Inside: Inviting all Jedi younglings for an intergalactic math adventure! 🚀🧮 Embark on a 7-day Star Wars math challenge that turns math from boring into exploring!
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“I don’t like math anymore,” announced my 8-year-old son, taking another plate out of the dishwasher and carrying it to the pantry.
“Where does this come from?” I spun around in surprise, “You said you liked math!” It was such an unexpected revelation I forgot that I was measuring ingredients into a bread machine and tipped the flour over with my elbow. The white powder covered the kitchen floor like a white blanket.
“I changed my mind,” my son shrugged casually.
We do year-round homeschooling, but recently, we took a little break to adjust to a life with a new baby. When, after six weeks of no school, I asked my son to pick his math curriculum (Waldorf Math, Singapore math, or computer-based CTC Math), he surprised me with his announcement that he doesn’t like math anymore.
I have always been a “you are responsible for your own education” type of parent. All those long talks about making your own choices would seem insincere, if I now turned around and said, “I can’t let you avoid math because you decided you don’t like it. You have to do the math lessons, whether you like it or not.” But with the new baby in my arms and black circles under my eyes, I really didn’t have it in me to be inspirational and accepting. I just needed some math to be done every day and with very little energy and time investment from me. How could I reignite his interest in math without too much strain on my sleep-deprived mind?
And then I remembered the other time my son said he didn’t like something. That was when he decided that he didn’t like reading anymore. I got him the Dragon Master Series and read the first two books to him out loud. Then I pretended to be too busy to continue (I don’t have to pretend to be busy, actually. My to-do list is a mile long). He complained about it for a bit, then picked up book #3 and started reading it on his own. Book #4 was a natural next step after that. By book #5, there was no stopping him.
So, how could I make math so enticing, that he couldn’t help but want to do it? And how could I turn it into a series?
Star Wars Math
The answer came to me the next day. What does my son love? Star Wars and mysteries!
So, Star Wars Mystery is exactly what we needed. And if we had a mystery for each day of the week, then it might even turn into I-love-math again. At least the idea gave me some hope.
Why seven days?
It’s my personal magical transformation number that I acquired going through life. I have noticed that when I do something for seven days in a row, at the end of the week, I feel like it has become a solid part of my life, and it, essentially, becomes a new habit. There is probably nothing magical about the number ‘seven‘ except that the mere fact of doing something for a whole week signifies to the mind a new status quo.
So, I came up with the following seven Star Wars mystery messages to ignite a love of math. And I’m happy to tell you, it worked! After doing one mystery a day for a week, my son has decided that he likes math again.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, read my full disclosure.
Instructions for the Mysteries
The following download has seven mystery quotes from Star Wars movies. Let your child do one each day this week. They will probably beg you to do them all at once. Resist! The idea is to make them excited about math. Anticipation is a necessary step in the process!
Step 1. Solve each number sentence and write down the answer.
Step 2. Write the letters that match the numbers into the squares.
Download Instructions
To get your free download, click HERE. A link to the free library of resources will immediately be sent to your email address. By entering your email address to obtain the file, you understand that you will be added to my email list so that you never miss one of my downloads. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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