It’s a peaceful morning on the Beasley playground. The sun slants in from the east, lighting up a class of Junior Kindergarten students and their parents, guardians, and special friends. Take a deep breath. What’s that smell? Math in the morning!
Last year, the Lower School brought back Math Mornings. It’s an opportunity for friends to gather and share their math knowledge while having fun with different activities.
JKers are learning that “Math is everywhere, always,” and what better way to do that than by counting, measuring, comparing, sorting, patterning, and learning shapes using things found in nature? From tree rings to pine cones, acorns, seeds, leaves, and more, there was plenty to share this week.
“Math Mornings at Beasley give parents and other special grown-ups the opportunity to be in the classroom,” said Diane Broberg, JK-12 Math Department Chair, indicating that, as is often the case, we use our grounds as classrooms, too. “We engage parents and students in math activities that are transferable to home, and it’s a great way for parents to see first-hand the math concepts their children are doing at school.”
Last year’s theme was games, while this year, the Junior Kindergarten class immersed themselves in their math-rich environment.
“I think the parents and the students love it,” Broberg continued. “Students get to show off and show their parents what they’re doing. And parents have fun being in the classroom.”
We heard from one parent who had a blast at Math Morning. Julie Peters P’37 wrote, “I had so much fun with Hays and LOVED seeing how we could apply different skills to nature. The activities we did with the children were something I can definitely use at home with him. Thank you, not just for the coordination of this but also for providing us with a great resource to use at home.”
What a great way to explore and share math!