Math fun for kids resumes in September

After a year's absence, the for-fun math brain-teasers are coming back. There's a new author and a new name, "Math Mania."

But, the object is still the same. That's to put some fun into solving math questions. And, to add to the fun, we'll again be offering prizes to winners of the monthly competition.

The new "Math Mania" feature will start on Young Saint Louis.com in the September, 2005, edition. That goes on-line on Thursday, Sept. 1.

Amy Ruzicka

The author of "Math Mania" is Amy Ruzicka. She's a math teacher at St. Gabriel 's School in South St. Louis.

"Math Mania" will have some different elements from our last math feature. The individual math puzzlers will return. But, Ms. Ruzicka also wants to mix in fun contests linking math with writing and also math with cartoon drawing.

She said, "The creative writing and comic contests will allow students to explore the creative side of math. At last, kids will have their chance to poke fun at math, while showcasing their awesome abilities to think way, way outside the box!"

Regardless of the type of contest, YSL.com will have prizes for the winners. As with the previous math competition, the winners will receive gift certificates from Borders book stores.

Here's Ms. Ruzicka's description of the three types of math exercises:

Complete contest rules will be outlined with each new contest.

Ms. Ruzicka said her philosophy of math teaching is to help kids "learn to think" and "see the practical applications of mathematics in their daily lives."

And, if possible, she likes to make math fun for kids. Students are more likely to understand a subject when they are having a good time with it, she said.

"To me, math is a journey that my students and I are traveling together. They do much of their discovering on their own; I just provide the compass," she said.

Ms. Ruzicka will be entering her 5th year of teaching at St. Gabriel's. She now teaches math to 7th and 8th graders. In 2003, she received an "outstanding beginning teacher award" from the Missouri Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.

In 2004, she was awarded the St. Louis Science Center's Loeb Prize for excellence in teaching math. She started St. Gabriel's first math club in the 2002-2003 school year. It had grown to 60 members by 2004-2005.

Mr. Wayne Hesse of Green Park Lutheran School authored the YSL.com Mr. Math Puzzler contest for three years. But, at the start of the 2004-2005 school year, he was forced to give up that feature when his school added assistant principal duties to his math teaching assignment.

YSL.com is glad to be able to offer math puzzles again with the start of the 2005-2006 school year. Watch for the new feature in next month's edition that goes on-line September 1. Be sure to enter and compete for one of the book certificate prizes.