Curricula and Learning Links - Math
Making Math Fun!
Looking for ways to make math fun? Here are some ideas from HomeschoolChristian.com's message board participants.
Treasure Hunt
Math treasure hunt! I wrote my son a letter saying frog is missing (a toy of his). He must solve the mystery and find the frog. I put in his letter to turn to page 55 in math and do certain problems. Ahead of time I made a code sheet with numbers that represented letters or words. When he did a problem he looked to find that number and the word or letter it represented. When he had done the first 3 problems it told him to look behind couch, that letter told him to do problems on page 56,the same way with the code. He absolutely loved this! -- Suzi
I did something similar with my daughter. I cut up her math sheet and put clues with it. She had to search all over the yard! -- Mary Leggewie
We're doing a treasure hunt with questions from our Columbus study and our Astronomy study and some multiplication thrown in here and there. He will have to answer questions before he can move on and receive another piece of the treasure map. Once he finishes he will find a small treasure surprise.(a sucker and a dollar tree toy). Oh! Also I had him draw a map of our yard and then I photocopied the map to turn into the treasure map. This way he is covering several skills with this treasure hunt. -- Suzi
Checkbook Math
I "gave" my son $500 for a week's vacation and a variety of activities to choose from, all with a dollar amount attached. He had to choose the activities he wanted to do, make sure they were within his budget, and give an explanation of his expenditures. For example, he chose not to snack much, but made several trips to the arcade. Then he ended up with $75 left over to take home and save for the next trip! It was extremely interesting to see the way his mind worked. Again, he had to keep a running total and have an accurate amount at the end. I wish someone had done this with me when I was a kid! I had to learn on a REAL checkbook! -- SoCalPam
Geography Math
When teaching my second grader addition and subtraction, I found that he had a hard time with borrowing and keeping the numbers straight (he'd subtract the smaller number from the larger, regardless of where it was in the problem). Doing pages of problems was frustrating and boring to him. I solved this problem by using our Rand McNally Atlas (Target $4.49 -- it may be a few more bucks now). Then I gave him word problems using his name, such as "Jack's family is traveling to Flagstaff from Los Angeles. First they drive to Barstow. The next day they go to Las Vegas, etc." He loved it! He traced the routes on the map and accurately added up the miles. If he missed one, the entire problem was wrong and he had to fix it, so he was very motivated to check his work thoroughly. We did this several times with different destinations. Sometimes the family would backtrack, and he'd have to subtract. -- SoCalPam
Pretend Games
Play store! Buy a pack of fake money, make your own, or use real money. Pull out a bunch of toys, canned food, and other items, and label each one with a price. Play the cashier and let your child buy things. Then switch and let your child be the cashier!
Rolling the Dice Math Facts
Teaching two boys of different ages at the same time has become quite easy all of a sudden. We use a pair of dice and set one to a specific factor, say "3". Then we roll the other dice. One child multiplies the two and the other adds them together, each at their own level. I realize that it ends at "6", but you can add another die and set both for a factor. My brother-in-law got into it too and gave us one of the multi-sided dice. My kids about died when they saw it went up to 16! We'll ease into that one... -- SoCalPam
Easy Math Card Game
Take five cards from a regular deck of cards. (Jacks, queens and kings are worth 10; ace is worth 1.)
Lay five cards out in a horizontal row in front of you. Lets say that you drew a 5, 7, 10, 1 and 3. Draw another card from the deck and place it above your row of five cards. Lets say that it is an 8.
You should be able to add, subtract, multiply and/or divide your first five numbers and have it equal the number 8. You can only use the original five numbers, you can only use them each one time. It doesn't matter in which order you use the numbers or which math function you use (or how many times you use it).
I did this one really quickly and my answer would be 10-7 = 3 ..... 5 + 3 is 8 ..... 8 x 1 = 8.
We had fun during a family gathering when we competed to see who could get the answer first. Some of them are tricky! -- Sheril
War
This card game can be played at several levels. The object of the game is to win all the cards.
For the youngest children, divide the deck and give each player half the cards. Each player turns up one card at a time. The high card wins both cards. If there is a tie, each player puts out four cards face down and turns the fifth card face up. The high card (of the fifth cards) wins ALL the cards that are out (two original, eight face down, and the two final cards.) This will teach young ones which numbers (and face cards) are higher.
For older children, turn two cards over at a time and either add or multiply (based upon child's level) the two cards together. High score takes both cards. A tie would work the same way as above except playing two cards to add or multiply for a total. -- Martha R.
Twenty-One
Play Twenty-One or Blackjack. The object is to get cards that add up to twenty-one, but don't go over. Shuffle the cards, and deal two cards to each player, one face up and the other face down. Values of the cards are as follows:
2-10 -- Face value of 2 through 10 points
Jack, Queen, King -- 11 points
Ace -- 1 point or 11 points, player's choice
The player can look at his own cards but not his opponent's. The player adds up his points and decides if he would like another card. When everyone finishes taking additional cards, players turn over all cards and say their totals. If anyone goes over twenty-one, he loses automatically. If no one gets exactly twenty-one, the highest point value wins.
Also see HomeschoolChristian.com's Math Links.
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