Excerpts from student journals:

During the BiMathlon at the Sonoma County Office of Education, 5th and 4th graders got to work with math. One of the activities we got to do on the computer was a series of math games called Virtual Manipulatives. There were games for different age groups for us to play. These games had to do with algebra, geometry, problem solving, and other math subjects. We got to work with measurement including angles, pounds, ounces, inches, yards, and more. Each game had its own measurement. There were different levels for the games. Once we got past one level, we could go to the next. It was very fun to do and we had a good time.
One of the games we got to do was called Ladybug Mazes. We had to steer a ladybug through a maze to get to a blue dot. We would make our own path using angles and arrows. Another game we got to play on the computer was called Fill and Pour. In this game we had two cylinders that could hold a certain amount of ounces of a liquid. We had to find a way to use these cylinders to have one of the containers hold a target amount. There were many more games to play, and they were great thinking games.
Meghan

At the BiMathlon, we played on virtual manipulatives on the computer by Googling virtual manipulative and clicking on “I’m feeling lucky!” Virtual manipulatives are math tools, activities, and games that help people learn math. It has many cool games! There are more games than I can count! One is about programming, lots have to do with logic, more than one activity figuring out time, and many more! (We only did a small section of this website!) I can’t explain all of it, but we can go to this site from any computer!
Scott

Today in the BiMathlon we went to a website called Virtual Manipulatives. Virtual Manipulatives is a site to practice our math skills in games. One game is called The Ladybug Maze. We had to type in the directions for the ladybug. When we press “play” the ladybug will follow the directions. If we put in the wrong directions the ladybug wouldn’t make it through the maze.
Another game is called Fill and Pour. We had a goal of a certain number of ounces. The screen shows two cups that hold different amounts of ounces. We would fill one cup and pour it into a different cup. We could keep doing that until we reached our goal. There are many different games to play. We only have to go to Google virtual manipulatives and “I’m Feeling Lucky” to get to the website.
Brittni

There was a BiMathlon at the Sonoma County Office of Education today. Some fourth and fifth graders in G.A.T.E. got to do some certain math activities there. G.A.T.E. is this special program for kids who are advanced at things. For instance, math is something that I am good at. It’s very fun and excellent, so most kids love it and are very good at it. The Virtual Manipulative activities at the BiMathlon were very interesting. Virtual Manipulatives is a site on the internet. Some activities used algebra, measurement and geometry, data and statistics, and number sense!!! All of the activities were very fun. My favorite was The Ladybug Mazes. I loved it because I had to steer the ladybug through the maze on the correct path. I had to “program” the ladybug. If I didn’t program the right path, I could always “rewind” and correct my mistake(s). Another activity related to that was Hide The Ladybug. I had to try to steer the ladybug behind the leaf so it could sleep! HA HA!!!
Melody