mail order math

     So much shopping is done on the internet now, that paper catalogs have become a thing of the past. Each year my mailbox used to be full of catalogs--especially in the months before the holidays. The Sears catalog was the size of a phone book. Items could be sent through the mail, or to the nearest Sears store for pickup--even large items like rugs or appliances.  A reproduction of an old Sears catalog is  fun to look at--one from a hundred years ago or more, not a recent one.  You can look through it and see all the things you could have bought with only five dollars. Children and teens may enjoy this, too. Pretend shopping is a good math lesson--and with an old-time catalog, there's no risk of actually wanting to buy the things--it can remain just "window shopping".