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Author
Katie Wickliff
Published
March 2024
Quality math enrichment goes beyond memorizing facts. The best math enrichment activities encourage critical and flexible thinking.
Author
Katie Wickliff
Published
March 2024
Quality math enrichment goes beyond memorizing facts. The best math enrichment activities encourage critical and flexible thinking.
Author
Katie Wickliff
Published
March 2024
Key takeaways
Table of contents
If you’re a parent or caregiver of a school-aged child, you’ve likely heard the term “math enrichment.” Perhaps your child’s teacher has mentioned doing math enrichment with specific students or the whole class.
But exactly what is math enrichment, anyway? Would your child benefit from enrichment? How do you facilitate math enrichment activities at home?
This article will answer those questions and provide a comprehensive overview of math enrichment for elementary-aged children. We’ll talk about what math enrichment is (and what it is not!), discuss the components of quality math enrichment, and highlight the types of students who would benefit from math enrichment activities. We’ll also give several examples of enrichment activities you can easily do at home. Ready? Let’s get started!
Obviously, skill-focused lessons are an important part of any math curriculum–an essential part of helping students develop as mathematicians. So where does math enrichment fit in?
If enrichment means to make something more meaningful, substantial, and rewarding, then math enrichment should deepen learning. Quality enrichment expands knowledge by guiding students to think more deeply and flexibly, fostering critical thinking skills. Math enrichment should be:
To gain a better understanding of what math enrichment means, it’s important to discuss what math enrichment is not. Math enrichment is not:
I’m the mother of two school-aged children. One of my kids is what teachers call a “fast finisher”: he completes math assignments quickly and accurately. He also tends to grasp new math concepts easily and can demonstrate his knowledge on homework and tests.
In contrast, my other child doesn’t find math a breeze. While performing at grade level, she takes a lot longer to finish her assignments and often needs extra support from her teacher individually or in small groups.
Of the two, which child would benefit from math enrichment? The answer? Both of them!
The most effective enrichment is open-ended, rewarding depth over speed. This means that any child, no matter their starting point, will benefit from enrichment activities that help develop problem-solving abilities and encourage exploration and creative thinking.
Looking for engaging math enrichment activities for your child? DoodleMath is an award-winning math app filled with fun, interactive math questions aligned to state standards. Doodle creates a unique work program tailored to each child’s skill level to boost confidence and reduce math anxiety. Try it free today!
Doing math enrichment at home is a great way to foster a love of numbers and connect with your child. While math enrichment activities can vary greatly depending on your individual child, here are some ideas I recommend as a math tutor to get you started:
Puzzles like Sudoku, Magic Square, or KenKen can help strengthen critical thinking skills. If you want to buy physical puzzles, some of our family favorites include Dog Pile, Smart IQ Puzzler, and Mental Blox Jr.
Check out Doodle’s award-winning math app. This personalized program is full of math enrichment games that support your child’s math journey.
Sharing books with your child is a great way to bring math concepts to life. A few illustrated picture books include “Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci” by Joseph D’Agnesc, “The Boy Who Loved Math” by Deborah Heiligman, or “Ten on a Twig” by Lo Cole.
These are inquiry-based projects that require students to research and think deeply about a real-world math problems, and can be easily completed using a home or library computer. You can find many sample Webquest projects online or make up your own!
For example, If your child wants to save up to buy a toy with their allowance money, allow them to take the lead in figuring out how much they’ll need to save and approximately how long it will take. Write down the problem with them and brainstorm several ways to reach their goal.
Got a LEGO lover? These building bricks are the perfect open-ended tool for math enrichment at home. Children of all ages can engage in building challenges that reinforce Geometry concepts and encourage higher-level thinking. The possibilities are truly endless
Cooking with your child is an enriching (albeit messy) experience that provides concrete examples of using numbers in real life. Let your child choose the recipe and lead the measuring process. Being able to actually see that a ½ cup is larger than a ¼ cup strengthens their understanding of fractions.
Show your child that math can even be found in nature— from identifying simple shapes to noticing how much of nature follows the Fibonacci sequence. Check out Doodle’s list of math in nature activities for more specific ideas.
Parents, sign up for a DoodleMath subscription and see your child become a math wizard!
Math enrichment is important because, in addition to developing math skills, enrichment encourages creative and critical thinking.
Math enrichment activities go beyond memorizing facts and computing problems. Enrichment activities allow students to achieve more depth and understanding of a concept.
Lesson credits
Katie Wickliff
Katie holds a master’s degree in Education from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree in both Journalism and English from The University of Iowa. She has over 15 years of education experience as a K-12 classroom teacher and Orton-Gillingham certified tutor. Most importantly, Katie is the mother of two elementary students, ages 8 and 11. She is passionate about math education and firmly believes that the right tools and support will help every student reach their full potential.
Katie Wickliff
Katie holds a master’s degree in Education from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree in both Journalism and English from The University of Iowa. She has over 15 years of education experience as a K-12 classroom teacher and Orton-Gillingham certified tutor. Most importantly, Katie is the mother of two elementary students, ages 8 and 11. She is passionate about math education and firmly believes that the right tools and support will help every student reach their full potential.
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