Staples High School Student Creates Learning Kits to Make Math Fun and to Benefit Horizons Greens Farms Academy

Eva Simonte, a junior at Staples High School in Westport, has created a unique and fun way for students to learn math. Eva has created kits that she calls “Fun Math Horizons” where children learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide through a board game and also through a bracelet-making activity she developed.

By using a hands-on approach, Eva is helping children to learn the basic math concepts in an interactive and fun way. Eva is selling her kits for $15 with all proceeds going to Horizons Greens Farms Academy (Horizons GFA) which has their offices in Westport. Horizons GFA serves students from low-income families attending Bridgeport Connecticut’s under-resourced public schools.

For Eva, learning math by making it a fun subject is personal for her. In elementary school, one of Eva’s teachers introduced math games and that sparked the idea of how math could be both enjoyable and apply to real life. As Eva says, “Through these games, I found myself learning to understand fundamental topics that I had previously struggled with, while actually enjoying math for the first time.” Eva has designed her kits for children in the 3rd-5th grade range, but the kits can be enjoyed by children of various ages.

Eva has led math workshops for children at the Yerwood Center in Stamford where she donated the supplies needed and began experimenting with different math activities to see which ones were the most effective and engaging. Eva says, “I have applied my observations to this project in order to create kits that children can both learn from and have fun doing so.”

Eva is now looking for local businesses in Westport to carry her Fun Math Horizons Kits to help support the mission of Horizons GFA. Eva feels that with the holiday season coming and with the learning loss that has occurred during the pandemic, these kits can help enrich a child’s learning of math in a fun way and make a great gift as well.

Horizons GFA is a non-profit that provides access and opportunity to underserved Bridgeport students from Pre-K through college by emphasizing academics and social-emotional learning while providing exposure to a wide variety of social, cultural and recreational enrichment experiences. 

As Eva says, “My goal is to share my experience in math with as many children as possible. By purchasing a kit, you will be helping both your child enhance their own learning and also elevate the education of other kids through your support for Horizons GFA.” Eva has created a website where information can be found about her kits: https://essimonte.wixsite.com/my-site and she has also set up a GoFundMe campaign for supporters to benefit Horizons GFA: https://gofund.me/72953e39