Garner the Support and Engagement of Parents and Community Members

The following articles from Best Practice 4 provide information on mathematics classroom activities that involve parents and community members:

• "Family Math"

• "Sample Family Math Problems" (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)

Meg Ormiston, a mathematics resource teacher with the Palos District 118 in Palos Park, Illinois, successfully used the Family Math Night with her K-2 students and families. Her goal was to bring together children and parents to learn how manipulatives are used in mathematics.

At the Family Math Night, more than 400 parents and children from kindergarten through second grade worked together to solve problems. Eleven stations of five manipulatives (Geoboards, Attrilinks, Pattern Blocks, Teddy Bear Counters, and Connecting Cubes) were arranged on tables in the gym. An assortment of activities helped parents understand how children use manipulatives to explore math concepts. Parents and chldren spent ten minutes at each station; then they moved to the next manipulative and a new set of activities. Ormiston considered the program to be an overwhelming success. It also was inexpensive; the only costs were for printing and decorations.

Information from Ormiston's Family Math Night included the following:

• Agenda for planning meeting

• Letter to parents

• Letters to teachers and volunteers

• Room arrangement

• Program handouts

• Evaluation

For more information about the Family Math program, see The Family Math Home Page.