MEDFORD, N.J. (AP) - In Kit Wong’s math class, there are no desks or chairs. No paper and pencils. No calculators. There’s just an open room, a dry-erase board and you.
And that’s not the only way its different. If you’re hungry after class, you can just walk into the room next door and grab a quick order of veggie dumplings or a Mexican sundae.
Wong expanded her Moorestown-based math enrichment program to Medford’s Main Street in late October, opening the Eat n Learn Accelerator at 18 S. Main St.
Wong, a former engineer and technical project manager for Lockheed Martin, helps students of all ages struggling with math re-learn the basics not by using pencil and paper but by playing fun games.
“If there is a crack in the building foundation and you continue to build on it, the building becomes shaky. But if you go back and repair the foundation, even though you still need to build on it, you know the building will be solid,” the Evesham resident said. “We go backward and we rebuild that foundation by teaching them the logic behind math in a fun way.”
One game Wong likes to use involves a deck of cards with no royals called the Two-Minute Challenge, where the goal is to add up the cards as they are placed from the deck onto a table in front of you.
Students are then recognized with a karate belt color by how many cards they were able to correctly add up. If you add up over 60 cards, you’re considered a black belt. Each session, they see if they can beat their previous score.
Another way Wong likes to assess her students is by placing them in an escape room, and in order to get out they have to use the skills they learned to decipher clues that lead to the door’s code.
Wong started her enrichment program Math Accelerator in 2012 when her oldest daughter, Jessica, was in second grade and struggling in math class.
“I decided to create a series of games just for her,” Wong said, and after her daughter’s teacher noticed how much she improved, Wong was invited to share with her daughter’s class some of her games.
“I took the whole class to the gym, and at the end of the class all the kids yelled and said this was the best math class ever,” Wong said.
Shortly after, she began a seasonal program through the Evesham recreation department. In 2016, she would quit her job at Lockheed Martin, publish a book about her methods, called “The Math Accelerator,” and open up her first Math Accelerator enrichment center in Moorestown.
This fall, she expanded her program once more, this time adding the option for families on the run from practice to math enrichment class, or those just passing by while shopping along Medford’s Main Street, to grab a quick bite to eat.
The idea to add a cafe, Wong said, came from parents of children who attended her Moorestown location. She noticed parents would always run to the 7-11 next door to grab something quick while waiting for their children to finish.
“The original concept was to have the cafe as a place where parents could hang out while their children were in class because they are always rushing and always starving,” Wong said. “It’s like a pilot to see if a cafe compliments my program well.”
But Wong wants the community to know that you don’t have to learn to grab a bite at the Eat n Learn Accelerator. She said she tailored her menu to offer items that complement the other dining options on Main Street.
She offers everything from kid-favorites like mac-and-cheese, mozzarella sticks, popcorn chicken and french fries to dumplings, ramen, pho and potato balls. There is also an extensive drink and dessert menu, where you can get Vietnamese coffee or create your own bubble tea. She makes everything herself, with the help of her oldest daughter and a helper who comes in on Sundays.
“I try to make my food fun and something that you don’t have on Main Street, because you want to be part of the community, not part of the competition,” Wong said. In the spring, she hopes to add outdoor seating.
She has also opened the classroom to the community, offering the space to anyone who wishes to hold a class of their own. On Thursday, a tai-chi class met at 11 a.m. She said she hopes give someone the opportunity find their passion as she did by providing them a space to try it out.
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