Everyday Math

Whether you call it ‘The Summer Slide’ or ‘Summer Brain Drain,’ we know that when our children take 2 months off school, we risk some learning loss. Spending just 15 minutes daily and being intentional about highlighting the learning around them can reduce the likelihood of learning loss tremendously!

As you plan what your summer learning will look like, don’t forget to include math! It’s not uncommon to have more learning loss in math than it is in literacy. We certainly hear about bedtime reading routines more often than bedtime math routines!

The summertime is a great time to improve math skill, confidence, and success. These three concepts are strongly linked. As a child begins to improve their skill in math, they start to feel more confident. This increased confidence will bring more success, and the success then drives the desire to learn more skill and gain more confidence and so on. It is a beautiful cycle to see.
Math curriculums can move quickly during the academic year, and reviewing concepts already learned or getting a sneak peek at concepts to come allow your children to enter the new math year with greater confidence and ease.
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Here are my top 5 tips to remember about Summer Math Learning.

1. Math is everywhere. Look for opportunities to highlight math in your environment. Numbers are everywhere. Point them out and look for opportunities to find patterns, such as even number on one side of the street and odd on the other. Cooking provides a great opportunity to gain a deeper and real life understanding of topics such as capacity and fractions.
2. Play games. Puzzles, blocks, and board games all have their part to play in math learning. Whether counting, strategizing, categorizing, or following patterns, games provide a fun way for children to expand their special knowledge, their computation skills, their reasoning skills, and more. Ex. Monopoly, Yahtzee, Battleship, Dominoes etc.
3. Understand and Use Money. Understanding and using money is an essential skill. Deciding what to purchase on a menu with a specific budget or making decisions in the grocery store based on cost per quantity are two activities that make math come alive.
4. Develop an Awareness of Numbers. Look for things to count and to estimate. This is especially important with your little ones. Try discussing how many steps you think it is from your house to your car. Check your estimation by counting the number of steps.
5. Research. It’s important to remember that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. A quick google search of ‘summer math fun,’ or ‘summer math activities,’ will provide you with tons of activities, everyday math ideas, virtual resources and printable. You can also refine your search by including your child’s grade level.

In conclusion, it’s helpful to think of the time you spend on math as ‘priming the math brain.’ Math is easier when the brain is ready for it. Look for opportunities throughout the summer to increase math readiness, regardless of age or grade level.