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Math and Economics at the Farmers Market

There’s still nothing like experiencing math in the context of of simple cash purchases. I say “still” because of the plethora of available extra-curricular math resources like competitions, online programs, manipulatives, etc. In our age dominated by credit card and online purchases, many kids don’t have the opportunity to develop the skills of making simple arithmetic computations in real time while talking to people….
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An exercise in modeling a real life tile pattern

What a great exercise it would be for a child to figure out how to “model” this wall with only equilateral triangles and squares. This is exactly the kind of thinking that the writers of the Common Core Math standards illustrate in the draft of their Geometry Progression for Grades K-6, pp. 7, 11-12. Geometiles™ were used for the modeling task, as shown above….
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Three sisters and their PJ’s

When I saw Grace, Sophie, and Chloe in their mismatched pajamas, a question immediately popped up:   if there are 3 sisters, and 3 pairs of pajamas, how many ways are there for them to wear the pajamas so that the top and bottom are mismatched?   The 3 pajamas will be referred to by…
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