The core of Bedtime Math is pretty simple: a free daily math problem, geared to one of three levels of difficulty: "wee ones" (prekindergarten), "little kids" (kindergarten to second grade or so) and "big kids" (second grade and up). The subjects tend to be ones that especially appeal to children--candy, for example. A recent wee-ones calculation: "M&M's last 13 months, but Life Savers last only 9 months, despite their name. How many months will those M&M's outlast the Life Savers?" States, weather and arcane holidays like International Pancake Day also play starring roles, as do animals; a recent problem asked kids to calculate how far a skunk can spray its scent.
Overdeck is hoping that candy and other child-friendly puzzles can be a remedy for math anxiety. Research shows that early math skills are a better predictor of academic success than reading ability. But the U.S. is in a numbers slump: America's students rank 25th out of 34 industrialized countries in math. Everyone from the Girl Scouts to Sesame Street has launched efforts to reverse the trend. "U.S. children are not performing up to the level one would expect," says Sian Beilock, author of Choke, about performance anxiety. Part of the problem might be cultural. "You never hear people walking around bragging that they can't read," she says, "but you hear people all the time saying 'I don't do numbers.'" Beilock, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago, will soon lead a study of the program's impact on two groups of preschool- and kindergarten-age children.
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