Jennifer Plosz is proposing a Parent Math Night to educate parents on fun and interactive ways to teach math concepts to their children, rather than through worksheets. The night will introduce visualization strategies for building number sense in an encouraging way. Parents will leave with hands-on activities to facilitate learning through play. Plosz has experience as a teacher, tutor, and presenter on making math enjoyable and building confidence through a growth mindset.

1. EDUCATING AS A COMMUNITY
It takes a Village . . .
Hello, my name is Jennifer Plosz and I am writing to you regarding your possible interest in
having a Parent Math Night at your school.
As you know, all children can benefit from some one-on-one educational attention, IF it is done in a FUN
and SAFE TO TAKE A RISK way.
However, parents do not always know how to help their kids build number sense, yet if their children
are struggling, parents want to help. Worksheets are often the primary tool used and not all kids can
make the necessary connections required for number sense from worksheets, they need a more
physical approach. As a result, this one-on-one help can often be a negative experience for the
student. I feel quite fortunate that I have the background to help my son and I would like to help other
parents do the same.
My son is a typical rambunctious boy who struggles to learn through worksheets. As a result, I have
spent a lot of time studying different curriculum based programs and have worked to develop at-home
activities that will facilitate learning through physical play. This helps to create visual images in a
child’s head of what that number symbol really means. This is a generation of children who will NOT
be using paper and pencil in their daily lives. There will always be a calculator at their finger tips,
whether it is on their phone or on their computer sitting in front of them, which is why NOW, while they
are young, is their main opportunity to develop the mental math skills they need in order to avoid
complete dependency on a calculator.
NUMBERS are fun and I would love to help educate the parents of your school on how they can play
with numbers with their children while developing vital numeracy skills!!
MY BACKGROUND
 I was a high school math teacher for many years
 Currently, I am a Master’s Candidate at the University of Calgary with Dr. Jo Towers
 Area of study is the role of visualization within the growth of mathematical
understanding
 Presenter of the parent math night: Education as a Community . . . (K – grade 2)
 Presenter of the parent math night: Education as a Community . . . (grade 3 - 6)
 Facilitator of Family Math nights
 Guest Mathematics Teacher in Elementary Schools
 Speaker at Teacher Conventions
 Provide one-on-one or small group tutoring for grades K-12 with learning differences
 Presentations based on an amalgamation of approaches to numeracy that promote the
growth of visualization

2. PARENT MATH NIGHT ENDORSEMENTS:
Thank you so much for putting on the math presentation last week. The approaches to math that you
showed are so different (in a good way) from how I learned at school and they make much better sense.
Without having been to the math talk, I probably would have passed along the memorization method
that I was taught. I am glad to know ways that I can teach the kids math that will strengthen their
confidence with numbers and be fun. I feel confident that I can help my kids establish a solid start in
math after attending. My kids are already loving the games. Who knew that addition games could be so
fun?! It was really thoughtful of you to provide the handouts, which have made it so easy to get started.
Mother of 6 year old boy and 4 year old girl.
Last night was AWESOME! It was interesting because the parent sitting next to me said that she had
been doing all the "wrong" things with her son in the last few months -- because he was having anxiety
around math and not doing well in school.
Mother of 3 boys and 1 girl ranging in ages from 2 - 9
Thanks again for a very informative and productive evening. Your love and passion were very evident in
how prepared you were, your delivery and your incorporation of theory and practicum.
Mother of 3 yr old boy and 8 year old girl.
OUTLINE OF PARENT MATH NIGHT
Introduction: Theory behind the approach, why the curriculum has moved toward an
understanding based approach and away from memorization and procedure
based approach.
A bit of psychology in how to work with your child, to create confidence (based
on Carol Dweck’s research).
Core:
K – grade 2 Grade 3 - 6
Build mental images for numbers,
Place Value Cards,
Build mental images for multiplication,
Understanding commutative property

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Conclusion: Inspirational stories of real people, who struggled and then triumphed in
mathematics. Trust in your child’s ability to learn, it is a journey in which they
need people who believe in them.
The parents will leave with a full repertoire of activities that are manipulative based rather than
worksheet based, helping them to create a solid connection between the number symbol and
the quantity, leaving the child with a visual foundation for developing their own mental math
skills.
Reference information of the Principals who have hosted one of my
“Parent Math Night’s”.
All Boys Program – Garry Jones grjones@cbe.ab.ca
Ecole St. Luke’s – Esther Digianvittorio Esther.Di-Gianvittorio@cssd.ab.ca
Ecole Elbow Valley Elementary School – Judi Poole jpoole@rockyview.ab.ca
Hawkwood Elementary School – Mike MacDonald mpmacdonald@cbe.ab.ca
University Elementary School – Alison van Rosendall avrosendaal@cbe.ab.ca
Calgary Board of Education – Rakhee Dattani Rakhee.dattani@gmail.com
My passion is for children to develop a love of numbers, not fear. Some children develop
numeracy skills naturally, without instruction, others need to be taught, but sometimes those
who need to be taught can soar beyond those who figure it out on their own. I’m interested in
helping those kids to realize their potential, which may require us to “Educate as a community”.
I look forward to hearing from you at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Plosz
jplosz@gmail.com
mental math strategies for addition and
subtraction,
then practise the activities connected to
each concept.
strategies for multiplication and division
build mental images around fractions
activities that require understanding
rather than procedure