Home Integration

In the Kitchen:  

• Cooking and baking are natural ways to explore estimation, measurement, and fractions.  Encourage your child to double a recipe or measure 1 cup of something using the 1/2 or 1/3 measuring cups.

In the Yard:  

• Gardening affords students opportunities to expand their geometry and measurement concepts.  Calculate area and perimeter to construct a garden patch.  Measure distance needed  between plants and vegetables.  Collect data and track plant growth using graphs or a calendar.  Use the sun to estimate the time of day and compare it to the time on an analog clock.

In the Pool/On a Walk:  

• Count laps, calculate swimmer's total distance, time swimmers, measure the distance of dives, find the area and volume of the pool.  Recognize shapes within the pool area.

• Count steps, estimate how many steps to a landmark, find math in nature, practice facts using your walking cadence, ask   questions: "What if I doubled my speed?"  "What if my stride was half of what I am walking?  Double what I am walking?"

At an Activity:  

• Miniature golf, baseball game, soccer field, or the basketball court all present opportunities for students to learn more about geometry and angles.  Practice using the golf obstacles, batting stance, leg/ankle position or the backboard to make the ball go to its desired location.  Sports are also great at practicing fractions, decimals, and percentages!  Track runs batted in, yardage ran, win/loss records and turn them into relatable real world fractions!

In the Car:  

• Practice those math facts!  Use signs, license plates, billboards to keep your children busy while learning.  For example:  

  • • • Determine the start number and/or the rule (e.g., the speed limit is 65, start at 65 and add/subtract 10 and or 100.  They love big numbers and learning these patterns!

      • Speed limit 65?  Add, subtract, or multiply the 6 and the 5 and any other sets of numbers they may see.  Whoever gets to 100 first wins!  

      • If the exit number is 3, practice the 3 times table. 

• Teach your child about rates.  We are driving 60 miles and hour and we need to get to grandma's house which is 120 miles away (or 2 hours, etc.)  

Family Game Night:  

• There are numerous math games that can be enjoyed by children and adults of all ages.  In fact, there are so many, it is easier and more current to do an internet search, though some favorite searches are listed below.  Try searching for:

  • • • Math Dice Games

      • Math Card Games

      • Family Math Games

Dice and Card Games for Fact Practice  

5 Math Games You Can Play to Make Practice Fun

Games to Play with a Deck of Cards