Math

Here are some great rules for learning division from reallygoodstuff.com.

Math can be incorporated into so many fun things that your kids don't even know they're learning. Try this one from messforless.net. If you happen to have tons of toilet paper rolls in your garage like lots of us do, get them out and let your kids have a blast building towers. Then take a ball and take turns seeing how many rolls you can knock over. Have the kids count and then use the comparisons to talk about greater and less than. (Example: Kate knocked over 7. Ben knocked over 6. Which number is greater?) There are all kinds of possibilites and mathematical connections you can make from play. Try it out.

Incorporating movement into learning helps retention of information and is also a great way to keep active. Try this fun one from: trainupachildlearnaswego.blogspot.com

Using sidewalk chalk, draw 12 circles and number them in order from 1-12. Using dice, roll the numbers, add them together and then hop that many spaces. Spice it up each time by having your child hop on one foot, two feet, backwards, etc. 

Make bath time fun and use math skills at the same time, with this fun idea from parentteachplay.com.

You'll need 2-3 sheets of craft foam, scissors, and a permanent marker. Cut small rectangles from the craft foam. You'll need 28 rectangles of the same size. Use the marker to divide the dominoes in half with a line and then add the dots to create a set that starts with 0-0 and goes up to 6-6.

Once the dominoes are made, fill the tub with water and float the dominoes face down in the water. Each child will pick 7 dominoes and stick them on the wall in a row. The rest of the dominoes stay floating in the bath. One child goes first and places a domino up on the bath tub wall. The other child tries to find a domino from their hand that can fit on either end of the played domino. They can count the dots or match up the patterns. If a child can't find a piece that matches, they can draw one domino from the floating pile. If the piece works, they can play it. If not, they put it in their hand and play goes to the next child. The children keep playing until someone uses up all the pieces in their hand.

Some kids have a tendency to either love math, or love reading, but not both. Here's a great way to intertwine the two with some great chapter books that have calculations woven into the main parts of each story.

For more details on each book, visit: whatdowedoallday.com.

Do you have a lot of plastic eggs floating around the house now that Easter is over? Put them to good use with these addition family eggs. (You could do the same for subtraction too!)

Use numbers 5 thru 20.

One side of the egg is for "=" and the target number.

The other side is for various addition problems that equal that number.

(If possible, use several eggs of the same color or use different colored halves for each problem to avoid making it too easy by just matching them by color.)

Put the addition problem halves on one side of the table and the answers on another.

Have the child pick a problem half and then find the matching answer half and put them together.

By the end of this song, chances are, you'll definitely remember what perimeter is! 

It's that time of year when jelly beans seem to be plentiful, so why not put them to good use? Visit letslassothemoon.com to get a free printable to have some fun with graphing. Grab some bowls, have your kids sort the jelly beans by color, count them, and then graph how many there are of each color.

Here's a fun math game to get in the mood for St. Patrick's Day and practice those tally marks. Get the download at: firstgradealacarte.blogspot.com.