Interesting and challenging math and logic home study resources for 1st grade boys
Anyone has recommendations for games, activities, books, etc. that I can use for enrichment math and logic (or general STEM) at home for my son and a couple of his friends? The boys are all first graders and advanced in math, so we are looking for something that is both challenging and interesting. Cost is not an issue as I'm ok buying the resources (and other parents are ok with contributing), but I would like something that is hands on and engaging (so not just workbooks). I used to lead an after school math club type activity in my son's school using school's provided resources in the fall but have had a difficult time with behavior issues and my son did not like it after a while since I had a lot of kids join the club who had difficulties with math and I had to step back and explain a lot so there was less time for the challenging stuff (I'm not a teacher, I just love math, and honestly was not able to handle well the differences in kids' math abilities). I am not going to continue leading the math club next semester as I only have one afternoon free a week and I want to use it for quality time with my kid that he would enjoy. So instead I told my son I would do something for him at home with a few of his friends from his class (the other parents already agreed) who love math, which would give me complete autonomy over the program and with less kids and all of them at roughly the same level I can actually give my son the experience I was hoping for. So now I'm spending Dec looking for ideas of the right resources to buy to prepare for it. I know there is a home schooling community here and hope someone will have some recommendations.
Parent Replies
I strongly recommend you look up Art of Problem Solving. They have excellent programs and books for mathy kids. We have been using AoPS for years in our homeschooling. In the past years, they have developed books for younger kids, called Beast Academy. (I just looked it up and see it has its own website now.)
Though I have no experience with it, I know others have appreciated Singapore Math. Also, you might look up the site for the Mathematical Association of America – they have a good selection of books you might use. And just in case this is useful for later, you might look into the Berkeley Math Circle. Good luck!
Kids love the game "rush hour junior". I guess there must be a regular "rush hour" that you could get too. Also tangram puzzles - the harder the better. Perplexors from MindWare are just workbooks, but they are logic puzzles which are so much fun that they become totally addicting. First graders might be a little young for them, but if they can read, you could try the easiest level. You could also go on teachers pay teachers and search for free activities. Just recently I have downloaded 3 games for my 2nd/3rd grade classroom from that site that advanced first graders could probably play: boo bump, array capture, and something like multiplication dot game. Again, not building stuff, but they are engaging and involve math and strategy. Good luck!