Math Fun

For those of you who were unable to attend our Family Math Night, I hope this post gives you some ideas about ways you can engage with math at home.

“Children deal spontaneously and sometimes joyfully with mathematical ideas. 

This is what real mathematicians do.”

Ontario Kindergarten Program Document (pg. 76)

Math is fun and children explore math in so many different ways. We have been learning lots of different math games that build foundational number sense. Below are a few of the games we have been playing.

During Family Math Night our mathematicians were the teachers and they enthusiastically taught their family members how to play some of our games!

At home, whenever you engage with math ideas or concepts you can use prompts to encourage your child to explain their thinking further, helping them develop a better understanding of math. Here are some prompts you can use at home:

• Tell me more
• How do you know?
• What math do you see?
• How can you show your thinking?
• Can you show me in a different way?

During our Thinking and Learning Time, our mathematicians explore math concepts and play math games either independently or with others. We are always so impressed to see the types of math they engage with. Never underestimate the types of math children can do.

Pool noodles provide a wonderful opportunity to explore numbers and various math concepts. Mrs. Gerrell made this fun activity for our learners to explore various mathematical concepts.

We hope this post has inspired you to engage with math at home! Here are some simple ways to incorporate math into your everyday life:

• Play “I spy” (for shapes : “I spy a cube/circle”; for movement: “I spy a ____ under the table”. For numbers: “I spy 6 of these objects”, etc.)
• Count around the house (stairs, windows, socks, doorknobs, books, etc.)—ensure they count in order and give each object the correct number
• Make 2D and 3D shapes using materials (toothpicks & marshmallows; play dough & straws)
• Talk about patterns you see daily (in clothes, on signs) 
• Find and/or make patterns using materials found in your house or outside
• Explore different lengths in your house (bed, carpets, tables) with a variety of measuring tools (your feet, spoons, popsicle sticks, string, q-tips)
• Talk about how much containers can hold (“which container has more rice?”)
• Ask family members a question and record the results using a tally chart or a graph
• Roll a dice and record using tallies how many times each number is rolled