Like reading, it is easy to keep math skills sharp over the summer break. Children can play the color game in the car, find shapes in their world and remember the shape names, sort objects such as shoes and socks or laundry colors, count forks for dinner or the number of steps to the car, make patterns with household objects, and draw patterns outside in the dirt or on the sidewalk. Math vocabulary can stay fresh, too. In the summer activity bag that I give each child on the last day of school, I provide parents a list of key math terms to try to use around the house. Parents can play simple math games with their children using positional vocabulary or measurement skills. Saying things such as “I spy something over the table.” or “I spy something larger than my shoe.” supports students while they have fun at the same time.
The grocery store is another place to keep learning moving – colors, shapes, money - it’s all here! You can provide parents with simple grocery store activities or problem/sentence starters to keep their kids busy and learning in the store. In the car families can play the number game. Before getting in the car, each player picks something they will look for during the ride. It could be stop signs, people walking, blue cars, or hard items to spot such as license plates with the letter “Z” or people riding their bike. During the ride, each player calls out when they see their item and keeps track of the total number of items spotted. The winner is the person who has the most at the end of the trip.
As adults, we know that math is everywhere from telling time, to cooking, to shapes in our world. The foundational math knowledge children are learning in the primary grades is easily transferred from school to home and you can help empower parents to make this happen.
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