Kindergarten

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Have your child count to 100 by ones, fives and tens. Count objects like windows, doors, etc…

v Use the calendar to count the number of days in a week or in a month, to count the number of months in a year, or to name the days of a week or months of a year.

v Pour different amounts of water into 3 or 4 glasses that are the same size. Compare the amounts of water using terms such as more, less, or the same.

v Compare sizes of different objects using terms such as bigger, smaller, longer, shorter, etc…

v Sort objects by size, shape and color, and discuss what makes them different from each other.

v Find different kinds of patterns in your home such as on wallpaper, quilts, curtains, furniture, clothing, etc…

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

For more ideas or helpful hints, try www.math.com, http://www.aaamath.com/,http://www.aaamatematicas.com/, http://www.aplusmath.com/, http://www.brainbashers.com/index.asp, http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/math_index.htm

First Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Play the number game. “Guess my number between 20 and 30. Use the words more or less as clue words.

v Make cleaning up fun! Estimate how many toys, books, stuffed animals, etc. are on the floor. Count each item as it is put away to see how close the estimate is to the actual number of items.

v Play addition war. Remove all face cards from a deck of playing cards and divide the remaining cards between two players. Each player puts 2 cards down and the person with the highest sum wins all four cards.

v Let your child pay at the store. Save the change and have your child identify the coins and the value of the change returned.

v Practice telling time to the hour and half hour using a digital and an analog clock.

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

For more ideas or helpful hints, try www.math.com, http://www.aaamath.com/,http://www.aaamatematicas.com/, http://www.aplusmath.com/, http://www.brainbashers.com/index.asp,http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/math_index.htm

Second Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Practice skip counting by 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 10’s and 20’s

v Use an analog clock and a digital clock to figure out elapsed time (time taken to complete an activity). Practice estimating amount of time it takes to brush teeth, tie shoes, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc…

v Calendar activities: “What month is 2 months after March?” “What day of the week is May 10^th?” “What is the 3^rd Tuesday in August?”

v Practice identifying coins and their values. Using their own money, have your child count and decide if they have enough to make a certain purchase.

v Have your child figure out the “fair share” of candy, snacks, food, etc. when splitting it between 2 or more people. This sharpens counting, adding, subtracting, and sometimes, fraction skills.

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

Third Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Make or use already made math fact flash cards (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)

v Let your child know what time you are leaving for an event, and have him/her calculate how much time there is between the current time and the time you are leaving.

v Start a change jar – Once a week let your child count the contents. Have your child count out lunch money, snack/milk money or book money.

v While in the car, practice mental math.

(Ex: 2 X 2 –1 =)

v Play card games – Turn over two cards at a time and figure out the sum, the difference and the product of the two numbers turned over. (You can remove the face cards first or use them as 11, 12, and 13; Aces are equal to 1)

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

Fourth Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Have your child round prices in a toy catalog to the nearest dollar. Let your child cut and paste pictures of purchases on paper and total what he/she has spent using the rounded prices.

v Think of a number within a range of stated numbers. Have your child figure out the number by asking questions such as “Is it more than 20?” “Is it less than 80?” “Is it an odd/even number?”

v Have your child calculate what time to start getting ready and what time to leave your house in order to get to an event on time.

v Make or use already made flash cards to review addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.

v Unfold a cardboard box without showing your child and have him/her predict what shape it will make when put back together. Have him/her put it back together to test their predictions.

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

Fifth Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Practice math facts in the car. Talk about number families. Ex: 3+4=7, 4+3=7, 7-4=3, 7-3=4

v Let your child measure ingredients when you cook. Figure out how much of each ingredient is needed if you cut a recipe in half, double it, or triple it.

v Collect grocery slips. Have your child categorize items into meat, produce, dairy, etc… Add up amount spent in each category. Make a graph to determine which costs the most.

v Give your child a catalog and a specific amount of money to spend (e.g. $100.00). Have him/her make imaginary purchases and find the total cost. Include shipping and handling charges.

v Read schedules for information (TV Guide, bus, train). Watch a 30 minute TV show. Time the length of commercials. Figure out time of actual show to the nearest minute.

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

Sixth Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Cut out a symmetrical magazine picture in half along the line of symmetry. Paste one half of the picture on to a piece of paper and have your child draw the missing half.

v Have your child keep track of how much time he/she spends watching TV vs. how much time he/she spends doing homework for one week. At the end of the week, make a graph comparing the results.

v While in the car, take turns calling out the numbers on a license plate. All players add those numbers in their heads, and the first person with the correct answer wins.

v Grab a small handful of change and tell your child the amount of money in your hand. Have them figure out what coins you are holding.

v Choose a number of the day. Have each family member try to come up with a creative way to make that number. For example, the number is11: 1+3+7=11, 100-(3X25)-14=11, etc.

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

Seventh Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Have your child make up a food list that will feed the family for a week while remaining within a specific budget. If the total is too large, discuss which items can be eliminated.

v Have your child save your junk mail for one week. At the end of the week count the number of total junk mail items, and estimate how much you will get in one month or in one year!

v Make or use already made flash cards to practice multiplication and division facts. Use the answer side to come up with your own problems, or use the math fact side to find the answer.

v Have your child give you his/her math notebook turned to the notes from the current day’s class. Ask him/her to paraphrase the notes to check for understanding.

v Have your child make up his own mnemonic device for remembering the Order of Operations.

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.

Eighth Grade

MATH MOMENTS AT HOME

v Have your child figure out the cost of his/her purchases at the store when discounts are applied. Discuss options for staying within a specific budget (more discounted items or less items at a better quality).

v Play board games together that involve strategy. This builds problem solving and critical thinking skills.

v Have your child help to figure the correct amount of materials needed to do a home project (painting, wall papering, doing trim work, etc…). This builds knowledge of perimeter, area and a general number sense.

v Have your child choose a job they might like to do as an adult. Have them research the average salary for that job and create a budget to include rent/mortgage, car payment, utilities, entertainment, food, clothing, etc… This will help him/her to see the relevance of knowing basic mathematic operations and problem solving skills.

When you have a moment, try some of these activities with your child to improve his/her math skills.

A special thank you to Haverhill Public Schools for sharing some of these ideas with us. Additional resources include www.alliance.brown.edu and www.kidsource.com.