Math and science enrichment

Posted June 7th, 2006 by Steven Norton

Enrichment programs

There have also been plenty of ideas floated about options for math, science and ecology enrichment. Let’s discuss them here.

Comments

Another thought: innovation!

On July 10th, 2006 JoelDalton says:

Innovation is the latest buzzword, but the word is frequently misused and misunderstood.

I believe invention and innovation come naturally to kids, but that we gradually train some of these creative tendencies out of kids as they learn to memorize and stay in the lines…

Simplistically, innovation involves creating a new solution (sometimes a machine or product) that solves a problem or satisfies the desires of a community of users. This is a little different than “inventing” – if you invent something that nobody needs or wants, it is not much of an innovation.

I think innovation is the new battleground for business, government, and education – and it is fun!

There are a couple of innovation enrichment programs of which I am personally aware. www.bkfk.com (By Kids For Kids) and Camp Invention. I’ve volunteered for Camp Invention before – this is just a summer camp and maybe not as comprehensive as BKFK. BKFK can be done essentially for free to whatever degree parents wish – there are a lot of free materials and a curriculum provided online (you might have to sign up to get them). We could start small, if anyone is interested.

Joel Dalton

Encouraging green thumbs

On June 10th, 2006 Steven Norton says:

I think this is a great idea, and surely we have enough avid gardeners among us to keep it alive. Just thinking about the kids I know, there is a (sadly departing) 5th grader who is facinated by herbs and their medicinal uses, and my own kindergartener takes great pride in being able to identify a growing inventory of plants. So I’ll bet there would be takers.

News from Tappan's "Agrarian Corner"

On June 12th, 2006 Edward Vielmetti says:

This is from the Tappan “Thursday Thing” newsletter, their “Agrarian Corner” for June 1 2006:

Tappan is building a greenhouse this spring! It will be used as an educational resource and students will be able to grow fresh salad greens and vegetables into the coldest parts of the year.

Families and community members are invited to join in the fun and lend a hand on Friday June 2d from 8am to 7pm. (note that has already passed)

Funding for the greenhouse has been donated by the Ann Arbor Women’s Farm and Garden, thanks to a grant written by the Student Council last year.

Also, SUMMER GARDEN DAYS will be every Tuesday evening from 5:30-7:30pm all summer long!

Meet new people, get some sunshine and have fun learning in the garden with the youth and adults!

For any questions contact Elissa agrarianadventure@umich.edu

Father of Saul (K, Weinmann AM) and Jonathan (1 y/o)

more on Tappan gardens

On June 19th, 2006 Edward Vielmetti says:

I walked over to Tappan to see progress on their edible
schoolyard. They have the structure of the greenhouse
up, but none of the insides. Their garden (at the end
of their field) looks like a lot of fun – there are
compost bins set up, and the plants that are growing
are labeled with english and latin names.

It’s obviously the work of a lot of hours!

Father of Saul (K, Weinmann AM) and Jonathan (1 y/o)

from Elissa who is working

On July 1st, 2006 Edward Vielmetti says:

from Elissa who is working with the Tappan group:

Hello Edward,

I am sorry it has taken so long to get back with you, but we thank you very much for the email about Burns Park interest in school gardening!

I work with the Agrarian Adventure at Tappan and we are very interested in expanding our current programming to include other schools and working together with parents, community members, teachers, and best of all, student to make this possible. And of course, a great place to start would be with some of the feeder elementary schools in our AA district, such as Burns Park!

However, we are primarily a volunteer-driven group of activists that have been working together for a couple of years now and growing sustainably along the way, doing a great deal with minimal funding. We have limited capacity at this point for outreach beyond what we are currently committed to, but are eager to talk about partnerships and widen the circle of involvement in our community to engage students in food and agriculture education.

I am VERY interested in talking further with anyone who is interested in these similar goals and in helping in whatever ways are possible with re-kindling efforts at your child’s school. Please feel free to send our email out as contact for further discussion… agrarianadventure@umich.edu.

Thanks for growing the connections!

Elissa Trumbull

Agrarian Adventure

Father of Saul (K, Weinmann AM) and Jonathan (1 y/o)
Communications parent for Weinmann AM class

Math Enrichment

On July 10th, 2006 JoelDalton says:

First, I want to say that I think the BP Kids Garden sounds absolutely great! Beyond growing vegetables and herbs, perhaps someday the kids would also be splitting hostas and lilies and creating the prettiest school grounds in the city!

Regarding math enrichment, I mentioned at a recent PTO meeting the possibility of using an online math enrichment tool called HeyMath! for older BP kids. I don’t want to spend much time describing it here, but it is essentially a supplemental curriculum developed by Singapore and the University of Cambridge in England – from the website: “HeyMath! is an E-learning system that supports the work of teachers in teaching and assessment, whilst helping students in Grades 5 – 12 (Ages 10+) build a strong foundation in Math and become independent learners.”

I learned about this program through U of M and have exchanged a few emails with HeyMath!. Clearly, it would be for 4th or 5th graders only. Normally, it would cost $1500 for each grade, although if Tappan picked up the program I think we could get it for free or a negotiated rate.

The program is very creative and interactive, not a “drilling” kind of program. Two main benefits are the ability for teachers or parents to assign and track work over the summer to keep kids sharp, and online help from a real, live person math coach when a kid runs into difficulties. This could be a great way to prime kids before they get to Tappan. Kids could use computers at school or at home.

I like the idea of a program that can be done on the kids’ own time and that also doesn’t interfere with the normal school day while hopefully making our teachers’ lives easier (with better-performing kids).

I’ve heard good things about the program. I’ve also heard that Stanford may have a competing program, which I have not investigated.

Anyway, I’m curious as to what people think of this kind of idea. I know that many of us pay significantly for Kumon, Singapore Math, and other math tutoring programs.

You can check it out here (be sure to check the NY Times article, etc.): http://www.heymath.net/index.jsp

Joel Dalton (father of Kenzie and Cammie)

5th grade parents - free trial of HeyMath!

On September 24th, 2006 JoelDalton says:

I learned about HEYMATH! at U of M, as previously described. It is a SUPPLEMENTAL online math curriculum that features dynamic examples, practice questions, and online tutors – it was developed by the University of Cambridge in cooperation with Singapore math instructors.

I recently learned that the pricing structure of the program has changed. For $500 per classroom, the teacher and every student can have access to the HEYMATH! resources and curriculum for the entire school year (I’m guessing that is about $20 per student for the entire year.)

The program is aimed at 5th-12th grades and does not apply to my kids, but others may be interested.

Check out www.heymath.org or www.heymath.net. If you want to try the free trial and can’t get to it through their web page, contact me and I can give you access information that was sent to me.

Joel Dalton

Garden Club?

On June 7th, 2006 Molly S. Crankshaw says:

When I first started teaching at Burns Park (18 years ago!) we had a very active parent group that built four grow boxes for the 2nd grade to enrich their “PLANTS” unit. A parent by the name of Helene Tamarin would grow a vegetable garden with students. They would meet during the noon hour. They would get together to take care of their gardens. I remember them eating lettuce because it grew so quickly. They also planted bulbs in the fall. The boxes, which were located outside the lunchroom windows and one near the parking lot, have long ago fallen apart. The lilac bushes which surround our building were also a part of the PTO planting group. Each class planted one. Several have still survived and are thriving each year. The students enjoyed having the opportunity to care for their special gardens.

Garden Club and Tappan Edible Schoolyard

On June 9th, 2006 Edward Vielmetti says:

Molly,

I know that Tappan has some kind of “Edible Schoolyard” project going – I sent off a note to see if I could find out more & if there’s some connection to be made.

(Saul is doing an insects unit right now, it would have been neat to be able to talk about bugs in the school garden….)

Father of Saul (K, Weinmann AM) and Jonathan (1 y/o)

It's your child's school and your PTO!