Promote Summertime Mathematics Understanding on Vacation
The sound of a school bell signaling commencement of summer vacation activates a process significant to almost every parent: finding ways to keep young ones from forgetting all the good stuff they’ve acquired over the past term. Regrettably, considering that math-related exercises probably won’t get optimum attention during the summer months, quite a few children will lose some of the previous term’s math know-how.
What can parents do to help their kids preserve, or even sharpen, summer math proficiency while still keeping them content throughout school vacation? Below are some proven ways of ensuring that your child does not need to learn math concepts once again when school begins in the fall.
Teach Fractions with Kitchen Measures
Preparing food is a great method to have some fun and bond with your child while teaching him math and helping him preserve useful knowledge. Younger children can help measure ingredients. Not only does this benefit motor skills, but it helps children understand how to visualize fractions each time they measure halves, thirds and quarters of a cup or tablespoon. Older children can read the recipe and learn to follow directions. It’s also possible to have your older child help you double a recipe or cut it back. Practice in this way makes learning multiplication and division entertaining, and there’ll be a yummy treat waiting for you when you’re finished.
Learn Geometry by Identifying Traffic Signs
There’s far more to primary school math than addition and subtraction. Geometry can easily become tangible for children after they learn the familiar shapes. Traveling by car for part of your getaway? Assigning different score for each different type of geometrically shaped road sign will keep children busy and familiarize them with the different octagons, triangles and rectangles seen everywhere. Older children can name three-dimensional shapes such as pyramids and spheres that they spot along the way.
Free or Low-Cost Math Worksheets
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to offer top quality learning aids for your child. Believe it or not, nearly all dollar stores have entire departments dedicated to puzzle and picture training books that will help make learning interesting. There are plenty of web-sites with printable puzzles and worksheets you can download without spending a dime. To save you a stop at the store, we have researched many websites which provide free, quality math worksheets that you can print out all by yourself.
As we discussed, summer getaways provide many opportunities for learning math under the guise of amusement and fun. With a bit of inventiveness and some sleight-of-hand, your child isn’t going to even have to know she’s learning!
Author: aubu400
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