Monday, June 21, 2010

Math Monday - The Math Chef







We had some fun back in May with Joan D'Amico's The Science Chef, which you can read about here, and here, so I was happy to discover she also has a book called The Math Chef, with over 60 math activities, and recipes for kids.

Now that I've had a time to read through it, and try out a couple of the recipes with the kids, I think I'd have to say it's more of a cookbook, than a math book, but as far as kids' cookbooks go, it's a pretty good one. And, it does serve to highlight, and bring to the kids' attention, the amount of math they use in everyday cooking, and baking activities.

Each chapter does start with a math concept like "Metric Mania", "English Exchange", "Ruler Rampage", and so on. Then, there's a short worksheet like activity, with answers at the back, and each recipe in the chapter, highlights that particular math skill.

My children rolled their eyes at the activities, but thanks to the bold print, did not miss the math concepts highlighted in each recipe. I don't think you'd want to use this as your main math text, but it would work nicely as a fun reinforcement, or summer bridge activity.

As to the cookbook parts, there's a very thorough description of the chef's "tools of the trade" at the front, as well as definitions of the various cooking skills, such as chopping, mincing, dicing and slicing. There is a glossary at the back of both cooking/baking, and math terms, and an informative section on nutrition.

The recipes are a good mix of desserts, salads, and entrees. And, even the desserts sneak in some healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour, or wheat germ. So, you don't have to worry about rotting your kids' stomachs while developing their brains.

I was not paid for this review, but I do recommend the book.

For more math themed activities, be sure to check out this week's Math Monday blog hop, hosted by Joyful Learner.







It's great to be a homeschooler.

5 comments:

Christy Killoran said...

That sounds like a fun book!

Ticia said...

I think I finally actually got something from my associate account, but I don't have it hooked up anywhere to pay me for anything. It's just a lazy man's way of linking stuff.

I might have to get the book for the descriptions of how to add stuff.

Joyful Learner said...

I have yet to see that book. Simple but great idea. Thanks for linking up!

I have yet to see any money from Amazon. I have a feeling it'll take over a year before I see few dollars.

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Joyful Learner - Yes, I don't expect to ever see any money from Amazon, but it's an easy way to link pictures of books - but, I think we're required to give people warning if an item might potentially give us a kick back.

Molly said...

thanks for the ideas! I actually just posted about math this evening because I'm so worried about teaching it. I'm prowling all the math posts I can find for ideas and this one is definitely getting filed away for later!