Tiff's Learning Lab

🐟☀Join us this June & July for our new Summer STEM Series.
It will be a great way to explore STEM experiences while you visit the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. Registration is required and spots fill up fast!

Our Summer STEM Series in June will explore engineering and discover how farming goes way beyond crops! Together, we will explore the surprising number of everyday products made from soybeans (including fish food), crunch some sneaky math to feed our fish, weigh results, and then team up to engineer a feeding structure using the engineering design process.
This program is designed for students entering 3rd-5th grade and offered through the generous support of our program sponsor, the Ohio Soy Bean Council.

Learn more: https://boonshoft.org/events/

🧠 Reshape the Problem, Keep the Product

Try this quick strategy: double one factor, halve the other to make multiplication easier while keeping the value the same.

This strategy works especially well when one factor is even and the other can be doubled into a friendlier number like 10, 20, 50, or 100.

👇Can you transform each one into an easier equation and find the product?
6 × 15
12 × 25
8 × 35

✏️ Want extra practice with this strategy? Try this printable worksheet from Math-Drills-
https://math-drills.com/multiplication/multiplication_halving_doubling_easier_001.php

💻 Want to test it visually? Use a virtual manipulative and area model to visualize the area of a rectangle, doubling one dimension and halving the other to watch how the area remains the same.
MathMine -
https://mathmine.com/area-rectangle/

🎉 Exciting news! 🎉

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve joined Learning Aid Ohio as a tutor. 💫 Link to learn more and see if students may qualify are in the comments.

Every child learns math in their own way, and every child deserves the support to reach their goals. Through this program, eligible students with IEPs can access grant-funded, FREE 1:1 tutoring designed to help them build confidence, strengthen skills, and make meaningful progress towards their IEP goals.

Sessions take place in my cozy, student-centered tutoring space right here in Troy and are tailored to meet each child exactly where they are, with engaging, hands-on learning that keeps math approachable and fun. This summer, I have both daytime and evening availability to make scheduling as flexible as possible for families, but spots are limited.

I will continue offering tutoring through my business as usual for all students, including those without IEPs, so every learner can get the support or challenge they need to grow. 😊

Message me with questions or to get started! 💌

Math + Space? YES, PLEASE!

Here you go!
🔗🌙 NASA's Math activities for Grades 3 through Calculus - https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/grade.html
🔗🌙 Additional NASA activity links - https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/armd/smart-skies/
🔗🌙 Forward to the Moon with Artemis Explorer Activities for Grades K-8
https://www.nasa.gov/stem-content/forward-to-the-moon-with-artemis-explorer-activities/

Space related board/card games (Some math required)
🚀 Luma World Galaxy Raiders
🚀 Sums in Space
🚀 Cloud Hoppers
🚀 Galaxolotl
🚀 Rocket Race
🚀 Monopoly Space
🚀 Battleship Outer Space
🚀 Space Dominoes
🚀 Math Blast

SimplyFun Games - I am an affiliate ask me about a discount!
🎲 Planet Voyagers
https://simplyfun.com/collections/math-stem-games/products/planet-voyagers
🎲 Star Gazer
https://simplyfun.com/collections/math-stem-games/products/star-gazer
🎲 Space It!
https://simplyfun.com/collections/math-stem-games/products/space-it

Space picture books (and workbooks) with a touch of math
📖 Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 By Helaine Becker, 5-9 Years
📖 Hidden Figures By Margot Lee Shetterly, Winifred Conkling, 4-8 Years
📖 If You Decide to Go to the Moon By Faith McNulty By Faith McNulty, 3-6 Years
📖 A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars By Seth Fishman, 4-8 Years
📖 On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets By Michael Dahl, 4-8 Years
📖 Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes: Three Dimensional Shapes By Stuart J. Murphy, 6-10 Years
📖 Math in Space By Nancy Dickmann, 8-12 Years
📖 I Was an Outer-Space Chicken (Alien Math Series #1) By David LaRochelle, 9-12 Years
📖 Planet of the Penguins (Alien Math Series #2) By David LaRochelle, 9-12 Years
📖 A Math Journey Through Space By Anne Rooney, 8-11 Years
📖 STEM: Mission to Mars: Problem Solving By Rane Anderson, 7-12 Years
📖 Around the Moon 1, 2, 3 : A Space Counting Book By Tracey E. Dils, 3-5 Years
📖 Real World Math: Space Exploration By Jennifer Szymanski, Grades K-2
📖 Math in Space Vol.1 Addition and Subtraction By Doctor Cosmos, 5-7 Years
📖 The Search for the Mystery Planet: Space Math (I Love Math) By Time-Life Books Editors, Grades 1-4
📖 Space Mathematics: Math Problems Based on Space Science By Bernice Kastner, Grades 9-12

☀️ What if summer math felt like an exciting adventure instead of extra work?

My summer tutoring sessions are personalized to each student, whether they need support, review, or an extra challenge, meeting each child right where they are while keeping learning fun and engaging.

With 20+ years as a licensed K-12 Intervention Specialist, I use a multisensory approach tailored to different learning styles so students can experience success in a way that works for them, supporting K-8 grades and Algebra 1 students in our community.

Busy summer schedule? No problem. I offer flexible options to fit your family’s plans.

📩 Message me or email [email protected]
to ask questions, schedule a free meet & greet, or reserve a spot!

Math conversations can be so fun! Start with a question! 🔢✨

Try these quick questions with your child in the car, during a walk, or at bedtime:
🤔 What’s the largest number you can name?
💭 What’s the biggest number you’ve ever used in real life?

I listed some very large numbers to get the conversation started. Each new number name is 1,000 times bigger than the last, so we add 3 more zeros every time! ➡️ 000

Ask your child to guess the name of a number with 100 zeros and you may get some great answers!😄

📚 Keep the number fun going with these kid-approved books:
- How Much Is a Million? by David M. Schwartz (my favorite!)
- Millions, Billions, & Trillions by David A. Adler
- Big Numbers by Edward Packard
- How Many Jelly Beans? by Andrea Menotti
- Pebbles and the Biggest Number by Joey Benun
- A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by Seth Fishman
- Really Big Numbers by Richard Evan Schwartz

Pi Day is almost here! March 14th (3.14) is the perfect reason to dive into some fun math activities… and eat all kinds of pie. 🥧

What is Pi Day?
📽 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qov91F218A
📽 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC3Vj1q5rXo
📽 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVf9jkQ2QqA
📽 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWb0b0RV1o

Read-aloud books:
📖Cat in the Hat's Happy Pi Day to You! - https://youtu.be/e-22Quf9MSc?si=H0O414MlTIyF4q22
📖Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi https://youtu.be/-yES9sE8wIc?si=CshqziL_lyr7LPtK

🧩Word searches/logic puzzles: https://mathequalslove.net/seasonal-and-holiday-resources/ -day

🤣 Add some laughs to the day with these jokes: https://www.weareteachers.com/pi-jokes/

🤔Trying to memorize digits of pi?
First 100 digits- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCnTJRHTAUw
First 300 digits.- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsrJdSaiD9U

🖨Need a printout of the first 500 digits? https://www.scienceworld.ca/wp-content/uploads/Pi-Page.pdf

🎂Find your birthday within Pi! https://www.subidiom.com/pi/piday.asp

Pi Day coloring pages:
🖍 https://natashalh.com/free-printable-pi-day-coloring-pages/
🖍 https://homemadeheather.com/pi-day-color-by-number-printables/
🖍 https://rockyourhomeschool.net/pi-day-color-by-number/
🖍 https://www.steviedoodles.com/free-coloring-pages/pi-day
🖍 https://www.classroomdoodles.com/pi-day-coloring-pages.html
🖍 https://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/holidays/pi-day
🖍 https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/pi-day-coloring-page/

🎉41 more Pi Day activities - https://www.weareteachers.com/pi-day-activities/

Reading comprehension passages with questions
📖 Grades K-2 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pi-Day-Nonfiction-Reading-Comprehension-Passage-Questions-Freebie-13113205
📖 Grades 3-5 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pi-Day-What-Is-It-Reading-Comprehension-Passage-and-Questions-11246413
📖 Math and Reading packethttps://worksheets.edhelper.com/math_worksheets/pi-day-math-and-reading-worksheets.pdf

Remember the pie! Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pizza pie, shepherd’s pie, pot pie, key lime pie, it all counts! 😄📐 Recipes for Pi Day
🥣 https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/pies-for-pi-day/
🥣 https://www.allrecipes.com/pi-day-pie-recipes-8606200
🥣 https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/sweet-savory-pies-for-pi-day/
🥣 An adorable Pi Day snack! https://www.butteryum.org/blog/cheese-and-cracker-pie-appetizers

Today we’re shining a spotlight on Dyscalculia Awareness Day! 🌍

✏️ About 1 in 20 students have dyscalculia and may struggle with math for reasons beyond effort or practice. It’s often missed or misunderstood.
💡 Check out my Google Doc full of helpful resources and supports! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y7plZTtlZt0wJIx2wfx2E3xm2_wLawzs69Az4PvilRU/edit?usp=sharing