Lego, Math and Real-Life Problem Solving

Twitter has been abuzz  (atweet?) lately with some amazing math lessons, using real costs for Lego.

Mr. Orr is a Geek.com  wrote an incredible blog post about whether or not Lego-pricing is gender-biased.  Check it out!

Anyhow, I digress, and so on to my story...

The other morning, while drinking my coffee at home, I received a sale notice in my inbox from a toy store that I frequent often: Mastermind Toys.  Since shopping, and my kids, are two things that I love dearly (ok, my children come out WAY ahead of shopping), I went in for a little look.

They are ages 6 and 8, and they are into the "Lego-years" now, so one of my plans is to build them a Lego wall at our camp, for those rainy, summer days.  I have been stalking Lego baseplates, and noting they are very expensive, so I always take a look whenever I am online.

Sand Baseplate

Grey Baseplate

The conversation that ensued was likely the most lively mental math discussion we ever had in class. Students were determined to give me advice on the better deal.

No, it wasn't a typical "number strings" mental math lesson. Did it get the students thinking? Were they using mental math skills? Yes to both.

Do you know which is the better deal?
(And, incidentally, do you know of a better price for Lego Baseplates within Canada???? I really am looking for some.)