each set of puzzles. As a bonus, each set of puzzles also includes a …