This year, we’re celebrating play at the library! Everyone knows how beneficial play is for kids, but did you know that it is equally important for adults? It can be a wonderful stress reliever, boosts creativity, alleviates boredom, and may even lower your blood pressure. To that end, every month in 2024, we’re highlighting a different form of play. Each month we’ll have a bingo-style fun card. If you complete all the activities for a blackout on your card, you’ll receive a special prize. And if you complete all 12 fun cards, you’ll be eligible to win a grand prize and be crowned our annual play champion!
In honor of Pi Day, March is all about having fun with numbers! Playing numbers games can improve your math skills, of course, but specifically what they build are problem-solving and reasoning skills, as well as numeracy (literacy with numbers). Numeracy encompasses everything from recognizing numbers to basic counting to understanding numbers’ relationships to each other.
Did you know sudoku puzzles have a long history? They first skyrocketed to fame back in 2004–as someone who was super into them then, that bit of trivia makes me feel old–but early variations were being published in French newspapers as far back as the late 1800s. That trend fizzled out during WWI, but modern sudokus emerged as niche puzzles in the 1970s and 1980s.
Did you know nerdle is like Wordle but for math?It’s only been around for 2 years, which makes me feel less old than learning the age of sudoku.
Did you know Pi Day was created by an employee of the Exploratorium, a San Francisco science museum, in 1988? It has now become a global celebration of math, pi, and pie.
Did you know paint by number was created in the 1950s by the Palmer Paint Company to sell more paint? The concept was highly controversial at the time, with some feeling it cheapened the work of artists, but they quickly became popular and remain so to this day. It opened up the world of recreational painting to many people. The idea was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s habit of numbering parts of canvasses to teach his apprentices how to paint.
Did you know counting during hopscotch or playing the card game war both count as numbers games?
Here’s your fun card for March! It should add up to lots of fun. 🙂
What’s your favorite numbers game? Which activity on the fun card piques your interest the most? What’s your favorite way to play? Tell us in the comments!
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