Penny, Nickel, Dime, Quarter (Rock Paper Scissors Game)

Here is a great at home learning activity for a variety of grades!

Here is a little video I made to show you how to play this game.  You need some coins, a piece of paper and something to write with.

Below the video, I will share how to make the game easier and how to make it harder.  This is a great game for siblings to play together!

Make It Easier

-Don't use a record sheet!  For our youngest learners who are just starting to identify coins, you don't need to worry about counting up the total amount you have.

-Record on your record sheet using cent notation rather than the dollar sign and decimal point 

Make it Harder

-Use more coins!  Have each player start with 2 of each coin.  We have noticed that after we play this game a bit, we seem to get $0.41 a lot.  Changing how many coins are in play helps us level up and stops us from getting the same thing over and over

-Put 2 coins in your hand each time.  Start with 3 coins of each type and when it is your turn, put 2 coins in your hand.  The person with the most wins EXCEPT $0.02 beats $0.50.

Let us know if you try this game by sending a picture in email, posting in the comments below or sharing on the Parents and Friends of ACS Facebook group!

10 Equations to get 10

I am working on some videos to help you all learn from home but without my students who usually edit videos for me, I am having to learn that in addition to how to use Zoom and do all the other new things we are trying these days.

In the meantime, I found this great game using cards or dice that is great for kids in grades 2-6 and might even work well for a first grader looking for a challenge!  

If you try this, let me know how it goes in the comments below or by sending me an email!

April Daily Math Challenge!

I found this fun Daily Math Challenge for April and wanted to share it here!  We will be doing some of these in my house this month, maybe not every day but will definitely be picking and choosing our favorites! 

Today is April Fool's Day and the challenge for today is to include your favorite number in every sentence you say.  I think my family will catch on pretty quick!  

The blog has been updated with all new songs, stories and games so click on your grade level above and check it out!

Climbing Out of the Dip!

At ACS, we talk a lot about having a growth mindset and developing perseverance.  When we are struggling with doing something challenging, we like to think about the dip.  Here are a few short video clips to help you learn about getting out of something challenging.  You may have seen some of these before! Make sure you go to the end of this post to see some of our own ACS kids explain how to get out of the dip!






How do you get out of the dip?  Leave a comment below!

Challenge Photos From Home!

Hope everyone had a chance to relax this weekend!  I am so happy to share with you another round of photos from last week's Math at Home challenges.  These challenges are ongoing and you can submit a photo anytime.  Email (ttrudo) or sharing in the Parents & Friends Facebook page both work well. 

New pictures from Real Life Array Challenge (you can check out the first batch of submissions here) 

Our First Photos from the Number Building Challenge! 

This one represents a decimal number and is made entirely out of school supplies!  Submitted by one of our former students who might now be in middle school but still checks in on the math blog! 

Other challenges going on right now:

Leap Year 366 object count

Design your own math game

The ultimate challenge for BIG KIDS: Design your own concentration problem! 

Number Building Fun!

One day one of our students had a great idea!  They thought we could build numbers out of our straws and connectors and they were right

We had a great time taking on the challenge to build the numbers from 1-20

Then we built lots of other fun numbers too!

Today's learn from home challenge is to build some numbers out of something you have at home!  Take a picture and email it to me so I can share it on the blog!

Big kids.... can you build fractions or decimals or ratios? 

Math for Big Kids: Concentration Problems

One type of math our fifth and sixth graders have to do that our younger students don't is called proportional reasoning.  They get to solve problems like this tea problem we did a few months ago.

If you are not in fifth or sixth grade, you still might be able to figure this one out!


Put the cups in order from "Strongest tea" to "weakest tea"
All of the cups are the same size
Cup A is filled to the top and has 3 tea bags
Cup B is filled 1/8 of the way and has 1 tea bag
Cup C is filled 1/2 way and has 2 tea bags
Cup D is filled 1/3 of the way and has 1 tea bag

Can you make up a concentration problem?  You can use tea bags, lemonade or anything else that requires a mixture!

You can put your answer to the tea problem in the comment section below or send it to me in an email!  If you make up a concentration problem, take a picture and email it to me so I can post it on the blog!