Pleasant Valley Elementary and Intermediate schools hosted their annual Family Math, Reading, Science and Technology night, with plenty of engaging activities that united entertainment and education.

The yearly event attracted more than 300 students, who explored the elementary campus's collection of shows, book swaps, and game and technology tables over the course of the evening."This is the way we bring all the parents and families together, so that all the parents and families can go through and talk and discuss math, science, technology and reading, to make it fun for everybody," math supervisor Shavonne Liddic said.Teachers had tables set up throughout the school, topped with games and interactive displays that focused on their respective educational focus.Elementary reading specialist Meghan Kondisko ran a table featuring key letters and words for elementary students printed upon pictures of large flies. Kondisko would challenge each kid with a letter or word, with the student swatting the correct answers."It's called 'Swat the Fly,' and the premise is to teach letters or sounds, or 'bear words,' or short-vowel sounds, and get quicker with knowing things. So, I'll tell them first, and they have to find it, and then they eventually move on to tell me what it is, and increase their fluency," Kondisko said.The strategy certainly struck a chord with plenty of students, who slapped at the flies with gusto.When asked about his favorite table so far, first-grader Christopher Hughes, 7, responded, "Slap letters or bear words!""It's very educational, something fun to do with him. It's more of a hands-on kind of thing," Christopher's mother Amy Hughes said.Another table, hosted by ESU student and future elementary student teacher Beth Holleger, taught the kids about engineering by challenging them to build the largest plastic cup tower they could in five minutes."I have some relatives who are engineers, so I asked them what they do as an engineer involving science. I wanted something hands-on for the kids, that would have them think about how to problem solve and apply math skills," Holleger said."I liked it because I could stack stuff. I learned to make the bottom bigger than the top, because if you make the bottom littler, the cups will come falling," first-grader Samuel Thrall, 6, said.The "Amazing Mysteries of Math" show by Dennis Regling blended magic and mathematics, entrancing volunteer students with fun spectacles based on math. Regling used his "psychic powers" - really, a method of binary math - to predict the numbers students were guessing, and astounded the kids by creatively cutting up a standard index card to craft a lengthy necklace."It's a way to make math fun and relevant. You see, there are some things I mentioned about how we use math every day, like computer programs, compound interest, geometric growth, estimating for problem solving. It makes it fun, it makes it interesting, it keeps it somewhat practical. My idea is to get them to look at math a little different - math is not always dry," Regling said."Mad Science," a show hosted by John Cutlip that focused on interesting topics like states of matter, included live demonstrations to keep the kids' attentions locked."This shows you how a liquid changes its shape," Cutlip said as he poured some water from one container to another, in between spritzing some audience members with mist and quizzing kids on the ever-expanding world of matter.Other attractions included a visit at the school's front entrance by Dewey the Bookmobile, offering kids plenty of choices of reading material, in addition to an indoor bookswap located in the cafeteria."Family Math, Reading, Science and Technology night is one of our most involved events that happens throughout the school year," Pleasant Valley Elementary Principal Erica Greer said."We had many, many families from all different grades come and participate. It's a hit, as always."