Students and families from Dr. Rose Wilder Elementary School stepped out of the classroom and into the aisles of Piggly Wiggly on Jan. 27 for an interactive Math Literacy Night designed to show how math connects to everyday life.
The family engagement event, traditionally held on campus, was moved this year to the Manning grocery store to give students hands-on, real-world learning opportunities while strengthening connections between home and school.
Assistant Principal Dr. Sharon Mellette said the idea came from a desire to make math more meaningful and accessible for students and parents.
“Every year we normally have our Math Literacy Night at school, but this year I decided to see if I could partner with the grocery store and allow our students to come in and actually have that hands-on experience,” Mellette said. “Oftentimes, a lot of our students don’t get a chance to go to the grocery store and see how the store is made up and the different parts of the store.”
Approximately 20 families participated in the event, which featured grade-level activities aligned with classroom instruction for kindergarten through fifth grade students. Each teacher created tasks tailored to what their students were currently learning, ranging from number recognition and word identification to budgeting and fractions.
Among the activities was a scavenger hunt that required students to locate items throughout the store based on specific criteria. Some younger students searched for items that cost less than or more than a certain dollar amount or identified products with three-letter words on their packaging.
Older students tackled more complex challenges, including creating meal plans while staying within a set budget. In one activity, students were tasked with planning a spaghetti dinner with a $35 spending limit, forcing them to compare prices, evaluate brand options and make decisions about saving or spending leftover funds.
“They had to decide, ‘Am I going to buy the name brand or the store brand?’ because they didn’t want to go over their budget,” Mellette said. “If there was money left over, then they could decide whether they wanted to buy something else or save their money.”
Mellette said hosting the event in a grocery store allowed students and parents to recognize how often math skills are used in daily life. Activities focused on real-world concepts such as adding and subtracting prices, comparing unit costs, estimating totals, reading labels and managing spending limits.
“It shows students that math isn’t just for classrooms, tests or homework,” Mellette said. “It’s for managing money, making wise choices and learning independence.”
The event also aimed to reduce math anxiety and empower parents who may feel unsure about helping their children with modern math instruction. Teachers provided families with take-home materials, including game cards, activity sheets and strategy guides to support learning at home.
“Homework can be anything,” Mellette said. “Just taking your child along with you and letting them help figure out how to plan a meal within a budget helps increase their knowledge and gets them thinking about math in a different way.”
Mellette noted that many students today rarely handle cash, often using debit cards or online ordering, making the real-world connection even more valuable. She said future events may incorporate opportunities for students to practice using actual currency and making purchases.
Teachers and staff responded positively to the off-campus concept, with many expressing excitement about expanding the program.
“They were excited because we never thought about taking it off campus and actually going to the grocery store,” Mellette said. “Once we broke it down, they realized how beneficial it could be.”
Mellette, who is in her second year as assistant principal of instruction at the school and her 30th year in education, said she hopes to expand the program in the future by offering multiple math literacy events throughout the school year to increase participation.
Beyond academic goals, she said the event successfully strengthened family engagement and boosted student confidence.
“The parents got to work with the children, not watching from the sidelines,” Mellette said. “I saw the confidence increase in our kids and their anxiety about math decrease. It strengthened that parent-child relationship when it comes to schoolwork.”
School leaders say the success of the event reinforces the importance of showing students that math is not just something learned in a classroom, but a skill used daily in real-world decision-making.
