STEM NG2

📚💚 THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

Our STEM NG² Virtual Book Club has a new date, and we’d love for your student to join us!

📅 Sunday, October 4, 2026
📖 Our featured book: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
💻 Virtual
💰 FREE to join!

There’s still time to grab your copy of the book and join the club!

Our Virtual Book Club is all about encouraging students to read, think, discuss, and connect with other young readers in a fun and welcoming environment. 📚✨

And if your child isn’t naturally excited about reading, that’s okay too! Sometimes having a group to read and share with can make the experience much more enjoyable.

👨🏾‍👩🏾‍👧🏾 Parents, we’re only a few days away!

👉🏾 Grab the book.
👉🏾 Get your student registered.
👉🏾 Join us virtually this Sunday!

💚 It’s FREE to join, and we’d love to have you!

📩 DM us “BOOK CLUB” today for information on how to join.

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📚 ANSWER POST — Math Fact Friday

✅ Math Fact Friday Answer Time! 🎉

Rodney & Chris’ Reading Challenge

The book has 286 pages. Let’s find out who is closer to finishing using Mental Math! 🧠

📗 Part 1️⃣: How many pages does Rodney have left?

Rodney has read 118 pages.

286 − 118 = ?

Break it apart:

286 − 100 = 186

186 − 10 = 176

176 − 8 = 168

✅ Rodney has 168 pages left.

📘 Part 2️⃣: How many pages does Chris have left?

Chris has read 143 pages.

286 − 143 = ?

Break it apart:

286 − 100 = 186

186 − 40 = 146

146 − 3 = 143

✅ Chris has 143 pages left.

🔎 Part 3️⃣: Who is closer to finishing?

Rodney: 168 pages left

Chris: 143 pages left

Now find the difference:

168 − 143 = 25

🎉 Final Answer: Chris is closer to finishing!

Chris has 143 pages remaining, Rodney has 168 pages remaining, so Chris is 25 pages ahead of Rodney. 📚👏🏾

This challenge shows how reading and math can work together. Students practiced subtraction, comparison, and mental math while tracking progress toward a reading goal. 🧠📖

CriticalThinking ProblemSolving MathSkills

💰 Math Fact Friday Answer Time! 🎉

Save It Saturday Challenge

Marcus wants a science kit that costs $48. He already saved $19, and his grandmother gave him another $15.

Let’s break it down using Mental Math! 🧠

Part 1️⃣: How much money does Marcus have now?

$19 + $15 = ?

Break it apart:

19 + 10 = 29

29 + 5 = 34

✅ Marcus now has $34 saved!

Part 2️⃣: How much more does he need?

The science kit costs $48, and Marcus has $34.

$48 − $34 = ?

Think:

34 + 10 = 44

44 + 4 = 48

10 + 4 = 14

✅ Marcus needs to save $14 more.

🎉 Final Answer: Marcus has $34 saved and needs $14 more to reach his $48 goal!

👏🏾 Great job!

This challenge wasn’t just about addition and subtraction. Marcus practiced an important money skill: setting a savings goal, knowing how much you’ve already saved, and figuring out how much more you need to reach it. 💰🧠

💬 Want more real-life mental math challenges? Comment MENTAL for our FREE STEM NG² Mental Math Challenge!

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💰📚 WORD OF THE WEEK: EXPENSE

This week’s financial literacy word is Expense!

An expense is money you spend to pay for something.

Think about some of the things you or your family spend money on every day — food, transportation, clothing, entertainment, school supplies, or household bills. Those are all examples of expenses. 💵

Here’s a simple example:

You earn $25 helping with a task. 🙌🏾
You spend $8 on lunch.

That $8 is an expense.

Understanding expenses is important because earning money is only part of managing it. Students also need to understand where their money is going and how spending affects what they have left to save.

At STEM NG², we’re connecting math with real-life money skills to help students begin building healthy financial habits early. 💚💛

👨🏾‍👩🏾‍👧🏾 Parents, try this at home: Ask your student to name three expenses your family may have during a typical week. Then talk about the difference between something you need and something you want.

💰 Want to learn more about our upcoming 8-week Financial Literacy Program for students in grades 6–12?

👉🏾 DM us the word MONEY for more information!

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✅ Math Fact Friday Answer Time! 🎉

📚 Reading Challenge

Maya and Jordan are reading the same 286-page novel. Who is closer to finishing?

Let’s break it down using Mental Math! 🧠

📖 Step 1: How many pages does Maya have left?

286 − 118 = ?

Break it apart:

286 − 100 = 186

186 − 10 = 176

176 − 8 = 168

✅ Maya has 168 pages remaining.

📖 Step 2: How many pages does Jordan have left?

286 − 143 = ?

Break it apart:

286 − 100 = 186

186 − 40 = 146

146 − 3 = 143

✅ Jordan has 143 pages remaining.

🔎 Step 3: Compare the answers.

Maya: 168 pages left

Jordan: 143 pages left

Since 143 is less than 168, Jordan has fewer pages remaining.

🎉 Final Answer: Jordan is closer to finishing the book!

He has 143 pages left, while Maya has 168 pages left.

👏🏾 Great job!

This challenge combined reading + math and showed students how breaking larger subtraction problems into smaller steps can make mental math easier.

💬 Want more real-life mental math challenges? Comment MENTAL and we’ll send you our FREE STEM NG² Mental Math Challenge!

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