It’s in the Air BnB square footage; it provides intel on dining room table decisions and is center-stage in our garden boxes. It impacts our bills, space in our closets, and TVs!

It’s the mathematical concept finding Area.

Finding area is deceptively straightforward. “Multiply the base times the height” and Voila’! Is it that easy for our kids? Not quite.

Questions like: “Do I add? Do I multiply all four sides?” muddle the equation. There was even a moment, three or four years ago, when I asked a young man to tell me about the Area, the response was “I need to Molti-Crate.” My bright, young student invented an operation! Multi-crate!

But I don’t think we need too many anecdotes to know that finding the space covered by a 2-dimensional object does come with its obstacles!

Yet, finding area infuses itself in our daily lives. The concept is all over the place!
Specifically in the mundane category of Magic Carpets. Observe Aladdin and Jasmine’s Magic Carpet.

A whole new world!

What was the area of that rug? If the area was too small, then no room for Jasmine. Sadness.

If the area was too big, maybe Aladdin and Jasmine would not be squished in the middle together? Not good for romance!

Even in Disney, Area matters.

Disney + Math = My Favorite

In this video, math specialist Matthew takes the gentle, patient, and multisensory approach to unpacking what  finding Area is, distilling it to “space covered.” C’mon! Take a magic CARPET ride to the world of the Area!

Download this free printable, and let your student follow along as Matthew guides with blocks, pictures, and user-friendly facts to give your kids the tools they need for their future AirBnB rentals, dining rooms, and gardens!

MFM Authors