Starting with mental math basics will give your child the confidence to take on longer, more complex problems. This activity is a great starting point because it is quick, easy and involves only simple addition facts.
If a picture's worth a thousand words, how many numbers is it worth? Break out some old newspapers and magazines and let your kid find out, by creating her very own counting book!
More activities for math:
Make a Clock!
You thought this day would never come, but guess what, it's time! Time for your child to learn to TELL time, that is. Mastering this skill can seem hard at first, but hands-on practice helps. Here's a fun at-home activity that lets kids make a clock of their own.
Be a Prime Number Hunter
Wondering how to help your child get a handle on prime numbers? Why not turn her into a prime number hunter?
Slap It!: An Odds and Evens Card Game
This activity is based on the popular card game, Slapjack. It's rip-roaring fun, and it reinforces the concepts of odd and even, which in turn will help your child succeed in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Go Shopping for Decimal Practice!
Here's an activity that will get your child's attention with a back-to-school shopping spree. The catch? He'll have to use decimal skills to add, subtract, multiply, and divide his way to a new wardrobe!
Play Placemat Place Value
With a little help from grownups, almost anything can equal math discovery for kids. Take ordinary drinking straws, for example: fun for drinking juice and even for spitballs when you're not looking, but also fabulous for learning math.
Compare "Cup"acity! A Measurement Activity
This fun water activity will help your child understand capacity, and give him a chance to practice measuring a liquid.
Play Pantry Math!
Use what's stacked in your cupboard to help your child learn how to compare fractions and decimals. Bust out that 3.3 lbs. bag of rice and that 3 1/3 lb. box of juice and go to town! Concrete objects bring math to life.
Go on a Kitchen Scavenger Hunt!
Toss those geometry worksheets! Kids learn about shapes best when they're in three-dimensional form.
Weight Wonders: Big and Light...Heavy and Small?
First graders generally love to think concretely. So if it's a rock, it's heavy. If it's a little box of raisins, it's light. Right? Well, not always. Here's a fun activity to help build thinking skills in young scientists, and to encourage them to have a blast exploring the mass and volume.
Group It!: A Skip Counting Activity
Counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s may not sound like much fun. But using "skip counting" with real objects you find or make at home is a different story...it can be hours of entertainment. Here's a hands-on activity to touch and move real stuff while building abstract reasoning...paint, shoes, and coins ...
