1st 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.
You don't need to reinvent the wheel to give your kids a lesson in simple mechanics.
Now that it's first grade, "Math Facts" are here. This year, you can expect addition and some subtraction. Worried? Don't be. This is a time to explore lots of fun ways to develop new skills. Here's a hands-on activity that classroom teachers use to help kids get a feel for equations.
More math activities for first grade:
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.
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.
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 ...
Take a Shape Safari!
Forget a jeep in Africa. You can head out for a safari right in your own neighborhood. Instead of hunting lions and tigers, you'll troll for circles and triangles. Why? Because shapes are at the heart of the first grade math and writing curriculum. Plus, a hunt through the backyard is just plain ...
Play the Number Line Game!
In first grade, students learn to count, order, and compare numbers. Fingers are a great place to start, but as kids will tell you, they aren't as effective once you get past the number ten! Build this game, and give your kid some hands-on practice ordering numbers.
Make a Patriotic Pinwheel
This hands-on activity uses just a few ordinary supplies to create an extra-fun Fourth of July craft. You and your child can celebrate our nation's heritage while also boosting skills in geometric thinking. And while you're at it, you'll even demonstrate a little wind power!
Take a Bug Expedition!
When it comes to kids and bugs, there's some kind of magnetic attraction. Want to take advantage of that fact while boosting math and science knowledge at the same time? Take the learning outdoors!
Bounce that Ball: Learn Math While Doing Sports
With warm weather finally here, who wants to sit inside to practice graphing? Head out to the driveway, ball in hand, for a bouncing challenge. Then use those results to make a colorful graph that lets your child compare her results to those of the challenger (you!)
Coin Connection: A Patterning Game
Lots of everyday objects can be fun, whether it's buttons, beans, or LEGO blocks. Here's an activity that uses coins to build problem-solving strategies.
