"I want to play it again" + Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
over 8 years ago – Sat, May 07, 2016 at 01:58:51 PM

 I just unearthed this fantastic video of our niece playing an early prototype game of Tiny Polka Dot. It's a little hard to hear her (another niece is playing off-camera), but her excitement when the last two cards match up is wonderful. Her last line: "I want to play it again."

And that's our hope, not just for our nieces, but for all the children in this next generation: that this game lets numbers feel like something that belongs to them, that they can choose to play with whenever and however they want to. Because if numbers are under their control, all options remain possible for them. 

This sounds extreme, but math is a gatekeeper subject, and success in math can be the difference between doors being open or closed. Meanwhile, research has found that gender stereotypes about math develop as early as second grade. We've seen it firsthand in our work with kids. It's why we believe it's so critical to make playful, positive experiences with math accessible to all young kids, especially girls.

Happily, Tiny Polka Dot is now over 70% funded! With your help, we'll get to 100% soon! But take a moment to let your friends know about the campaign. Anyone with a child in their life will thank you!

On that topic, we're thrilled to highlight another fantastic Kickstarter campaign that's providing young girls with a wonderfully diverse collection of role models:

"Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls"

A children's book that reinvents fairy tales, trading princesses for real women who changed the world. "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls" is an incredible children's book that will inspire little girls with the stories of 100 heroic women from Elizabeth I to Serena Williams.

Check it out HERE!

Polka Dot Puzzle in NYTimes, + an updated Guide for Grownups
over 8 years ago – Fri, May 06, 2016 at 10:10:36 AM

Remember that Polka Dot Puzzle from our first update? It's now being featured at the Numberplay blog in the NYTimes! Check it out here. We also put together some variations (see below).

Meanwhile, we're over a week into the campaign, with the halfway mark in sight. At present, we've got 333 backers, and $9250 raised.

Here's a little something you might enjoy sharing: we essentialized the Guide for Grownups in Tiny Polka Dot into a post on our blog at mathforlove.com, entitled: How to Help Your Kids Fall in Love with Math: A Guide for Grownups. Pass it along to the grownups in your life!

The First 48 hours & The Polka Dot Puzzle
over 8 years ago – Fri, Apr 22, 2016 at 04:01:21 PM

We're 48 hours into the campaign, and 30% funded, with 211 backers pledging support. Thank you for this amazing outpouring! We are well and truly on our way.

Now that we've launched, we're going to need your help more than ever to keep the momentum up. Know someone with young kids? Know someone who works with preschoolers, Kindergartners, or elementary schoolers? Let them know about Tiny Polka Dot!

We'll help make it easy to spread the word by sharing Tiny Polka Dot-related things that we find shareable. In this update: the Polka Dot Puzzle. I've seen kids get addicted to this puzzle, and it remains one of my favorites.

Polka Dot Puzzle

Take the numeral cards from 0 to 10. Arrange them in a stack, then deal the top card up, next card to the bottom of the deck, card up, next on the bottom, card up, next on the bottom, etc. until all the cards are dealt. If you order them correctly, they will come out in the order 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. What is the correct order?

 You can try this out with playing cards, or by writing the numbers 0 through 10 on index cards. For younger kids, try it with fewer cards: 0 through 3, or 0 through 5, say.

Thanks again for your support. Onward!