OK - I should write something on the long promised subject
How I organized a school math club
1.Having a child that is gifted mathematically is a bonus. In my case it was the driving force.
2.DH is the mathy one, so he became a math club instructor by default. I look after the logistics.
3.School was supportive but they could offer no money, so DH approached his company and asked for a sponsorship. They agreed - pay for AMC and Math Olympiad fees/books. Comes to about $500 a year. School now covers the cost of a State Math Contest - $15 per student x 15 students.
4. First year we wanted to have as many kids as possible, so all were welcome. Bad idea! We got a lot of kids that needed remedial math, not enrichment. Now we invite only students reccommended by a math teacher. The pace of instruction is fast and geared towards competitions.
4. Our first year we were meeting after school. A lot of kids that were interested could not attend due to other after school activities. For the past two years we have been meeting at 7 A.M. , before school. School offers free breakfast to kids attending the math club.
5. There are two levels of instruction : 4-6 which covers mostly Math Olympiad type of problems and 7-9 which concentrates on AMC 8, AMC 10 and State Contest. We now have two instructors, so the groups meet on the same day. I substitute if needed.
6. I proctor most of the tests. If impossible, like in the case of AMC, I ask one of the nice office ladies to proctor with me.
7. We participate in Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools. 35 kids from grades 4-6, 35 from 7-8. We have seen a HUGE improvement in the kids that have been writing the olympiad since 4th grade. HUGE.
8. Our 7-9 graders (with an occasional 6th grader) participate in AMC 8 and AMC 10.
9. All of the tests are given during school hours. Not very convenient for the teachers (I have seen all sort of looks), but best for the kids. Participation would be much lower if the tests were offered before or after school. There is also a frequent logistics problem - no room to administer the test. This has been my constant nightmare. I will have to do something
about it this school year.
10. For the materials we use books offered by Math Olympiad and AMC as well as AoPS .
11. Promotion - we have a table set up with all the info as well as some easy questions (solve a problem - get a bubble gum)during school barbecues and festivals. Passing info through the teachers does not work very well - we figured that we have to get directly to the parents. Placing second in the State Contest did put us on a radar of some parents. It also gave us $60 we can use towards books.
12. There is a pizza party twice a year. Last math club we showed a movie Hard Problems. At the beginning of the year we plan to have the kids watch Mathcounts finals. This is our pep talk.
Here is an article from AoPS site, that I find very useful
http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/AoPS_R_A_MATHCOUNTS.phpSorry it took me forever to respond. Please let me know if you have any questions.
