Real-World Math
These activities will help your child make the connection between math and the real world.
By: Trish Kuffner, author of The Children's Busy Book
Real-World Math
Directions
- The following activities will help your child make the connection between math and the real world.
- Let your child help with the grocery shopping. Check and compare prices, weights, and quantities together. Let him use a calculator to keep track of the cost of what you've bought, to compare prices, to calculate cost per ounce, and so on.
- Point out speed limits and distances between towns. Talk about the time it takes to get from one town to another when you drive at different speeds.
- When you're gardening, have your child count the number of plants and measure the distance between them, their heights, and calculate the perimeter and/or area of the garden.
- Let your child help with the cooking by measuring ingredients and checking cooking times and temperatures.
- Keep a height and weight record for your child.
- Encourage your child to play games and do activities that involve counting, finding patterns, and solving problems. Tick-tack-toe, checkers, and chess are all good games for learning math. Doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles and playing music are also great math activities!