10 Ways to Keep Math Alive During the Summer
Even though your kids are not in the classroom this summer, there are so many ways you can keep them learning during their months off! Here are some fun ways to get their math brains working without it feeling like work.
- Grocery store math - challenge your tween’s math skills by trying to estimate the total of what is in the grocery cart with the actual total. Make it a contest and whoever can come within 10% wins a prize. For younger kids, Printables4Kids has a grocery store math worksheet they can use.
- Let your kids help calculate tax and tip when eating out at a restaurant.
- Use the car odometer to calculate how far you have traveled. For an added challenge, can your kids estimate how much gas you used?
- Conduct informal surveys - favorite pizza toppings, ice cream flavors, movies. Then use the data to create a simple bar graph.
- Take a trip to play mini golf. Keep track of your total attempts over the 18 holes. Calculate your average number of attempts per hole overall.
- Have backyard races. Use a stopwatch to record your times. Better yet, keep a log of your times over the course of the summer. Did you get faster? Make a graph to chart your progress.
- Time the rides at an amusement park. Note the time you stand in line versus the time the ride actually takes.
- Let your kids cook! Reading recipes, measuring, and following the process are all good learning opportunities. Want an extra challenge? Double or halve a recipe.
- Learn to estimate distances. Have your child measure the length of their foot. Then, throw a ball or frisbee from one point to another. Use your steps (heel to toe) to estimate the distance.
- While watching TV, note the length of time for each commercial and compare the total to the length of the actual show. Or better yet, keep track of the time spent each day watching TV versus playing in the yard. Make a daily chart.
What are some other ways you have found to keep your kid’s on a learning upswing over the summer?
Number 7 would kill the fun of a theme park for anyone though!
Phil - it depends on how busy the park is… but you are right, what a way to take the fun out of the 2 minute ride.
Wow! Fun learning is the best learning! Good suggestions!
This is such a great list! One of my kids has a mathematics learning disability and we struggle to make math real for her.
This is great. Now I can outsource some of the more difficult arithmetic I do to the kids.
I did the grocery store activity with my 3 kids yesterday. It was a hoot, but the child who guessed $5 for a gallon of milk was pretty much right on the money!