First Grade Math Activities
First grade is a year of firsts: your child's first full day of school, the first time she'll write a small story herself, and the first time she'll read a complete book cover to cover. We've got dozens of wacky reading and math activities, cool science experiments, and indoor and outdoor games to keep the learning fun.
Play Ice Cream Addition!
Looking for another way to get your child practicing his basic addition facts? Play Ice Cream Addition! Here's a math game to keep you and your child school cool during this hot summer. Roll dice, add up the terms, and color in all the pieces of your ice cream cone to win.
Build a Castle...and Explore First Grade Geometry!
Use reusable, recyclable materials - along with a dose of imagination - to explore architecture and build a castle with first grade geometrical forms.
Make Snow Paint
In first grade, children are introduced to fractions. Here’s a recipe that combines fraction practice with winter fun!
Weave a Paper Thanksgiving Placemat
Let your first grader contribute to your Thanksgiving table with this fun paper weaving activity ... while extending handwriting and math skills at the same time!
Making Measurements: How Big is Your Hand?
What better way to help your first grader get a grip on measurement than with his own body parts? Here's a "hands-on "activity to help your child learn about four kinds of measurements using only a hand and a few household items.
Wolfie Wolf! An Outdoor Math Game
Want to support your child's counting and reading skills at the same time? Here's a great playground game that puts academic learning together with running, shouting, and laughs - stuff that's pretty much irresistible for kids of all ages!
Egg Carton Addition!
Using nothing fancier than and egg carton and some beans or pennies, you can play this game with your first grader and see real gains in core math skills.
"Scrambled Egg" Math
First graders spend lots of time learning how to handle double digit numbers. Here's a "green" way to build up those skills and have some old fashioned family fun, too.
Paint for Learning at "Sidewalk School"
Help your child practice new writing and math skills with a fun outdoor activity that will have your child teaching you! By using watercolor paints to practice writing letters, sentences, and math problems, your child will practice essential first grade skills in his "Sidewalk School."
Chalk it Up! An Outdoor Classification Activity
Classifying and sorting into groups is also a large part of the first grade math curriculum. The outdoors offers an abundance of learning tools for children, and classifying in the natural world gives your child an added lesson in scientific observation and classification.
