Ask HN: Any math-focused gift recommendations for kids? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Any math-focused gift recommendations for kids?

9 pointsjaphyr9 comments

My son is 8 years old, and loves math. I want to get him some books, toys, tools, or models that let him explore fun aspects of math that he's not typically exposed to in school.

When I search online, it's hard to tell what's mathematically sound and what's just popular because it looks nice.

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We got him the Turing Tumble [0] last year, and he loved it. He'll take years to work through all the challenges. I found The Boy Who Loved Math [1] years ago, and now he reads that on his own.

[0] - https://www.turingtumble.com

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Loved-Math-Improbable/dp/1596...

Turing Tumble is really neat. We have a copy at work. Not a lot of replay value, but there are hours of play in it.

Books:

The Number Devil

Alice in Quantumland

If you can tolerate a little off color humor, any of the "Cartoon guides..." By Larry Gonick are excellent for a variety of subjects.

(If you can find old Star Wars themed software by Lucas Learning that still works, they did terrific things. Iirc, Droidworks basically taught set theory, though by example. It provided no explanation and I had to provide the explanation of set theory to my sons. But I assume it's all out of print now.)

I have a 3yo and a 6yo. I want to cultivate there creativity and critical thinking skills in a way that relates to “math” but I’m not really concerned about teaching arithmetic. They get that enough in school. I also want to instill the idea that though getting “things” are nice, there is value other than just money.

Here’s one thing I’ve been doing/discovered that appears successful so far:

For years I was part of a maker space and I would bring my kid with me a “make” presents on the laser cutter. These were things I designed (like a press fit box) that they helped pick out what to etch on the cover. They would then help my put the material on the machine and push the button. Their friends (and friends parents) loved these gifts.

2 years ago, we moved to a new house and we bought a cnc router for the basement. It is nominally a tool for my side project making wordclocks. Though I’ve made a few clocks, we’ve mostly been making birthday/Christmas/Hanukkah gifts for their friends and cousins. The kids help me with the general concept, drawing ideas on paper, I make a cad design and program the machine. Then they help me “set up” the machine and push the button. Lastly they help me sand the final parts. One design we’ve made a TON of is a custom engraved magic marker holder based on their original design concept. Some of these ideas have even turned into a side, side project and we sell them on Etsy.

We’re not selling that many units, but I am getting a huge amount of satisfaction as a parent and the kids are having fun making things. Little do they realize that they are learning to design and fabricate. More importantly (I think) they are learning that if they have an idea, they have the power to implement it (albeit with a lot of help now, but that’s not the point). I like the idea of sneaking in STEM, creativity and confidence without the kids even noticing!

So if YOU are interested in making things, I suggest getting a cnc router, 3D printer, or other digital fab tool for YOUR hobby, but get your kids involved in the process.

———-

For those curious about the projects I mentioned:

Wordclock: http://www.finewordclocks.com

Marker Holder: https://www.etsy.com/listing/693459373/personalized-childs-m...

What about a spirograph, or folding paper and a book about origami?

He got into origami a few years ago, and has a bunch of books and supplies that he keeps going back to.

i found the dragonbox suite of apps on ios to be good at reward / learning

Buy him a pentagoo

My recommendation:

https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Reversed-Himself/dp/014038965...

Pair it up with 4 D toys on ios: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/4d-toys/id1143791442

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