Title: Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late
Author: Laura Overdeck
Illustrated by Jim Paillot
ISBN: 978-1-250-03585-1
Suggested Retail: $14.99 US
Release Date: June 25, 2013, Published by Macmillian Children’s
I received Bedtime Math in exchange for an honest review.
Review: I’m sure many of you have heard of the importance of reading to our children and early literacy. What about the early instruction of math? Bedtime Math hopes to make math as cherished as the bedtime story.
In this new book, Ms. Overdeck starts with a kid-friendly story and then follows up with age-appropriate math problems. Bedtime Math is recommended for children ages 3-8 and each story follows with three math problems. There is one for “Wee Ones”, “Little Kids”, and the “Big Kids” so you can tackle all levels or which you feel would be most appropriate for your child. If you need to check the answers, they are printed with each story upside down on the bottom of the page. The last page of the book also shares the equation to come up with the answer.
This title is an activity to do together with your children, not a test. You can read the math problem to them, walk through how to solve it, and can also throw in your own hints as needed. And this book does not need to be read just at bedtime. It can be read any time of the day.
I watched my husband read this book to my daughters (ages 4 1/2 and 6 1/2) a few nights. They were very excited to take turns and answer the problems. I think any time you can teach something and make it enjoyable is a big plus. My husband was a little worried with the stories having a mischievous theme, like tossing noodles on the wall to test if they were ready to eat, if our daughters might mimic the activities told in the stories, but so far they haven’t. Whew!
Bedtime Math is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to make nightly math problems as common as the bedtime story. Founded by mother of three Laura Overdeck, a trained astrophysicist who launched the program to encourage her own children’s interest in math, Bedtime Math’s nightly nationwide subscriber list tops 30,000 and its social media presence on Facebook and Twitter has grown exponentially. More information about Bedtime Math can be found online at www.bedtimemath.org. In addition to its upcoming book, the first of three to be published by Macmillan, the organization has received national attention for its work from The New York Times, TIME magazine, and on NPR in the past year.
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