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Making Maths Fun with Pratham Books

Spotted an article in ‘Time Out Bengaluru’ which looks at three new programmes that make learning mathematics fun. Our ‘Happy Maths’ series has been mentioned in this article too.
Via Time Out Bengaluru (Time Out Bengaluru ISSUE 23 Friday, May 29, 2009)

A series titled Happy Maths, available in ten regional languages as well, aims to do much the same thing, but targets children aged 8-14 in government schools. Numbers, Shapes and Data, Measurements and Time and Money, follow siblings Sankhya and Ganith as they make discoveries about mathematics. “These math books have more stories than problems – we wanted to do something kids would have fun engaging with,” explained author and former journalist Mala Kumar. The not-for-profit publishers Pratham Books, aim to get all children to read, and to reach kids that don’t have access to books. “Textbooks tend to be very dry, nobody would call them reading material,” she pointed out, adding that the series aren’t a substitute to texts, but a fun way for children to relate to concepts and iron out the impediments they come across in their school syllabus. “Kids are suddenly faced with these huge intimidating figures, and then they have to put commas everywhere – but the majority of schools still teach too much too fast, and unless you linger, you can’t savour learning,” she said.

Though Kumar believes there has been a trend to demystify numbers, she lays the blame for children’s number-phobia squarely on demanding parents and teachers. “Math is as easy or as difficult as any other subject,” she said. “It shouldn’t be threatening, but when we called it Happy Maths even the designer thought it was an oxymoron,” she laughed. “I want kids to enjoy themselves. If you like something you will automatically do better.”

Read the entire article here. There are two small mistakes in the article. The series is available in eight languages (and not ten). The website mentioned at the end of the article is also wrong. Our website is www.prathambooks.org.

The Happy Maths series is a series of 4 books and each book is priced at Rs.25. You can order the series here or visit Crossword Bookstore, 32 ACR Towers, Residency Road (2558-2411).

You can also take a look at the entire books here:
Happy Maths 1 – Numbers
Happy Maths 2 – Shapes and Data
Happy Maths 3 – Measurements
Happy Maths 4 – Time and Money

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2 Comments

  1. visitor June 20, 2009

    Hi,

    Are there any books for kids from govt schools?
    These are too complex for kids just learning to identify numbers and the concept of 20, 30, 40, 50…any books for such basic level?

    Reply
  2. Term Papers June 22, 2009

    Indeed it is very important that we present mathematics education in a fun and exciting manner to young students so that they are not troubled in writing term papers in college.

    Reply

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