Today’s review is for Bug’s favorite new book. Eat Your Math Homework by Ann McCallum Books is fun cookbook written to your child which teaches math concepts through very simple stories and recipes.
Bug has been cooking up a storm recently. He loves to make us breakfast, lunch, snacks and especially desserts. This book is absolutely perfect for him. All of the recipes are simple and easy to follow, the book is in full color and illustrated throughout with nice thick pages (perfect for the kitchen counter).
Each recipe is accompanied by a little history and background on the match concept, and the food activity to reenforce the lesson.
Our Experience:
This is a book that I let the kids just keep and explore instead of taking the lead on it for lessons. Bug was able to read it, and choose what he wanted to make. He made a shopping list, and reminded me at the store to grab him ingredients for his recipes.
His favorite recipe, and the one he has made more than once is for Fibonacci Snack Sticks, which make the Fibonacci sequence easy to visualize. In the sequence, each number is the sum of the two numbers proceeding it- so, the first few numbers would be 1, 1, (because 1+0 is 1), 2 , 3, 5, 8, 13….
He really enjoyed teaching his siblings the math concept as they ate their snack. He taught the kids how to find which number came next in the sequence, and they made their kabobs together. Each number was assembled from one type of fruit, and they added them to the sticks in order. I was surprised at how well the lesson stuck- Bug read the story to the kids, and sure enough they all understand. Even little miss can explain how to find the sequence now!
In addition to these “Fibonacci Snack Sticks” the book includes recipes for “Fraction Chips,” “Variable Pizza Pi,” “Tessellating Two-Color Brownies,” “Milk and Tangram Cookies” and “Probability Trail Mix.” Bug hasn’t made everything in the book yet, but he’s working through it and having a wonderful time. My only complaint is that I wish the book was longer and had more recipes so we could keep using it for longer! It’s a wonderful addition to our homeschool library.
I absolutely love this book, and have another from the series on my shopping list for Bug’s Christmas gift. Ann McCallum books also has an Eat Your Science Homework and an Eat Your History Homework title. I am interested especially in seeing what the history book covers!
This book is a wonderful book for unschoolers and delight-directed learners, kids who love to cook, and families who want to add a little creative cooking to their school lessons. Many of my crewmates reviewed the other titles, so click on the banner below to read more reviews!
This sounds likes a great book. I think I need to look into finding this one for my son. He would enjoy this as much as your kids did.
May I also say, I can’t believe how big your kids are getting!! I’ve been reading your blog on and off for a few years now. Time sure flies. I wish they didn’t grow so fast. It’s fun, but kind of sad at the same time.
Isn’t it crazy???? Bug is going to be 10 soon, and I am still in denial about him hitting double digits. It’s good to “see” you around these parts! 🙂