The storybooksʼ language and integrated math concepts are ideal for ages 7 and up, but the gameplay is tantalizingly tricky for all, including adults. The entire family is invited to play, think strategically and have fun. Play the games again and again to increase family time together and reinforce math concepts.
Each story is based on real events, which provides the models to make rules easy to understand and remember. Anyone can be a storyteller, including students! The storybooks are available in English and Spanish.
The entire experience brings math to life in unexpected ways. Such as touching and feeling math in the palm of your hands. These games demonstrate that math is so much more than computations. By enriching gameplay, math becomes a tool for deeper reasoning and builds connections beyond the games.
Achi is a historical game played in Ghana that is very similar to Tic-tac-toe. Add in a connection to the magic square from ancient China and you have the recipe for a storybook board game that shows how math connects different cultures around the world!
The four unique species of butterflies found on Mt. Mabu in Mozambique inspired a four-player version of Gulugufe, traditionally a two-player game. Play with the concept of negation as you flip your caterpillar pieces and strategically move them across the board to capture opponents.
Lemurs, the national animal of Madagascar, show you how to move the pieces in Fanorona, a two-player game from the country. Add in the lemurs’ ages and you can use the mathematical concept of comparison to strategically knock off opponents’ pieces.
In our mission to equip all students to mathematically solve challenging problems, we see the need to reach a student’s entire ecosystem, especially their family. This family night is a part of our effort, through MathMINDs, to change not just a student’s relationship with mathematics, but our entire society’s relationship with it. Facilitating a MathMINDs Family Night is a great way to contribute to your students’ development beyond the event itself. Here is everything you need to make run a successful MathMINDs Family Night — at your school, library, community center or company.