Rondel really enjoys looking for treasure (thing-finding in the tradition of Pippi Longstocking, where almost anything can be considered treasure), and as I pondered what to do with our morning (unexpectedly open since Aubade had too bad of a cold to handle the hike we’d planned), I thought he might enjoy following a series of clues to find a treasure at the end.
Because there is always some way to incorporate math, reading, and handwriting into life’s activities (please take that with some humor!), I decided that each clue would be a numerical cipher but that the numbers in the encoded message would have to be determined by calculating a series of math problems. I made short messages like “under the desk” and “lego box”, converted them to series of numbers using a key, and then came up with arithmetic problems at Rondel’s level. He started out with the key and the first clue, which led him to the second clue, then to the third, and all the way to the treasure after six clues in total (probably about 50 math problems all together, which is a lot more than he’d normally do otherwise!). In addition to the math, he got a lot of handwriting practice in from writing down the numerical answer to each problem as well as the corresponding letter value from the cipher, and then even got to do a bit of reading to put all those letters together for each clue.
Above are two examples of keys and clues – the orange set was for Limerick and the red set was for Rondel. Changing the key values to larger numbers would let you create even more difficult math problems without needing to alter the method of encryption. Limerick kept commenting on how the problems corresponding to the letter “A” – where the answer was 1 – were too easy, and a different key value would have eliminated that issue.
Rondel did a whole treasure hunt, despite the difficulty of focusing with two younger siblings running around at high volume and also being very interested in everything he was doing and not giving him any quiet or space! I was really impressed with his determination and motivation, because nothing about this was easy for him but he didn’t give up.
Limerick wasn’t interested at first, because he isn’t all that into finding treasure, but he like the idea of following a path of math clues so I made a set for him later and he finished his as well! He does not like to write or draw often so pulling him into an activity where he writes this much is a rare and pleasant thing (I think he couldn’t resist the math).
One thing I did notice from the activity was that both boys have legibility issues, and I’m going to have to find a way to work with them on pen grip and letter formation that hopefully doesn’t result in daily fights. Rondel’s letters in particular are like people, each with their own personality and opinions, and they dance around the page and swing by their toes and jump on each other’s heads and sometimes sword fight – and they are highly offended by the idea that they should arrange themselves in a neat orderly line! So if you have any ideas or suggestions I would love to hear them.
little thoughts 
This is delightful! And those are really challenging math problems! Plus, the activity of decoding a cipher is really challenging and a great skill!
I have always had legibility issues, and not because of motor control, but because as a child, I felt handwriting should be a form of self-expression, more than a form of communication. When I grew older, I began to realize the value of writing clearly so others could read what I wrote. Maybe projects that center around handwriting to communicate might help?
Limerick loves numbers – they’ve been his favorite thing since he was one year old – and he actually finished his challenge really quickly even though I tried to make it hard for him. I think he’s ready for more complicated fractions and division now…
Using handwriting for communication is a great idea! Thanks for that launch point!
Oh, they could write transactional things, like shopping lists! I was just looking at the shopping list I wrote and thinking there’s no way my boyfriend will know this says ”eggs”!
That’s a good idea too! Today Rondel decided he would draw a series of pictures for specific people that would tell a story, and he would write captions for the pictures to narrate the story. I’m not sure if he’ll stick with it, but he wrote a lot of lower-case letters and kept them all in line! And he still told silly stories about the letters’ antics, which is a happy thing 🙂
Oh lovely!