What's after numberblocks

November 28, 2022 1:15 PM

My 5 year old son learned math from NumberBlocks. Like in two weeks over last winter break, he went from knowing how to count to adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, squaring, cubing, negative numbers. etc. etc. In Montessori he built up this skills He LOVES numberblocks. But he's definitely ready to add new math concepts like exponents (which he's already doing) and fractions and more thinking about negative numbers. And I'm ready to not hear the NumberBlocks theme ever again. Is there a show like numberblocks (in that it really gets at understanding concepts) for more advanced math? Not interested in apps or ads.

I should note that we are 95% screen free. In my dream world he's 100% screen free. We don't have a tv or a tablet. He watches some Numberblocks (I really try to limit it) and some Christmas movies (ditto). So I'm ambivalent even about Numberblocks, but he started watching it in school before I moved him into a Montessori school and now he loves it and I can't take away...unless I replace it...

He has a solid understanding of all the basic math operations and can do multi-digit math in his head and also does all the Montessori math things that get at making sure he deeply understands the underlying concepts and the decimal system and all that. He LOVES this stuff. When he's melting down, I can calm him by turning it into a math problem ("Oh, you're not going to brush your teeth again until you're a grown up? Wow, how many teethbrushings will you miss in all that time?") This isn't me pushing him, it's me tired of NumberBlocks and knowing that if I give him something more advanced he will jump on it.

We have netflix and Amazon Prime in Canada. If you know the perfect show and it's not on Netflix or Prime, I might try to find a way to buy it, I suppose.

posted by If only I had a penguin... to Media & Arts (15 answers total)

I don't suppose they still make those paper math workbooks for kids? I remember enjoying them at his age, and they're quiet and screen-free. A multi-color pen makes things even more fun.

(Perhaps the world is a different place now, but my TV-free childhood meant that in college I frequently had to explain that I was raised by wolves.)
posted by LadyOscar at 2:01 PM on November 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

BeastAcademy is excellent. I think the online program is better, but there are books if you prefer. If you're willing to consider apps, take a look at DragonBox. The algebra-related apps require manipulation that really can't be duplicated on paper.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 2:22 PM on November 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

There are some good suggestions here: Mathematical games interesting to both you and a 5+-year-old child.

Turing Tumble is a physical puzzle game that teaches binary numbers and boolean logic.

There are some good channels on YouTube: Numberphile and Stand-up Maths are my favorites. But YouTube is much more aggressive than Netflix about showing "suggested videos" that you will want a plan to avoid. (I use youtube-dl to download specific videos to play offline.)

I also second Beast Academy and DragonBox if you are willing to use some apps. DragonBox Numbers is basically interactive NumberBlocks.
posted by Phssthpok at 2:36 PM on November 28, 2022

Response by poster: To clarify: This is less about "how can he learn more math" and more about "how can he watch something else because I'm tired of Numberblocks and what else is out there that would be acceptable to both of us (him: loves math and is quite good at it; me: kind of hates screens but willing to tolerate if not too commercialized).
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:45 PM on November 28, 2022

MathAntics is free on YouTube; the $10/year subscription service offers exercises and worksheets to accompany video content.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:13 PM on November 28, 2022

If it's just about different content, they may not be more advanced but maybe Peg + Cat, Monster Math, Odd Squad. All PBS I think. The Prime Radicals is a Canadian math show for older kids, but it doesn't look like it's free to stream.

There's a decent amount of Mathnet on Youtube. (Basically a math version of Stan Freeberg's Dragnet shtick.)

You could also try Megamaths. Tables. It might help on the sanity front though.

Maybe branch out into science shows?

Or How It's Made is like an endless feed of that one Mr. Rogers episode with the crayon factory.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:44 PM on November 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

OK, I hear you. You don't want Numberblocks and you don't want too much screen time.

But I at least have to make you aware of this fantastically energetic math teacher on YouTube Eddie Woo. Picture this incredibly upbeat and friendly teacher totally excited about math. It sounds like your kid would love to see him, and he teaches in a classroom with students present, so it's not like a situation comedy or a cartoon. And you say he likes being challenged. That's what this teacher excels at. What is 0 to the power of 0? Does your son realize that every number can be multiplied by 1 any number of times? So 1 is the hidden factor of every number.

I don't suppose your son knows any geometry yet, but one of my favorite videos was when Eddie asked why this triangle violated one of the triangle rules, and one of the students said "because it's a quadrilateral!" It had just been drawn in a sneaky way to make it look almost like a triangle.

But as the parent you have the final say. Just throwing this out there for what it's worth.
posted by forthright at 5:08 PM on November 28, 2022

Can he read?

Letters and Numbers (australian) is a ridiculously pleasant games show with a maths puzzle and an anagram. It's aimed at adults, but he might like it. There's also the UK show Countdown that it's based on, which is on Roku, according to google. You might be able to get onto the rest of Letters and Numbers SBS replays with a VPN.
posted by kjs4 at 5:29 PM on November 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Also, he might like logic/maths puzzles. I loved this type as a kid, but they do require decent reading skills. Sudoku is fairly easy to pick up, and there's also Kakuro, Kenken and "Cross Maths Puzzles", all of which are available on apps or in puzzle books.
posted by kjs4 at 5:39 PM on November 28, 2022

Best answer: Odd squad!!
posted by leslievictoria at 5:50 PM on November 28, 2022 [3 favorites]

N-thing the PBS shows already mentioned - Odd Squad, Peg+Cat, and also Cyber Chase (which is kind of dated but my daughter enjoys anyway). Curious George isn’t strictly math-y but a lot of the plots are vaguely STEM-y (logic, simple machines, etc). There are some episodes of each available on the PBS Kids Video app. They change up the selection once in a while. Some of them are also available on Amazon Prime.

If you want to venture past math themes and just go for somewhat educational and not annoying to adults (or to me, anyway), other PBS shows my kid has enjoyed over the years are Wild Kratts, Arthur, Molly of Denali, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, and Martha Speaks.
posted by Kriesa at 6:28 PM on November 28, 2022

Is he reading already? If not, AlphaBlocks might be worth a try. It starts slow with the alphabet but quickly builds to 3 letter words in an episode or two (that's where we're at now, I'm sure it builds to bigger words in a few more episodes).
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 7:28 PM on November 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, all! Odd Squad looks likely to be a good fit.

He reads quite well (honestly, I can't figure out how he can read some words I've seen him read because they're not really sound-outable) and they also had him watching Alphablocks at school before I changed his school and he liked it, but they don't have alphablocks on Netflix and I really don't want to go anywhere near the YouTube cesspool.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:09 PM on November 28, 2022

This is a little bit of a long shot, but I believe that mathematician Steven Strogatz takes an interest in mathematically precocious kids, and I wonder whether his website might have something to offer. Or perhaps if you tweet (I know, I know) his Twitter account might be of use for pointers. I dimly remember watching a video of him having a mathematical conversation with a seven-year-old who already knew more math than I do, and it was the most endearing thing I have ever seen, but I don't have the link anymore.

(I know that your question is less a "how can I stuff all the math in my child" question and more of a "how can I keep my child engaged" question, but from your description, keeping your child engaged as he grows up may well look a lot like giving him all the math!)
posted by eirias at 6:28 AM on November 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

Hah, I'm glad you mentioned Steven Strogatz. I attended a webinar hosted by him through my Museum of Math membership. That is what I would like to suggest - a Museum of Math membership or at least scrolling through their events and choosing events for your child. If you are in-person in NYC, MoMath is a great museum for the mathematically inclined child. If not, their online events and courses are great too.

My son loved Numberblocks which he watched from 2-3. He is now 4 and refuses to watch them anymore which sucks. His nanny introduced him to other screen time which totally killed it. I'm upset but you can't put the cat back in the box. However, he does love the Museum of Math!
posted by ichimunki at 8:37 AM on November 30, 2022