Math At Home

Reading opportunities exist almost everywhere we turn.  The same is true for math.  Some may seem obvious while others are more subtle.  Once you begin to see these teachable moments, you can easily take advantage of them.  Here are some of our favorite and fun math activities.

Board and Card Games– Many games give children the chance to develop problem solving strategies.   They allow kids to build on already existing strategies and come up with systematic approaches to winning the game (solving a problem).  Connect 4 is a game that appeals to people of all ages.  It requires players to think ahead and anticipate what their opponents will do next.  SET is a card game the whole family can play together.  It consists of cards that display different geometric shapes in different colors.  The object is to make as many sets as you can.  The game is fast and furious, so players must think through how they want to best use their cards.

Spatial Activities-These are great for helping children not only strengthen their spatial skills but also their sense of scale.  One activity would be building models of something like an airplane.  Kids can see how the shapes fit together to make a whole.  Also, on a more advanced level you can talk to your children about whether the model is built to scale, and if it is what that means.  Tangrams are another great way to enhance spatial sense.  Tangrams consist of 7 flat shapes to put together to make different shapes.  These challenge users to turn, flip, and try out different pieces to make them fit into a desired shape.  You can buy these or make them yourself by looking them up online.

Sequencing and Patterning-Sometimes this seems so easy to adults, but actually we miss many patterns in the real world.  Patterns give us a sense of order and help us make educated guesses.  They are everywhere in nature.  Use the world around you to find patterns outdoors…flowers, leaves, animal coverings.  A card game that requires patterning,  sequencing, and strategy skills is Rack-O.  The goal is to create a sequence of numbers in ascending order.  This requires players to decide what pattern they may want to develop, how to sequence their cards, and which cards to discard and which to keep.

Number Sense-The game Which One is Closer is easy to play and requires both rote math facts and strategy.  The leader chooses a number between two preset numbers (1-20, 10-99, etc.).  The other players have one try to guess the secret number.  The leader must figure out which player came the closest to the secret number.  Depending on the range of numbers chosen, this game can be relatively simple or difficult.  Outside your children can skip count by 2’s, 5’s, 9’s, or any other number while they jump rope or swing.  They can keep score when playing basketball or HORSE.

Money and Time-Counting change and telling time are two important life skills, and  children can identify why they are important.  You can add to the complexity of any of these types of problems by asking “Does this answer make sense?”.   Let’s say you ask your kids what time they’ll be back if it’s 1:00 and they’ll be gone an hour and a half.  No matter what answer they give, ask them if their answers are reasonable or make sense.  This helps to develop their critical thinking skills.  Also, purposefully you can make mistakes when you are figuring out time or counting money.  See if your children can catch and correct your mistakes.

It’s important to build on children’s natural interest and intuitiveness in math.  Use puzzles, number books, and games to give them hands on experience.  Support your children’s sense of wonder, present problems for them solve, and encourage persistence.  Bringing math into your daily life with your children helps them to build a strong mathematical foundation.