AIMS Distributes Take-home Learning Kits in Local Partnership

With lines blurring between school and home learning, the current pandemic has challenged parents and caregivers to take on new roles in supporting their children’s learning. The transition to virtual teaching has also tested educators’ ability to adapt their pedagogical strategies independent from a classroom setting stocked with shared supplies.

Recognizing the acceleration of educational inequities, the AIMS Center launched the AIMS at Home initiative in Fall 2020 by designing and distributing hands-on take-home learning kits to students and their families in Southeast Fresno.

Pictured are the Curious Cubes kits being assembled in the AIMS Conference Center. These were the first kit sets shared with Ayer Elementary School in August 2020.

A Collaborative Effort

In collaboration with Ayer Elementary School, a total of over 3,100 kits will be distributed to children and their families in grades K-2 by the end of the 2020-21 school year. Kits are rotated on a biweekly basis using a flexible check-out system and undergo a two-week sterilization period to ensure the health and safety of all recipients.

The primary goal of AIMS at Home is to strengthen home and school partnerships by encouraging parents and caregivers to view themselves as teachers of their own children. These kits are also designed to playfully engage children in learning math while being simple enough for parents to use at home. Aileen Rizo, Associate Director of PK-12 at AIMS, intended the kits to foster home-school connections: “The take-home kits are an intentional way to reach out to parents and other adult caregivers with support in the home learning environment that, in light of COVID-19, is more important than ever."

KIT CREATION AND INTERACTION

Each of the eight themed kits includes a booklet with hands-on activities and complementary manipulatives and materials that allow students to gain a sense of meaning and application in relation to the common core curriculum. Materials were selected with the purposeful intent of being simple, inexpensive, and interchangeable to show that learning arises from what children do with the materials–relying on their natural curiosity and creativity–and not necessarily the materials alone.

These grab-and-go kits have become an integral part of regular class instruction by making math tools easily accessible for children at home. When children are given the option to use the materials to work on problems, many tend to do so and find it helpful in making sense of their work.

“I have noticed that my daughter enjoys doing math even more and she is writing equations on her own now.”

-Parent of Kindergarten Student

Positive Parent Feedback

The pilot program has proven to be a success as a fun, tangible way for children to learn math through play. According to a recent parent survey, 100% of respondents’ children have enjoyed playing with the kits. Parents have observed positive changes in their children’s perception of math, with many noting an increase in children’s motivation and attention. The survey also indicates nearly 93% of children are spending more time interacting with their AIMS at Home kits than they previously engaged in any type of math at home.

While distance learning has presented many challenges to teachers and families, it has also offered an opportunity for children to expand their horizons in exploring math in their everyday environment and experiences. Through this partnership, we’ve been privileged to work with dedicated educators in innovating ways to engage children and families through playful experiences at home.