The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Math for Kids: Fun Math Games and Activities Inspired by Awesome Mathematicians, Past and Present; with 20+ Illustrated ... from Around the World
Math for Kids , the fourth book of The Kitchen Pantry Scientist series, brings math to life through biography and creative engagement.
*2023 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Grades 3-5*
Go beyond counting. Solve puzzles, learn a magic trick, and play a ton of games.
This engaging guide offers a series of snapshots of 20+ mathematicians , from ancient history through today, paired with related hands-on projects perfect for a kitchen or a classroom . Each lab tells the story of a mathematician along with some background about the importance of their work, and a description of where it is still being used or reflected in today’s world.
A step-by-step illustrated game or activity paired with each story offers kids an opportunity to engage directly with concepts the mathematicians pursued, or are working on today . Experiments range from very simple projects using materials you probably already have on hand, to more complicated ones that may require a few inexpensive items you can purchase online. Just a few of the incredible people and scientific concepts you’ll
Hypatia (b. ~350–370) Square Wheels
Florence Nightingale (b. 1820) Pizza Pie Charts
Emmy Noether (b. 1882) Fabulous Folding Flexagons
Ron Graham (b. 1935) Fibbonacci Spiral
Fan Chung (b. 1949) Corners and Edges and Faces! Oh my!
With this fascinating, hands-on exploration of the history of mathematics, inspire the next generation of great mathematicians . Dig into even more incredible science history from The Kitchen Pantry Scientist series Chemistry for Kid s, Biology for Kids , Physics for Kids , and Ecology for Kids .
Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for the ARC of this!
This was super interesting and I can’t wait to share it with my 9 year old. Part biography and part mathematical games and crafts, this is perfect for early elementary students. Just right for fans of Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, this featured a variety of mathematicians from different time periods, of different genders and of different races and backgrounds.
All sorts of mathematicians (known and lesser known) get their moment in the spotlight, but boredom stays far away thanks to the variety of activities following each presentation.
This books is chucked full of activities, all which pertain to math. Each section starts with the introduction and description of an historic or present day mathematician, their contribution, bio, hobbies, fun facts, and more. On the opposite side of this description is a full-page illustration of the individual, doing something related to one or more of the facts presented about them. This is well-written and stays on the lighter-side of factual, making sure that readers gain more interesting tidbits than only the solid dates and contributions (although these are there, too). Each individual comes across as a real person, and there were more than a few we hadn't heard about before.
Right after this fact page comes an activity, which correlates to the mathematician. Sometimes, it's a paper project, sometimes with beads. A few introduce games, while others are more about exploring fun things. It's a big mix, and each involves objects usually found around the household. Those that aren't are readily available (cheap) at the store. The descriptions are no problem to follow, and the activities are suitable to most readers in the age group. At the end of the activities' descriptions, there are questions or explanations relating the math to life or other thoughts. At the end of the book, any necessary forms or cut-outs are presented.
I was impressed at how various the activities are, and how each one does relate to the information in some way or the other. It makes the material understandable without becoming dry or boring. There aren't really any calculations or 'hard' math, but rather, this heads into concepts and generalizations, which demonstrate how math fits into every day life. If nothing else, it's fun.
Not only fans of math will enjoy this one, since the activities include a large range of directions, which are, for the most part, easy to do. The information, which is provided, is interesting and fits the age group. Homeschoolers as well as groups and individuals will enjoy this one. I received a complimentary copy through Edelweiss and really enjoyed the mix of facts and fun.
Math for Kids is a wonderful new addition the Kitchen Pantry Scientist collection (Physics, Chemistry, Biology). I love this series because it pairs hands-on activities with biographies of real-life scientists and mathematicians. I think it is fantastic for kids to make connections between theory and practice. This whole series does an excellent job of making STEAM topics engaging and memorable by connecting experiments with storytelling. All of the activities contain detailed step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow, paired with real photographs of the activity in progress. I think this Math book is particularly wonderful because so often Math is reduced to theoretical concepts and it is so fun to see how interactive and interesting it can be! This book would be great for a classroom scenario but also nice for work at home for children interested in the topic.
Finally, a book that proves to children (& adults) not only that math is fun, but that you don't need to be an old white guy to be good at it! When I read "from around the world" on the book's subtitle, I was a little leery. But, I was pleased to find out that this author was genuine with her claim! As proof, I offer you the subjects of her biographies: Hypatia (Egypt) Maryam Mirzakhani (Iran) J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. (United States) Fan Chung (Taiwan) John Conway (England) Federico Ardila (Colombia) Srinivasa Ramanujan (India) Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (Persia) Grace Hopper (United States) Mary Everest Boole (England) Ron Graham (United States) Jennifer McLoud-Mann (United States) Gertrude Mary Cox (United States) Mary Cartwright (England) Florence Nightingale (England) David Blackwell (United States) Nalini Joshi (Myanmar/Australia) Persi Diaconis (United Staes) George Boole (England) Emmy Noether (Germany) Martin Gardner (United States) Shing-Tung Yau (Hong Kong) *Note: Out of the 13 English & American mathematicians listed, at least 8 of them are minorities.
This is a really cool book concept. The book is set up by mathematical subject area (geometry, statistics, etc.) with about 20 mathematicians highlighted overall. A brief explanation of each mathematician's work and role in history is followed by a hands-on activity for kids to understand their findings. I was really pleased to see the diversity in the mathematicians highlighted - half are women and many are of color.
The activities are varied and utilize basic materials. I was confused by the "Kitchen Pantry Scientist" title because these aren't kitchen activities. A more appropriate title would be "Recycling Bin Scientist," but that's not as catchy, is it?
A lot of these activities were too high concept for my kindergartner, but I look forward to revisiting this book in the future. I think the activities would be fantastic for visual and tactile learners in upper elementary and middle school to connect with the material.
Big thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy for me to review!
'The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Math for Kids' is the fourth addition in the 'The Kitchen Pantry Scientist' series. I am unable to yet review the others, but if this book is anything to go by, we will thoroughly enjoy it. This book was a brilliant assortment of mathematical craft and activities. My 9yo and I loved exploring these alongside the historical information of mathematicians from different time periods and backgrounds. It was a great book for her level of reading although activities need some support from me.
We will be looking to buy a hard copy so that we can continue the mathematical fun!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is great. It has a way of illustrating mathematical concepts and making them easier to understand. They also focus on important people in the field of mathematics. However, while in general I do like this book, it is so wordy and packed full of information that kids looking for help might not pick it up, as it appears to be only for those with advanced mathematical skills. It’s not, but when page flipping, that is the first impression of the book because of its wordiness. While overall a great book full of great concepts and practical lessons, I fell it may sit on the shelf awaiting the perfect readers.
I received the book from netgalley for my honest review. This book will be great for homeschool family! If you have a child that is hands-on learning, then this book will be great for them. This book teaches a little history and a ton of math projects. It has games and activities. Highly recommended!
This is a good but sometimes complicated book of hands-on math projects for kids. I will probably write up a longer review with photos for my homeschool site, A Magical Homeschool, in the upcoming weeks.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.