Earlier this summer we posted some ideas on our Blog about summer science activities and summer reading activities. Today’s post will give you some ideas for fun summer math activities to do with your kids while the weather is still nice outside!
Plan an outing that is full of educational summer math activities.
Have your child choose a park or a beach around Vancouver. Have your child figure out how many kilometers away the park is from your house and then calculate how long it will take to get there based on the number of kilometers and the average speed of the car in kilometers per hour.
Things to bring on your outing to facilitate the summer math activities:
- ruler or measuring tape
- notebook and pencil
Summer scavenger hunt
Find plants and flowers that have parts in multiples of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. For example they could find 2 leaves stuck together, a cluster of 3 berries, a star fish with five legs, or a flower with 6 petals. Next they can find something that is 1 millimeter in length, 5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 50 millimeters, 100 millimeters. Finally they can add all those things together to find out how long they would be if all lined up together. Your child can collect these things and use the notebook and pencil to do calculations and to record their findings by sketching a picture of each item.
Make a picnic for the family
Have your child help pack a picnic basket full of goodies. They can help make the sandwiches by calculating how many slices of bread and how many slices of meat will be needed for five people. They can also figure out how much you will need to buy from the store based on how many pieces of bread, meat, cheese come in a package. They can help measure quantities and make sure there is enough for everyone in the picnic basket. Bring your picnic along for a nice lunch on your outing at the park.
Summer math activities that pay off!
Starting your own business is a summer math activity that results in making some cash. Summer is a great time when kids have extra time to be creative and explore their potential. Having a summer business doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be a classic lemonade stand, or another type of stand that sells baked goods or art projects. Older kids can also ask the neighbors if they can mow their lawn to make some money. This is a great way for kids to earn some money and learn how to keep track of their finances. Use the opportunity to teach your kids how to keep a record of their savings, and deduct their expenses such as: the lemonade and cups. They can figure out how much profit they made. You can even help them choose a desired item or service that they want to save up for. Then they can figure out how much more money they will need to buy the desired item.
All of these summer math activities are simple, inexpensive and fun, yet they still get your kids thinking and practicing their math skills when they are on vacation. Turn some of your vacation plans into summer math activities and let us know how they turn out!
