Summer is when kids’ brains can go to mush. There’s actually a name for it: the summer
slide. Keep math skills sharp, says
Mathnasium.com, by trying out these five easy ideas. Have fun while keeping the slide to a minimum
this summer.
1. Bring math into the
kitchen.
So much of cooking involves math! Following a
recipe uses concepts like sequencing and counting. Baking requires precise
measuring, and scaling a recipe requires multiplication or division. Start with
something simple, like a smoothie recipe. Once your child is comfortable
following a recipe, ask them to double it, which requires thinking
proportionally.
2. Play math-based
games.
Any board or card games that use money, keep
score, or require strategy, such as Monopoly®, blackjack, Scrabble®, chess, and
Blokus®, are math-based games. Playing games can improve your child’s numerical
fluency, logic, and probability skills.
3. Listen to music.
Music is inherently mathematical. The familiar
patterns in your favorite songs follow a mathematical structure. Find out if
your community has free summer concerts in the park. See what summer music
activities are offered to children in your area. Listen to music together at
home. Clap to the beat. Talk about the repeated patterns. Maybe get up and
dance.
4. Watch sports and do
the math.
Incorporate math when you’re watching sports
together. Encourage your child to keep statistics on their favorite baseball
team or player. Keep track of how much time passes between goals when you’re
watching a soccer game. Compare football players based on touchdowns, yardage
and tackles made. If your child plays basketball in the backyard, they can take
measurements and compare them to an official-sized court.
5. Read math-based
books.
Having the extra time to read is one of the joys
of summer. When math is an integral part of the story, your child gets the
added benefit of thinking mathematically at the same time. Some titles to look
for are “Secrets, Lies and Algebra” by Wendy Lichtman,;“The Phantom Tollbooth”
by Norton Juster; and “The Number Devil” by Hans Magnus Enzensberger.