Tips for Working at Home

Tips for Working at Home

There are many things families can be doing at home to help your child academically. Here are a few ideas:

• I love this blog post from Games From Young Minds about three great questions to ask in any situation to encourage math discussion.

• Play Games! Games that involve students moving ahead a number of spaces (Like Chutes and Ladders), rolling dice, or playing cards help students develop number sense. Check out the "Math Practice Games" tab on the left for more ideas.

• Involve your child in authentic mathematical activities at home. Any activity that involves measurement can be great mathematical practice (cooking, building, etc.).

• Talk about time. In the winter we will be working on telling time to the nearest five minutes. In first grade, students learned how to tell time to the nearest hour and half hour. Expose students to both analog and digital clocks.

• Experience money. Also in the winter, we will be learning about how to solve word problems involving coins. Talk to your child about what each coin is and how much it is worth. Involve your child when counting change, have your child help when paying with cash at the store (maybe when there isn't a long line behind you), practice coin recognition.