(Win it!) Homework Help & Math Confidence: Plus Check out the Limited Edition Peach Pi + Fractal Frost TI-84 Plus CE!

As an engineer and a mom, I love math! Today, I’m excited to share tips for encouraging kids to enjoy and feel confident in math. If you ever struggle when helping your child with math homework, I encourage you to follow the tips below to help shift kids' views, appreciation, and motivation to learn math topics. I’m also thrilled to highlight the recent release of the TI-84 CE Plus calculators in fun new colors—Peach Pi and Fractal Frost. These calculators are required at our local schools and many others. Having one in these latest colors has become a fun trend that kids are loving and are sure to create happy childhood memories! A positive attitude makes math homework much easier!  (Spoiler alert - Positive attitudes toward math are everything! Small habits and exercises help to shift kids' views of math over time!  It's never too late!)

One of my kids thinks math is “fine” while my younger one is basically a little human calculator. Despite their different personalities, I’ve always tried to make math something they can both enjoy, understand, and see value in. The key? Making math an integrated part of daily life so it feels applicable, interesting, and motivating. They will always have challenging math homework assignments, but with a positive attitude, it's much easier and more enjoyable!

Here are some of my favorite ways to spark math joy and confidence at home:

1. Pi Day is a party at our house. Every March 14th, we celebrate with our favorite pies and pizzas, measure them, and talk about radius, circumference, and area. It’s silly, tasty, and hands-on. More importantly, it’s something the kids look forward to every year—fun traditions like this create happy childhood memories where math is associated with joy.

2. Make math have real-world value. From a young age, kids should see math as useful. We measure furniture, windows, and rooms to calculate perimeter, area, and volume. We weigh ingredients while cooking and scale recipes up or down to work with fractions. At the grocery store, we estimate totals, calculate discounts, and compare unit prices. Math suddenly becomes a tool to solve real problems—and that makes it stick.

3. Laugh with math. Humor makes subjects less intimidating. We love math jokes, like:

• Why is the equal sign so humble? Because it knows it’s not less than or greater than anyone else.
• Why was the math book sad? It had too many problems.
• Parallel lines have so much in common—it’s a shame they’ll never meet.
• There are 3 types of mathematicians - those that can count and those that can't count.

Even the groan-worthy ones build positive associations.



4. Build calculator confidence early. One of my favorite tips is giving kids early exposure to a TI-84 CE Plus calculator before it’s required in school. It’s such a powerful tool, and getting comfortable with it in advance helps kids see it as approachable instead of intimidating. By the time they need it for algebra, calculus, or standardized tests, they already know their way around. That early familiarity builds confidence—and confidence is everything in math. 

5. Celebrate the fun side of math tools. I also love the spirit Texas Instruments brings to their calculators. The team clearly loves math as much as I do, and it shows in the details—like their recent color launches. Peach Pi and Fractal Frost aren’t just colors for calculators, they’re conversation starters. Kids notice when math tools feel fresh and personal. When something as iconic as the TI-84 gets a playful update, it reinforces that math isn’t dry—it can be fun and expressive too. This is a trend that you will want to hop on quickly, as these may be limited-edition colors!  For extra fun, if you have a Cricut, you may also create stickers to add to their calculators.

6. Encourage teaching. When kids explain math to others—whether it’s helping a sibling or tutoring younger students—they deepen their own understanding. Teaching builds confidence and helps them realize they can be leaders in learning.

7. Gamify math. Games turn math into play. We’ve set up a “store” at home with prices and pretend money so the kids can practice making change and tracking “profits.” Board games like Monopoly and Yahtzee, or card games like Rummy, sneak in strategy, probability, and mental math without it feeling like homework. You'll also love TI's Graphing Calculator Scavenger Hunt here!



8. Connect math to passions. If your child loves sports, talk about player stats, scores, and probabilities. If they love baking, lean into fractions and measurements. If they’re into art, explore patterns, symmetry, and geometry. When math connects to something they already enjoy, it feels relevant and exciting.

9. Take math outside. Nature is a giant math classroom. Measure shadows to estimate tree heights, time how long it takes a ball to roll down a hill, or pace out distances.  My youngest loves picking flowers, measuring them, and identifying patterns! Kids learn best when they’re moving, exploring, and playing.

10. Celebrate everyday math wins. Kids light up when you point out the math they’re already doing. Whether they figure out travel time, calculate a restaurant tip, or catch a mistake on a receipt, celebrate those moments. It teaches them that math has real-world impact.

11. Show the beauty of math in the world. Point out Fibonacci spirals in sunflowers, hexagons in honeycombs, and symmetry in snowflakes. When kids see math in nature, art, and architecture, they realize it’s not just numbers on paper—it’s the hidden language of the universe.

12. Tell your kids that they are good at math. I am a big believer in positive thoughts. My little one is truly my human calculator.  I've called him this many times since he was a preschooler and he loves it because he knows that he's good at math and soaks up the acknowledgement and praise.  One day, I was volunteering in his class and called him my human calculator. Other kids came over to tell me that they are human calculators too!  I told them how cool it was, asked them math questions, and praised them that they sure were human calculators!  Even years later, some of these kids smile and remind me and ask me for math questions. 

At the end of the day, the best way to build math confidence is to make it human, hands-on, and integrated into everyday life from the very beginning. Tools like the TI-84 CE Plus don’t just support learning—they help kids feel capable, curious, and excited about math. When we combine these tools with real-world experiences, games, and family traditions, we raise kids who don’t just “get through” math, but grow up seeing it as valuable, approachable, and even fun. Whether your child needs the TI-84 CE Plus now or in the future, stocking up on the fun Peach Pi and Fractal Frost colors is a great way for them to start practicing, explore its features, and gain confidence well before it’s required at school. If it is required, you can score one of the fun colors to add pizzazz and enjoy the fun color trends! They will always remember that they had a TI-84 Plus CE Calculator in a limited edition color!

Win it!

One lucky winner will receive a TI-84 Plus CE Calculator in the trendy Fractal Frost color! The calculator is provided by @TICalculators! Enter using the Rafflecopter below. The winner must have a U.S. shipping address. Good luck! 

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Learn More

The mathematicians at TI have a fantastic TI-84 Plus CE Overview and Ti-84 Plus CE Tutorial.

You'll also find fun DIY Stickers, Posters and Coloring Sheets, and fun holiday ideas such as my favorite Valentine's Day Calculator Activities!