The Middle School Math Circle is for students in grades 5–6 who are highly self-motivated to explore topics in mathematics outside the standard school curriculum. The topics often relate to problem-solving techniques and may include concepts such as divisibility, countings, invariants, and symmetry. Homework is an essential part of the curriculum. We strongly encourage the students to work at home between sessions, review the class material, and solve newly assigned problems.

The same instructors run the circle throughout the year.

Below we present examples of typical problems that we may give as homework and discuss in our meetings. They are not standard problems, and there are no ready recipes for how to solve them. We put the easier problems first and the hardest problems last.

You may need to spend some time to find a solution, and you may not be able to solve all the problems. Don’t worry. The problems may be difficult at the beginning, but if you find the problems interesting and their solutions inspiring, you’ll enjoy Math Circle activities, and you’ll master the skills you need to answer challenging math questions.