It might not seem like math and storytelling add up, but Math Storytelling Day can be a fun and educational time. On September 25, we are all encouraged to think of a story that involves some form of math. It helps train our brains, results in coming up with something fun and rewarding, and ends up being a fun activity with our children.

What Is Math Storytelling Day?

The history behind the day is not as old as math itself (you would have to go back to the ancient Sumerians in 3000 BC and beyond to trace that), but it is a more recent development from 2009. It was created by a community called Natural Math.

In response to a generic email about celebrating birthdays by marketer Seth Godin, Dr. Maria Droujkova thought it would be good to get others to think big and beyond themselves on their birthdays from now on. She took her own advice and thus declared that Math Storytelling Day should be celebrated on her birthday, which falls on September 25th.

The first person to respond was Sue VanHattum, who incidentally celebrates her birthday on the same day. So, since 2009, they have encouraged others to tell math stories wherever they can and make math fun on this day in particular.

Since most kids enjoy playing games, and math isn’t always the easiest skill to grasp, combining the two is an excellent idea. Some kids learn better as part of a group, so if this is your experience, why not see if the school is doing anything to mark the day or can help with resources?

How To Observe Math Storytelling Day?

The simplest way to observe is to get involved. The easiest method is by counting characters. This is more suitable for younger children, but adding a new character to the story will help them count to ten and then twenty.

Otherwise, look for resources online on how to develop stories using math. Why not listen to other people’s math stories? The easiest way to find them is by searching online or using social media. This can mean following the hashtag #MathStorytellingDay for further inspiration.

Other ideas include making posters and collages with math-related characters and turning them into a story that can be read almost like a presentation. Why not turn the story into an actual book? Simple drawings are all that is needed to make it fun for children.

Some math stories just involve solving puzzles to get to the next page; these can be fun for children to solve and will help develop their math skills.