Did you know that math and chess educator, Colin Shober, was a high school state champion in wrestling? Although he’ll be inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame next year, his road to success was not without some bumps.

In basketball, transition means the change from defense to offense or vice versa. In life, we’re constantly faced with periods of transition. A prepared team, or student, can use change to play great defense or charge ahead and score a basket.

This is the time of year when many families enjoy playing games as part of their traditions. Some of the best family-friendly games involve words and language (we’re looking at you, Scrabble and Bananagrams!). We think it’s equally as important and fun to play games that let you flex your math muscles, so we’re highlighting two of our favorites: Sudoku and KenKen.

Just as athletes must train to be at their fittest, stretching and flexing our students’ math muscles is key to helping them gain fluency and understanding.

While Earth Day festivities have come and gone, we truly believe every day is Earth Day! It’s up to us to do our part to be mindful citizens and caretakers of our world.