Every f
amily has their own bedtime routine. For some, it starts with dinner, then bath, then dessert, prayers and lights out. Others start with homework, then dinner, skip the dessert and do bedtime stories before saying goodnight. A recent study shows that adding a little bit of math practice to the bedtime routine improves students’ overall math performance throughout the year.
Bedtime Math, an app created by a company of the same name, gives parents (especially those who don’t consider themselves math pros) different kid friendly scenarios, stories, riddles, videos and pictures to discuss with their kids at bedtime. This “no frills” app gives parents a fun way to get their math gears going before bed. An exciting video showing a bicyclist flipping off of a ramp gives smaller kids questions they can answer (what shape is the bike’s wheel?) and bigger kids questions that get them thinking (if the bike flipped one foot higher than the 24 foot tall ramp it jumped off, how far would the bike be from the ground?) Each night the app gives families a different type of math challenge to work on and discuss.
From discussing ninjas to building pillow forts, this five-minute-a-night math exposure is something that kids look forward to and presents math in a fun and exciting light. Kids who love the emails and using the app will also enjoy reading the published books, such as Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay up Late. Teachers, librarians and tutors can receive free promotional materials to start their own Crazy 8’s Math club (an exciting way to spread the love of math to more students at once!)
Studies of the app show that children who were exposed to Bedtime Math on a nightly basis were three months ahead of their peers who didn’t use the app. The app also showed that math-anxious parents talked to their children more about math, even in the simplest terms like counting and identifying shapes, more often after using the app than they did before. Opening up this window of communication helps kids connect with their parents and makes discussing math topics a less stressful conversation, especially for parents who would not say math is their strong suit.
Most parents know the importance of reading to their kids throughout the day, and enjoy incorporating reading into the “wind down” time every night. With just a few minutes a night after their favorite story, kids could dramatically increase their love and ability for math by utilizing this incredible app with their parents.