Get Ready for 4th Grade!

Summer Calendar Materials

• single-sided numeral or 5-group cards--use playing cards, print them out below, or make your own

• 1 die

• coins: dimes, nickels, pennies

• ruler or measuring tape

• can or similar container

Summer Calendar Games

Addition (or Subtraction) with Cards

Materials: 2 sets of numeral cards 0─10

1. Shuffle the cards and place them face down between the two players.

2. Each partner flips over two cards and adds them together or subtracts the smaller number from the larger one.

3. The partner with the largest sum or smallest difference keeps the cards played by both players in that round.

4. If the differences are equal, the cards are set aside and the winner of the next round keeps the cards from both rounds.

5. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Target Practice

Materials: 1 die

1. Choose a target number to practice (e.g., 10).

2. Roll the die and say the other number needed to hit the target. For example, if you roll 6, say 4, because 6 and 4 make ten.

Shake Those Pennies

Materials: Pennies--the amount depends on the number being practiced. For example, if you are practicing sums for 10, you will need 10 pennies.

1. Shake your pennies in your hands and drop them on the table.

2. Say two addition sentences that add together the heads and tails. (For example, if you see 7 heads and 3 tails, you would say 7 + 3 = 10 and 3 + 7 = 10.)

3. Challenge: Say four addition sentences instead of two. (For example, 10 = 7 + 3, 10 = 3 + 7, 7 + 3 = 10, and 3 + 7 = 10.)

Race and Roll Addition (or Subtraction)

Materials: 1 die

1. Both players start at 0.

2. They each roll a die say a number sentence adding the number rolled to their total. (For example, if a player’s first roll is 5, the player says 0 + 5 = 5.)

3. They continue rapidly rolling and saying number sentences until someone gets to 20 without going over. (For example, if a player is at 18 and rolls 5, the player would continue rolling until she gets a 2.)

4. The first player to 20 wins.

5. For subtraction, both players start at 20. Each time they roll the die they take away that number from their total. (For example, if a player starts at 20; rolls a 5, the player says 20 - 5 = 15

Missing Part

Materials: 5-group cards

The child works with a partner, using 5-group cards. Each player puts a card on his or her forehead. The partner tells how many more to make the given number. Players must guess the cards on their foreheads. Partners can play simultaneously, each putting a card to his or her forehead.

Coin Drop

Materials: 10 dimes, 10 nickels, 10 pennies, can

Drop in some nickels and ask the value of the money in the can. Take out some of the nickels and show them. Ask how much money is still in the can. Continue adding and subtracting nickels for a minute or so. Then repeat the activity with dimes, then with nickels and pennies, and then dimes and pennies.