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Lakeside Math Night

Lakeside Elementary and PSU team to make math fun for students

By PETER EULER
Morning Sun Staff Writer

Five years ago, Pittsburg State University and Lakeside Elementary came up with a creative way to help kids improve their math skills. It's called Family Math Night, and it has been a win-win event for both schools.

"In the past, we've always tried to get families in and involved in their kids' math learning," Jennifer Perez, Westside Elementary School math coordinator said. ... "And then when Dr. (Alice) Sagehorn (associate professor PSU's department of curriculum and instruction) contacted me and she saw the need for the PSU students in elementary education to actually get out and work with the kids."

The event is run by PSU students, who organize math-centered games for the elementary students. The event has become so popular that PSU students now put on similar events at Westside Elementary School and St. Mary's Elementary School.

Games created by the PSU students included "Shoot for 50," "Ring Toss Math," "Tic Tac Roll," "Math Walk," "Magic Squares," and "Twister Math," and "Hop-Scotch Math."

Perez said the event is a great initial teaching opportunity for PSU students because they find out if their games can keep the kids attention while also ensuring they learn.

"You can plan a lesson and you can plan games, but you don't know how it's actually going to work with kids until you actually do that," Perez said.

Kathy Spillman, an instructor in PSU's curriculum and instruction department, agreed with Perez.

"It's a good way for them to learn how to adapt math to two different levels," she said, referring to the fact that the games need to work with both young elementary students as well as older ones that are getting ready to enter middle school.

For the PSU students, it can start out as a nerve-wracking experience, but Spillman said her students usually remember the experience positively.

"My students are a little bit nervous at first and then the next time we meet, they've just had a wonderful time."

Jean Winters, whose daughter Lydia, 7, is a first-grader, said the event also gave her ideas as a parent.

"I think it's great," she said. "I've been looking for some ways to make math more fun than just the flash cards. I'm getting some good ideas."

Along with the games played at the event, students are also given goodie bags which include math tools that help reinforce the lessons they learn at school.

Perez said she is pleased with the event's growth.

"It has grown because word of mouth; kids look forward to it," she said. "I notice now that we have students who are middle-school age coming back with brothers and sisters. ... To me that's a big deal when a middle-schooler wants to come to a math night because they remember it from years before."

Spillman said the event serves multiple purposes.

"I think the connection between Pittsburg State University and your local schools is just very important - to keep in touch with each other," she said. "And for our students to get some field experience with children in math is great. They need that before they go out and teach."

And if the event continues to grow, Spillman said she will be glad to continue to work with other area schools.

"So if a school were to call us and say 'we'd like a math night,' we'd accommodate them," she said.

The Morning Sun, (www.morningsun.net) April 20, 2006