Family Math Night

Keeping parents informed and involved is a common goal for most teachers.  One way that I do this is by hosting parent or family nights on a variety of subjects.  Most recently, I had a family math night for my students and families. 

I had 6 math game stations set up in our school's multi-purpose room.  I had multiple copies of the same game at each station so more than one family could play.  Families moved from station to station at their own pace.

I also had a table with lots of math related books.  This served as a break station or an overflow station if someone was waiting to play a game.

I also had a beach ball toss station which was a big hit.  I used 2 beach balls and wrote numbers on them with a permanent marker.  The students passed the ball and added or multiplied the numbers where their thumbs landed.  I put pieces of tape on the floor to confine the area a bit.

I also had an odd/even sorting chart.  I gave each child a number card when they entered the multi-purpose room.  They had to place the number on the chart on the correct side.

At another table, I had an estimation station set up.  I had saved several peanut butter and mayonnaise jars and filled them with a variety of "treasures."  Each student got to make an estimate on the jar of their choice.  I tallied the guesses and gave the jars to the students with the closest estimates.

Each family received a packet that included the directions for the games we played that night.  At the end of the night, each child also got a "Math is Fun" goody bag.  The bags had a deck of cards, some play money, 2 dice, and a set of mini dominoes that I had purchased from Oriental Trading Company.

Overall, it was a lot of fun for the families and for me!  Please check out my "Family Math Night" pack on Teachers Pay Teachers by clicking the link below.

Family Math Night

Do you or your school host family nights?  What ideas can you share?