With the winter temperatures falling into the negative numbers, New School Montessori (6-9) students turned a negative into a positive. One especially wintry day, when it was too cold to be outdoors, students were permitted to play games during their inside recess hour. However, instead of playing games, most of the class was excitedly working on their math assignment, “playing restaurant”!
Students perused the sample menu, making careful selections of what they wanted to order. Each item had a price listed; once students totaled the cost for their meal, they walked to the cash register with their paper money to pay their bill. They then worked out the math with the cashier to determine what change they expected to get. And of all things, not to forget the tip!
“Playing restaurant” was so much fun that students started making their own menus, deciding what to offer their patrons and what prices to charge. It’s a great thing when math is not only an important life skill but is also just plain fun!
Ann Baumgardner