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More Than Math: The Power of Family Math Game Night
By MIND Education
Across the country, communities are coming together for an experience that blends learning, laughter, and connection: Family Math Game Nights. Through Mind on Math, schools and families partner to create welcoming spaces where math becomes something to enjoy together, not something to fear.
A Different Kind of Math Night
This is not your typical family math night. At Phillips 66 Math Game Nights, parents are just as engaged as their kids. The number of cell phones out at any given moment? Essentially zero.
Families arrive, share a meal, and begin building community—thinking, laughing, and connecting from the start.
Seeing families come together to experience math in a way that is engaging, collaborative, and joyful reinforces why this partnership matters. These moments are helping build confidence in students and creating lasting connections between schools and families.
Courtney Meadows, Sr. Manager, Social Impact Phillips 66
Stories, Games, and Culture
Historically grounded stories from around the world introduce games from different cultures. These stories unlock gameplay by connecting math to real-world experiences, making the mechanics intuitive and meaningful.
The game, the story, and the mathematics become one—creating learning experiences that go far beyond rote practice or repetitive worksheets. By rooting math in culture and human experience, both engagement and understanding deepen.
Learning Side by Side
Parents, students, teachers, and school staff sit side by side, laughing, learning, and cheering one another on as they solve problems together.
These shared moments reframe math as approachable, playful, and deeply human, while strengthening relationships across the school community.
Adults and students alike engage in problem-solving, explain their thinking, and discover that everyone has something to contribute. Math becomes a common language that invites curiosity, collaboration, and confidence.
Families leave with new ways to talk about math at home and a deeper understanding of how learning can be joyful and accessible.
Joyful Math in Action
The energy in the room is always contagious. Families collaborate on strategies, celebrate small victories, and laugh through challenges.
Students beam with pride as they share their ideas, while parents gain practical tools and confidence to support math learning beyond the classroom. Teachers and school staff see their school community connect in ways that extend well past the school day.
Seeing our families learning and laughing together at ST Math Game Night was incredible. When students can take games home and continue learning with their families — in both English and Spanish — it turns math into something joyful and meaningful for everyone. I LOVED every moment of the evening and having Jiji present was icing on the cake!
Staci Bankston Principal, Wilson Elementary School Bartlesville Public Schools
More Than an Event
Family Math Game Nights are more than just events. They are moments of meaningful community engagement that make us feel like the best versions of ourselves while deepening learning.
By creating spaces where families can experience math together in positive ways, these nights help build strong relationships and positive math identities for students and adults alike. Each gathering reinforces a powerful truth at the heart of Mind on Math: when families and schools come together around learning, everyone benefits.
Seeing students enjoy math games alongside their families is truly rewarding. These moments of laughter, learning, and connection are what make Family Math Game Nights so special.
