Oct. 13, the Food Lion on Mahaley Ave was transformed from a grocery store to a live classroom. Overton students and families were invited to drop by Food Lion between 5 and 7 p.m., and 117 did.
They worked together to apply math skills to real world problems. Each child was given several grade-appropriate activities that led the family through the store. The families were able to finish most of the activities in 30 to 45 minutes. Food Lion provided food for them to eat afterwards.
In one activity, kindergarteners were asked to predict which item weighed more, a potato or an orange. Then they weighed the items to see if their prediction was correct.
Second graders were asked to go to the jello aisle and create a pattern out of pudding and jello.
Fifth graders were sent practically everywhere to make a meal using all food groups for just $20.
The positive feedback from the “Family Math Night” is still rolling in to Overton and Food Lion.
The excitement continued the following day at school. Students talked to each other about their math activities, how good the food was or if their family had won a $50 Food Lion gift card. They also loved showing each other the cool “math rules” trinkets they received when their activity sheet was completed.
The partnership between Food Lion store #1 and Overton Elementary is off to a great start. So don’t be surprised to walk in to the Mahaley Avenue store one day and see 100 kids scurrying around putting their math skills to work.