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Writer's pictureRobert Ahdoot

Kids doing elementary school math... at CostCo!

I love math. And kids. And CostCo. This is what happens when those three loves combine. The store bursts with opportunities to learn math in fun and creative ways, amidst all its sights and sounds. Of the several segments, Revi grappling with apple-pears - is my favorite. If a certain segment speaks to you, please reply and let me know which!

What happens when the classroom IS CostCo? It's a chance to have fun with elementary school math!

Here are the segments, topics, and of course, the shopping items we used to impart the ideas:

  • 0:14 Seven pairs of socks costs $6. Each pair costs...?

  • 2:18 Watermelons cost $10 each. How much for multiple watermelons?

  • 4:06 "Mangos in boxes!" A student-led mango multiplication challenge!

  • 6:31 Pumpkin pie cut up in different fractional slices. (YUM!)

  • 8:52 Muffins come in packs of 6. What if friends came over to share?

  • 11:32 Apple-pears come in packs of 8. How many would each family member get? (This is my favorite segment. Check out Revi's priceless look of concentration.)

  • 14:41 Arrays of eggs! How many ways can we multiply?

  • 17:33 Volume, with... toilet paper? Watch these 3rd graders ascend beyond grade level in their first-ever exposure to volume concepts. As in, they confess not knowing what “volume” means. But they’re DOING volume problems. This is so profound to me: the idea of doing the work… without exactly knowing what the work is called.


Programming notes, and a question:

  • Peppered throughout the video, I include teaching tips on inspired teaching, coinciding with the moment at hand with the kids.

  • The whole video is shot on an iPhone. Held by seven- or eight-year-old-girls. So they capture some incredible and intimate angles, at their eye level. This is a shooting choice I plan to replicate. Do you like this format? If enough ground swell occurs, I plan to bring on a cameraperson next time, to shore up sound and stability.

  • In the meantime, I worked meticulously to make the captions have spot-on timing. Feel free to enable them during viewing.

I really like it and the kids have aliveness all over their faces. It’s an honor to conjure ideas like this, create it, and share it with you. I hope you like it too.



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