Mathematics that is beautiful and a source of wonder!
BUY MATHEMATICS EVERY CHILD NEEDS
| – 104 pages — Spiral-bound teacher guide + 1 set of 12 gloss placemats – Shipping included in prices below – See a PDF overview |
BUY MORE SETS OF 12 PLACEMATS
| – Sets of 12 gloss placemats – Shipping included in prices below |
| 10 sets – $50 | |
| 40 sets – $175 | |
| more sets? | email info@learnx.ca |
“I just received the placemats. They’re beautiful!”
“Lovely art and great math!”
“There is SOOO much math conversation that can come from a supposedly “simple” image!”
“Thanks for making Math fun and engaging for students.”
Mathematics Every Child Needs was inspired by and created for Amelia & Nella. Proceeds provide free resources for parents & children.
ABOUT …
Mathematics Every Child NeedS
I have spent a lot of time teaching and co-teaching in classrooms, engaging children with mathematical ideas that are complex, accessible, and surprising, such as, “You can hold infinity in your hand”, “Odd numbers hide in squares” and “Parallel lines can meet.”
Mathematics Every Child Needs offers 12 of these mathematical ideas as conceptual art, in the form of placemats.
The placemats offer students, parents and teachers opportunities to learn mathematics in-depth, make connections among concepts, and see conceptual trajectories across grades.
As a parent, you may use the placemats on your kitchen table to invite math to breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a teacher, you may use the placemats with students working in pairs or small groups. You may also display them in your classroom.
The placemats come with investigation tasks. The teaching guide provides solutions, extensions, and coding puzzles.
THE MOST LEARNING FOR THE LEAST TEACHING
My favourite pastime over four decades as teacher, mathematics coordinator, curriculum developer, and professor has been to playfully represent and re-represent mathematics concepts and relationships.
My guiding goal is best summarized by Papert’s (1980) idea of “the most learning for the least teaching”, built on his earlier idea of designing learning experiences with “a low floor and a high ceiling”. Thank you, Seymour Papert!
MATH THERAPY
Many years ago, I taught a course for teachers who mostly identified themselves as lacking confidence in mathematics and even fearing or disliking the subject. Versions of some activities in this book were in the course, which they playfully referred to as the “math therapy” course.
An analogy: When children are malnourished, we offer them the best nutrition. Likewise, when children lack knowledge or confidence in mathematics, we need to offer them the best mathematics. This is possible in a classroom using a low floor (so all students can engage with minimal prerequisite knowledge) and a high ceiling (so all students can reach their potential).
We all need math therapy, at least occasionally. We all need mathematics that is beautiful and offers a sense of wonder. This is what Mathematics Every Child Needs is all about.
MATH TRAVELS
Mathematics Every Child Needs was initially published in 2024 as Math Travels, in 3 volumes, and volume 1 was offered freely to Faculties of Education across Canada, Brazil and Norway, and to school districts that have participated in research and outreach projects (with placemat tasks translated to Portuguese by Ricardo Scucuglia and to Norwegian by Siri Krogh-Nordby).
Variations of some activities in Mathematics Every Child Needs have been used in research and outreach projects and publications with colleagues from Canada, Brazil and Norway, including Marcelo Borba (UNESP), Chantal Buteau (Brock University), Janette Hughes (Ontario Tech University), Siri Krogh-Nordby (OsloMET University), Immaculate Namukasa (Western University) and Ricardo Scucuglia (UNESP).
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- Dewey, J. (1938). Experience & education. NY: Collier Books.
- Egan, K. (2002) Getting it Wrong from the Beginning: Our Progressive Inheritance from Herbert Spencer, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- Gadanidis, G., Borba, M., Hughes, J. and Lacerda, H. (2016). Designing aesthetic experiences for young mathematicians: A model for mathematics education reform. International Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 6(2), 225-244.
- Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms—Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas. New York: Basic Books.
- Piaget, J. (2008). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development 51(1), 40-47. (Original work published 1972).
AUTHOR
I am Professor of Mathematics Education at Western University and Lifetime Fellow of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences.
I have also worked as teacher of mathematics, science, and computer science, as mathematics and computer science department lead, as district-wide mathematics coordinator, and as content and digital resource developer for various publishers.
I enjoy co-teaching and co-learning in mathematics classrooms.
ART
Art by Aileen Lin & Ann Langeman. Design by George Gadanidis.
Variations of some of the placemats (#2 & 3) were previously designed as research performances by George Gadanidis, rendered artistically by Ann Langeman, with the original art donated to schools.