Teachers and adults can try out and discuss math activities for kids in the classroom and at home. The Ideas at Work series aims to highlight real-world examples of adults finding the math in activities, games, and everyday life.
May 25, 2020
Language and math have a lot in common! For example, every time you describe something—as red, tall, sticky, or loud, for example—you are helping to define and categorize things. And defining and categorizing is huge in mathematics!
Every day dishes need to get cleaned, and every day dishes need to get put away. By involving children in tasks like doing the dishes, you can help them see mathematics in this work.
Going for walks is an excellent time to talk about math with your child. You’ll be surprised how much math talk you can have when you look for the math in your very own neighborhood.
Whether you have a machine at home or visit a laundromat, there is all kinds of math involved in doing laundry. And there are all kinds of ways that children of all ages can join…
Jigsaw puzzles are a great way for children to develop their spatial thinking and problem-solving skills. Children enjoy doing all kinds of puzzles and making ones from materials found around the house keeps it fresh…
All members of a household have things in common and things that set them apart. Exploring the important ways that loved ones go together and what makes them unique involves both mathematical thinking and a…
There are all kinds of things to count in pre-k to second grade classrooms. Counting Collections is an activity that develops the Big Ideas of number sense and counting, such as cardinality, one-to-one correspondence, and…
A tangram puzzle consists of seven pieces — five triangles and two quadrilaterals made from one square. Tangrams originated in China hundreds of years ago. They traveled to Europe in the 1800’s, where they gained…
Traditions around food and feasts provide rich opportunities to connect math at school with children’s experiences at home. From Diwali to Thanksgiving, fall is a season of special meals with loved ones.
Moving from one activity to another just got a lot more mathematical with this simple routine that builds early number sense with preschoolers.