About the Elementary School Math Club

Philosophy | Credits | Resources

About the Elementary School Math Club

The Elementary School Math Club consists of five plans for group activities that may be used by teachers or parents.

Philosophy

One important aspect of learning mathematics is mastering practical techniques, such as addition, division, measurement, and so on. Critical thinking skills may be required to apply these techniques to complex problems.

Another (often neglected) aspect of doing mathematics involves creativity and imagination. A friend shared a story about a woman she knows who took up quilting. Satisfied with her progress working on 2-foot by 2-foot square quilts, the woman decided to move up to larger sizes. She happily went to the store and bought double the amount of material and embarked on a 4-foot by 4-foot quilt project. She soon discovered that she was short on fabric. On reflection, she quickly realized her error—when you double the dimensions of a square, you actually multiply the area by four! She should have bought four times (not double) the amount of material. Of course, she knew how to multiply 4 by 4; the problem was that she didn't ask herself the right question—how to find the area of the larger square.

Mathematics is as much about the questions as it is about the answers.

The objective of the Elementary School Math Club is to stimulate children's mathematical curiosity. Hopefully, experiencing the wonders of math will result in a positive attitude toward the subject that will serve them well throughout their formal education and beyond.