Little Learning Labs: Math Games for Kids, abridged paperback edition 25+ Fun, Hands-On Activities for Learning with Shapes, Puzzles, and Games

by Rapoport, Rebecca; Yoder, J.A.

• ISBN13: 9781631597954
• ISBN10: 1631597957
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2019-09-03
• Publisher: Quarry Books

Summary

Little Learning Labs: Math Games for Kids—an abridged paperback edition of Math Games Lab for Kids—presents 25+ hands-on activities that include coloring, art, puzzles, and more that make learning about math fun.

• Explore geometry and topology by building, drawing, and transforming shapes.
• Discover how to color maps like a mathematician by using the fewest colors possible.
• Draw graphs to learn the language of connections.
• Create mind-bending fractals with straight lines and repeat shapes.

Everything you need to complete the activities can either be found in the book or around the house.

The popular Little Learning Labs series (based on the larger format Lab for Kids series) features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, geology, math, and even bugs—all authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. Gain firsthand knowledge on your favorite topic with Little Learning Labs.

Open Little Learning Labs: Math Games for Kids and start exploring the exciting world of math!

Author Biography

Rebecca Rapoport holds degrees in mathematics from Harvard University and Michigan State. From her first job out of college, as one of the pioneers of Harvard’s Internet education offerings, she has been passionate about encouraging her love for math in others. As an early contributor to both retail giant Amazon.com and Akamai Technologies, the number one firm in cloud computing, Rapoport played a key role in several elements of the Internet revolution. She then returned to her first love, education, as an innovator of new methods to introduce children and adults to the critically important world of STEAM education as COO of an enrichment center dedicated to helping kids explore the creative side of science, technology, engineering, art, and math, and is currently developing and teaching innovative math curricula in the Boston area. Rapoport is also the co-author of Math Games Lab for Kids (published by Quarry Books), a book of fun, hands-on math activities designed to introduce elementary and middle-school students to several areas of higher math; and the calendars Mathematics: Your Daily Epsilon of Math 2021,?Mathematics: Your Daily Epsilon of Math 2020, Mathematics 2019: Your Daily Epsilon of Math, and The Mathematics Calendar 2018, all published by Rock Point. She has an Erdös number of 2.

J.A. Yoder is an educator and engineer who has a lifetime love of puzzles and patterns. Her educational philosophy is that hands-on creative work is both the most fun and the most effective way to learn. She developed and taught the original hands-on-math lessons for an after-school program that eventually inspired this book. Some of her happiest memories come from "eureka moments"—either from learning something that makes a dozen other things suddenly make sense, or the sense of accomplishment that comes from solving a clever puzzle. The only thing better is sharing this joy with others.

Table of Contents

Introduction 5
How to Use This Book 6
 
1 Geometry: Learn About Shapes 9
Lab 1: Prisms 10
Lab 2: Pyramids 12
Lab 3: Perfect Circles 14
Lab 4: Exact Ellipses 16
Lab 5: Draw Giant Circles and Ellipses 18
 
2 Topology: Mind-Bending Shapes 23
Lab 6: Compare and Classify Shapes 24
Lab 7: Möbius Strips 26
 
3 Color Maps Like a Mathematician 31
Lab 8: Map Coloring Basics 32
Lab 9: Efficient Map Coloring 36
Lab 10: Squiggle Maps 40
 
4 Stitching Curves 43
Lab 11: Drawing Parabolas 44
Lab 12: Stitching Stars 48
Lab 13: Creative Curves 50
 
5 Fantastic Fractals 53
Lab 14: Draw a Sierpinski Triangle 54
Lab 15: Build a Sierpinski Triangle 56
Lab 16: Draw a Koch Snowflake 60
Lab 17: Explore the Koch Snowflake’s Perimeter 64
 
6 Graph Theory 67
Lab 18: Eulerian Circuits 68
Lab 19: Secrets of Eulerian Circuits Revealed 70
Lab 20: Bridges of Königsberg 72
 
Equilateral Triangle Template 74
Hints and Solutions 75
Resources 78
Acknowledgments and About the Authors 79
Index 80